AMHERST – The Select Board is recommending a roundabout to replace the main intersection at the north end of downtown, despite continued concerns voiced by some residents that such a project could compromise pedestrian safety.
“We feel like we’ve come up with the best plan,” said Department of
Public Works Superintendent Guilford Mooring, who presented designs from consultant CDM Smith Inc., of Boston, to the board Monday.
“In 2014, we were told to begin moving this thing along and doing preliminary designs,” Mooring said.
The board’s endorsement allows the project to move to a final design over the next six to eight months, when a cost estimate will be released, Mooring said, “and then we can decide how to fund this.”
It’s possible the roundabout will compete for funding with potential improvements in North Amherst, where town officials are contemplating moving the intersection of Sunderland and Montague roads.
The board received letters from three residents requesting that any decision on the roundabout be postponed, and that pedestrian safety be taken into consideration
Winnifred Manning of 61 Fearing St. was the only resident who spoke Monday about the roundabout. Manning said there needs to be more than one flashing beacon for the crosswalks.
“I don’t feel that’s adequate,” Manning said, adding that she is not sure it will be safer for pedestrians when traffic does not have to come to a stop.
Mooring disagreed. “The roundabout works far better than the signalized intersection,” Mooring said.
Mooring said studies show roundabouts are safer for pedestrians, cutting accidents involving them in half, according to a report from the National Cooperative Highway Research Program.
Select Board member Andrew Steinberg said he is sure the intersection will be safer for both motorists and pedestrians.
“I do think this is an improvement and an improvement not just for the driver, but for the pedestrian,” Steinberg said.
Aaron Hayden, chairman of the Public Transportation, Bicycle and
Pedestrian Committee, said his committee wants the roundabout to be built.
“We had a good chance to review that design and make some
modifications to it so that what you see tonight includes refinements
we felt were necessary to make it an even safer intersection for
pedestrians,” Hayden said.
“I’m ready to move forward to try this new design,” said Select Board
member Constance Kruger, who added that there has been significant public input that has led to a better design.
Meanwhile, using a new pavement management plan program, the Select Board was informed by Town Engineer Jason Skeels that the DPW intends to have two roads resurfaced using state Chapter 90 money in the coming construction season.
They are Amity Street between South Pleasant and South Prospect streets at a cost of $74,813, and North East Street between Strong Street and 690 North East St. at a cost of $482,494.
Skeels said the work on Amity Street will coincide with the planned improvements to the parking lot there and the crosswalk between the lot and the Jones Library.
Other road projects to be done in 2016 include $405,393 on four streets in Amherst Woods where sewer improvements are being completed; $138,911 from the water fund for resurfacing Fisher and Harris streets in North Amherst; $199,827 from the Community Development Block Grant to pay for Shumway Street paving and sidewalks; and $72,835 paid by residents who live on Mount Pleasant, to repave that street.
Scott Merzbach can be reached at smerzbach@gazettenet.com.
