Park Street Reconstruction Will Be Completed In Spring
 Project engineer David Loring of Tighe & Bond provided an update on the Park Street reconstruction project. Final elements of the plan will be completed in the spring. |
ADAMS, Mass. — The Park Street Improvement Project is largely complete and will be completely finished in the spring.
The town of Adams held its third and final public meeting Thursday night with representatives from contractor J.H. Maxymillian, and project engineer David Loring of Tighe & Bond.
But in contrast to previous meetings, there was barely an audience.
Loring said there is still some "clean up" work such as adding in another bench, new signage, new parking meters, and some line work.
"It's been an interesting project. It has been a long path to get here, and the project is substantially complete," Loring said. "We are looking to wrap up final construction in the spring."
Loring said much of this work could not be finished because of delays in the project, such as the many shifting roles and unforeseen issues in the underground infrastructure.
"We did some sewer work, some public water work, as well as drainage work and in the course of making those improvements there were a lot of surprises under the street as well things we couldn't see prior to construction," he said.
Loring said some of the project's goals were to better parking, make the street safer for pedestrians, and cut down on speeding. He said much of this was achieved by narrowing the street and adding a bike lane.
He said the sidewalks and road were also rehabilitated and landscape improvements to help appearances.
"With the lights and the Christmas decorations it really does look beautiful," he said. "It's nice to be able to walk down the sidewalk and see the lines nice and clean so I am pleased with what I have seen."
Resident Peter Coussoule said he liked the project, but wished more could be done about the loss of 12 parking spaces. Coussoule said he specifically did not like the bump outs.
"I think we lost too much parking and I think we should have went with at least diagonal parking in front of city hall," Coussoule said. "I think if people realized how much they were going to lose they would have made a different decision because with what little business we have on the street it's not good to lose parking."
 The project included safety bumpouts, new lighting, benches and pavers. |
Loring said many of the parking spots had to be removed because of regulations and safety improvements.
"A lot of those were the result of safety improvements to proper offsets to hydrants, to intersection, to driveways," Loring said. "As it was originally marked out on the street it did not conform to any published or traditional standard."
Loring said the design of the street allows for diagonal parking and it is always an option if the town decides to switch.
Selectmen Chairman Arthur "Skip" Harrington said he would like to see diagonal parking in the future and is pleased with how the street looks.
"I am very pleased as a citizen with how quickly it was done and what a great job was done," Harrington said. "I am sure once the temporary lines become permanent in the spring and everything is all finished, I think people will really appreciate it."
Tags: construction, Park Street, streetscape,
