LANESBOROUGH, Mass. — After a busy season with parking challenges, the Mount Greylock Advisory Council will explore alternative ways to get people to the summit.
Becky Barnes of the state Department of Conservation and Recreation told the council Thursday that this summer and fall were busy on the summit of Mount Greylock and they often had to close the road once the parking lot was at capacity.
"We really need to explore other ways to reach the summit for our visitors especially on these high visitation days," Barnes said. "There has to be some other way to get visitors to the summit ... we have to do some outside of the box thinking."
Barnes said specifically on Columbus Day weekend the summit was so busy that staff could only let a car in once one left. She said cars were parking improperly and creating safety concerns.
Expanding the parking lot is not an option because there are so many endangered species on the summit. She felt the most viable solution would be to implement some sort of shuttle service that could drive people up and down the mountain.
Barnes added that there would still be issues to work out, and people would still have to park at the base of the mountain where there also is limited parking. Also, she said it is hard to drive larger vehicles up the summit road.
There is no funding for this, and it was unlikely that the state would fund a shuttle service.
The council felt that if the state plans to continue to advertise the mountain to visitors it needs to step up and provide resources for traffic management.
Councilors also suggested somehow allowing people to reserve spaces on the mountain to limit congestion.
Superintendent Travis Clairmont suggested that charging at the base of the mountain instead of the summit could discourage and limit traffic.
"Instead we had them drive all the way up the mountain, congest traffic, and then we get no money from them when we kick them off the mountain," he said.
Chairman Cosmo Catalano asked that the council continue to brainstorm and have some sort of solution in place before the return of the summer season.
Clairmont said staff has been extra busy on the mountain during the pandemic cleaning up trash and maintaining trails.
"Obviously it has been really different here than years past with having not everything open and ... just about every day is a weekend day," he said. "We have had a ridiculous level of visitation."
Barnes added that the trails have been also used a lot and some trail braiding, or new lines along a trail, has occurred as people try to socially distance during hikes.
"We think it is when people try to avoid each other on the trails," Barnes said. "There are almost three trails moving down the Thunderbolt and I am pretty sure it is people stepping off the trail because of the COVID situation."
She added there have also been quite a few lost hikers this season. She attributed this to the closure of the visitors' center during the summer.
"They were unable to get that information they really need to start their trip off," she said.
Clairmont said the last day the summit road will likely be open is Halloween, on Saturday, Oct. 31. He said personally he would like to close it even earlier. Typically the mountain closes Nov. 1.
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This is a great business opportunity for someone (an auto dealer?) to run 2 vans up and down each side of the mountain. Sell tickets in the parking lots. Hikers could also purchase a one way ticket in the bottom lots for a ride down the summit. The vans would have to be new, safe with heavy duty brakes and appropriate gearing with plenty of seats. Perhaps a van manufacturer would be interested as a showcase for their product, leading to future sales. Put it out to bid, not to pay but to provide and meet all the State's requirements. State would then provide licenses to operate the service.
ADAMS, Mass. — The Finance Committee and Board of Selectmen reviewed the public services, Hoosac Valley Regional School District and McCann Technical School budgets on Tuesday.
The workshop at the Adams Free Library was the third of four joint sessions to review the proposed $19 million fiscal 2025 budget. The first workshop covered general government, executive, finance and technology budgets; the second public works, community development and the Greylock Glen.
The Council on Aging and library budgets have increases for wages, equipment, postage and software. The Memorial Day budget is level-funded at $1,450 for flags and for additional expenses the American Legion might have; it had been used to hire bagpipers who are no longer available.
The COA's budget is up 6.76 percent at $241,166. This covers three full-time positions including the director and five regular per diem van drivers and three backup drivers. Savoy also contracts with the town at a cost of $10,000 a year based on the number of residents using its services.
Director Sarah Fontaine said the governor's budget has increased the amount of funding through the Executive Office of Elder Affairs from $12 to $14 per resident age 60 or older.
"So for Adams, based on the 2020 Census data, says we have 2,442 people 60 and older in town," she said. "So that translates to $34,188 from the state to help manage Council on Aging programs and services."
The COA hired a part-time meal site coordinator using the state funds because it was getting difficult to manage the weekday lunches for several dozen attendees, said Fontaine. "And then as we need program supplies or to pay for certain services, we tap into this grant."
Desroches graduated from the Police Academy on March 22 in the top tier in his class. He's currently in the field training program and assigned to Sgt. Curtis Crane.
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Michael Wynn, who was selected in January to run the center, submitted a level operating budget of $57,500 but said he could pull funding from different lines to ensure there was money for advertising this fall.
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The Selectmen on Wednesday night voted to award the bid to Mackin Construction Co. Inc. of Greenfield, which plans to invest $11 million to build out 20 or more one- and two-bedroom apartments in the three-story classroom wing that parallels Columbia Street.
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The Selectmen two weeks ago had requested the utility appear before the board after receiving numerous complaints over flickering lights, including in Town Hall.
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Taylor Garabedian scored a team-high 22 points and grabbed five rebounds, and Abby Scialabba scored 16 points for the ‘Canes, who got 16 points, nine rebounds and four assists from Ashlyn Lesure. click for more