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Williamstown's Field Park Ready for MakeoverBy Tammy Daniels
iBerkshires Staff
10:40PM / Monday, March 09, 2009
A rendering of the Field Park improvements presented at Monday's Selectmen's meeting. Not the paths through the park, rounded ends and islands at entrance points. Top photo, Director of Public Works Timothy Kaiser explains the changes. |
WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — The Field Park rotary system will undergo another face-lift to make it more motorist and pedestrian friendly.
Work could begin by May and be completed by fall.
The Selectmen approved the use of an estimated $827,000 in state Chapter 90 highway funds to make the oval park easier drive around, easier to walk across and to function more like a rotary.
"There are a number of problems with Field Park as it's presently laid out," Town Manager Peter Fohlin told the Selectmen on Monday night, pointing to a projected slide of the current design. "One is this straight shot from Main Street and on, which encourages people to not stop and to enter and exit Field park at a high rate of speed."
The town began moving traffic one-way around the park in 2006, believing it to be a safer alternative to southbound traffic on Route 7 turning left onto Main Street (Route 2) to head east — and fighting for the right of way with vehicles exiting from South Street and Cold Spring Road.
Jersey barriers were installed on Route 7 to divert eastbound traffic around the park and then down Main Street. Other changes, such as signage and painted lines, were added as well.
While the traffic is flowing, tractor-trailers are taking a toll on the park's edges and on the granite curbing near the information booth because of trucks over- or undercutting the turn. As they take the turn up toward the library, they often drive on the grass because of park's asymmetrical shape on its west end.
There's also the problem of the town's veterans monument, a step-down circular stone structure built without access for the handicapped.
"Pretty much all of Field Park needs to be corrected," said Fohlin.
The new design by Guntlow and Associates should alleviate those issues by creating a more symmetrical shape, said Director of Public Works Timothy Kaiser, and by slightly "skewing" the entrances into the rotary at Cold Spring Road, West Main Street and Route 7 South.
It also eliminates the double lane from Cold Spring Road to South Street to prevent confusion and drivers from Cold Spring Road from zipping into the rotary and adds "rumble" strips around the park's two ends. It also will make the west end much more level to make turning around the rotary easier.
Field Park in its current configuration. Note the yellow lines painted along the west end to attempt to round off the curve. |
"People in the rotary have the right of way," said Kaiser. "This will force people to slow down."
The new design elements include hardened islands at each entrance point to both delineate lanes and protect utility poles; a set of bollards would be installed where the Jersey barriers are now to protect pedestrians crossing from Main toward the information booth and to Field Park. A pull-off will be created for bus drop-offs in front of Williams Inn and storm-water drainage system will be installed.
For pedestrians, two paths will be constructed thorugh the park; one a meandering path from the Williams Inn to the library based on much-used pathway determined by "by checking footsteps in the snow" and a second crossing in front of the veterans memorial from Main Street to Cold Spring Road that will also provide handicapped access to the monument. The crosswolks and paths will be hard paved, likely with DuraTherm, with is both tough and aesthetically pleasing. Both paths will be cleared in the winter.
The board unanimously approved the project; Kaiser expected to submit the forms to the state Highway Department to withdraw the funds on Tuesday.
"It should be under way by the first week in May," he said. "And this will all be an unhappy memory by fall." |
Your Comments
iBerkshires.com welcomes critical, respectful dialogue. Name-calling, personal attacks, libel, slander or foul language is not allowed. All comments are reviewed before posting and will be deleted or edited as necessary. Comments are closed for this article. If you would like to contribute information on this article, e-mail us at info@iBerkshires.com |
Yet the village beautiful is laying off teachers. God forbid that handicap access to the war monument would have to wait a few more years.
Keep the jobs you have before you create new temporary ones. Pretty simple.
Editor: Chapter 90 state highway funds can only be used for road projects; not spending it won't save teachers' jobs. | | from: Anon | on: 03-10-2009 12:00AM
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Eight (or 16) large "Stop" signs could solve the problem. If we paid $100,000 for each of them, we could still save money compared to the pork barrel approach. We could even test the idea with the agreement that would would only pay the $100K each for the 8 (or 16) Stop signs if they worked; otherwise they could be returned without prejudice.
Roundabouts or traffic circles are poor solutions in places where there are many tourists. They work well after the third or fourth time a driver has used them. | | from: Stop! | on: 03-10-2009 12:00AM
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| "Yet the village beautiful is laying off teachers." Where does this come from? There are no teachers being laid off. | | from: Fact Finder | on: 03-10-2009 12:00AM
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