WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — On a clear day, from the Mount Greylock Regional School parking lot, you can just make out the scaffolding surrounding the War Memorial at the summit of the school's namesake.
There is no missing the evidence of the two-year construction project under way at the junior-senior high school.
Nevertheless, school officials and local law enforcement were on hand Tuesday morning to greet motorists on the first day of school.
The authorities wanted to make sure that people parking for the day or dropping off students were aware of the slightly altered traffic flow necessitated by the renovation and addition project at Mount Greylock.
Police from both Mount Greylock's member towns were on hand along with state police and a large road work sign, provided by the Berkshire County sheriff's office alerting drivers to the correct route into the parking lot.
School officials directed students being dropped off or upperclassmen leaving their own cars to use a pedestrian walkway cordoned off in front of the school and leading to a new entry at the south end.
Everything went smoothly with both motorists and pedestrians adjusting well to the new arrangement, Mount Greylock Assistant Principal Jacob Schutz said Tuesday.
"It was like a well-oiled machine thanks to our partners in the Massachusetts State Police, Williamstown Police Department, Lanesborough Police Department and sheriff's department," Schutz said. "No incidents ... very smooth."
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Williamstown Select Board Inks MOU on Mountain Bike Trail
By Stephen DravisiBerkshires Staff
WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — A planned mountain bike trail cleared a hurdle last week when the Select Board OK'd a memorandum of understanding with the New England Mountain Bike Association.
NEMBA Purple Valley Chapter representative Bill MacEwen was back before the board on April 22 to ask for its signoff to allow the club to continue developing a planned 20- to 40-mile network on the west side of town and into New York State.
That ambitious plan is still years down the road, MacEwen told the board.
"The first step is what we call the proof of concept," he said. "That is a very small loop. It might technically be a two-loop trail. It's a proof of concept for a couple of reasons. One is so we can start very, very small and learn about everything from soil condition to what it's like to organize our group of volunteers. And, then, importantly, it allows the community to have a mountain bike trail in Williamstown very quickly.
"The design for this trail has been completed. We have already submitted this initial design to [Williams College] and the town as well, I believe. It's very, very small and very basic. That's what we consider Phase 0. From there, the grant we were awarded from the International Mountain Bike Association is really where we will develop our network plan."
MacEwen characterized the plan as incremental. According to a timeline NEMBA showed the board, it hopes to do the "proof of concept" trail in spring 2025 and hopes to open phase one of the network by the following fall.
Williams and the Town of Williamstown are two of the landowners that NEMBA plans to work with on building the trail. The list also includes Williamstown Rural Lands Foundation, the Berkshire Natural Resource Council and the State of New York.
The Charter Review Committee on Wednesday voted unanimously to endorse an amended version of the compliance provision it drafted to be added to the Town Charter. click for more
Developer David Traggorth asked the trustees to make the contribution from its coffers to help unlock an additional $5.4 million in state funds for the planned 54-unit apartment building at the south end of the Cable Mills site.
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The donors, who wish to remain anonymous, say the gift reflects their desire to not only support Williams but also President Maud S. Mandel's strategic vision and plan for the college.
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Neighbors of a proposed subdivision off Summer Street last week asked the Planning Board to take a critical look at the project, which the residents say is out of scale to the neighborhood. click for more