West Stockbridge — With an eye toward improving safety and traffic calming in the center of town, on August 21, the West Stockbridge Select Board approved moving forward with submitting four projects for a state grant: creating traffic calming/gateway treatments at the intersection of Swamp Road and Main Street, including ADA-accessible ramps to replace nonconforming ramps and a new crosswalk; installing two digital speed feedback signs along Lenox Road; adding two breakaway bollards within the existing sidewalk at Swamp Road and Main Street to better guide turning movements; and constructing a small plaza with a seating area plus signage adjoining the municipal parking lot at Depot Street and Albany Road/Route 102, including realigning the crosswalk across Route 102.
The projects were selected among 15 proposed prioritized improvements that have already been pre-approved by the Massachusetts Department of Transportation to qualify for the $500,000 grant and determined to fit within the guidelines for construction funding including safety, public health, increased livability, equity, and usability for residents. The submission deadline for these projects to the state is October 1. West Stockbridge leaders are planning to host a community outreach session—with power point presentations and posters—in late fall or winter to gain public feedback on the improvements.
Public Works Director Curt Wilton presented the options for the Complete Streets Advisory Committee to the Select Board. He said the projects submitted are ones that “we feel would not need much community outreach because they are problem areas” for the town, and the improvements won’t take years to show results.
According to Wilton, the estimated cost to implement these projects is about $125,000, leaving $375,000 in grant funds for some of the remaining projects.
“The reason that we wanted to advance these three projects tonight is because we have [a] deadline, and it gives the town the opportunity to put a shovel in the ground next spring,” Select Board Member Andrew Potter said. “Otherwise, we would be waiting until May for the entire process.” He said that, although the town has three years to spend the $500,000 grant, no additional projects can currently be added since that deadline expired last year, and the funding isn’t sufficient to cover all 15 proposals.
However, several residents on Pixley Hill Road addressed the Select Board regarding a Complete Streets proposal that wasn’t included in the evening’s agenda: improving the area near the crossing of the Housatonic Rail Trail right of way and Pixley Hill, a section of property listed as town-owned on West Stockbridge’s website. The proposed project encompasses installing a bike rack, park bench, trash receptacle, and map board on a poured concrete pad, additions that would take place within 100 feet of a wetland and riverfront area, the website states.
“I think what’s important to remember is that we are having public outreach—stay in touch, we are going to be having that discussion,” Andrew Potter said, adding that the Pixley Hill project was ranked last by the committee.
Pixley Hill resident David Potter said the project is on private property and opposed by him and his neighbors. He said the tract is protected from improvements by a federal act related to waterway protection. David Engels, who also lives on Pixley Hill, said he was surprised to see the project on the list of proposals and the site has already had issues with motorized vehicles, like motorcycles, traversing the pathway.
“We’d like to keep that walking path just what it was designed for, a walking path,” he said. “I’ve spoken to my neighbors, and I haven’t found one that has looked at this favorably. Just the opposite—they’re very upset.”
Additionally, at the meeting, the Select Board:
- Approved the same route for the Josh Billings RunAground Triathlon set for September 10;
- Approved a resolution commending the planners of the 2023 Zucchini Festival on the program’s success;
- Approved two one-day liquor licenses to TurnPark for September 1 and October 7 events;
- Appointed Molly Meador as West Stockbridge Library trustee;
- Tabled appointing members to the West Stockbridge Affordable Housing Trust;
- Deferred appointing Andrew Potter as Intervenor in a proposed rate hike by Housatonic Water Works until the Select Board is able to consult with an attorney specializing in such matters; and
- Heard Town Administrator Marie Ryan state that West Stockbridge was able to purchase a transportation van as its contribution to the Tri-Town Connector project that serves Great Barrington, Egremont, and Stockbridge.
