Williamstown's Field Park Ready for Makeover
 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. |
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. |
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."
