Solutions Sought for Traffic Woes Along Routes 7 & 20

By Nichole Dupont Special to iBerkshires
03:48PM / Wednesday, March 24, 2010Print Story | Email Story

Photo by Nichole Dupont

Matthew Chase of Vanasse Hangen Brustlin said public input is being sought on ways to make Routes 7 and 20 safer.

LENOX, Mass. — Some two dozen citizens, business owners and Planning Board members gathered early Wednesday morning to express their concerns over the dangerous traffic along a section of Route 7 that's seen 116 accidents over the past three years.

The meeting at the Hampton Suites was one of at least three to which the public is being invited to voice their concerns and suggestions regarding the busy stretch of four-lane road between New Lenox Road and Dan Fox Drive in neighboring Pittsfield. Matthew Chase, project manager for Vanasse Hangen Brustlin Inc., the Worcester-based company hired to handle the access management plan for the corridor, led the meeting.

"We are using this as a fact-finding mission," he said. "For the last 20 years, there has been some time spent on this issue and it has been 10 years since the last roadway project. We want something new this time."

Chase and a team of VHB surveyors are looking for that "something new." They have already conducted several observations of the Routes 7 and 20 corridor and Chase said they are 70 percent finished with the evaluation process. This process includes meeting six goals that Chase, his team and many members of the Berkshire Regional Planning Commission and state Department of Transportation have determined are critical to improving conditions along the corridor for business owners, commuters, pedestrians and residents.

Among the goals are land-use assessment, operational characteristics, future development projections and, what Chase described as the "biggest piece," getting the public involved.

"We want to engage you and hear from you," he said. "We want to make sure that we capture everything and hear your concerns."

He wasn't disappointed because many concerns were voiced, with Andrew Meisberger, owner of a Different Drummer's Kitchen, being the first to speak up.

Speed and accidents were cited on the high-traffic corridor
View Larger Map

"The speed on this road is supposed to be 40 miles per hour, but people are going 50 or 60," he said. "This road is a joke. It's turned into an interstate highway and it's not supposed to be. People can't even stop to turn into our business because they're afraid they're going to get rear-ended."

Speed was among one of the major worries for the corridor which sees an average of 24,000 travelers each day. Peter Niles, District One director for MassHighway, said it "takes an act of God" to pull out of West Mountain Road in order to head north.

"It takes at least seven minutes to get out of there. Sometimes you just have to take a chance," he said.

Chase hopes that taking a chance won't be an option as his firm, the BRPC and MassDOT work together to combat the challenges the corridor presents, among them being the prevention of accidents and fatalities. Some solutions that arose at the meeting were to place center medians between lanes, create lighted crosswalks for pedestrians, the construction of jug handles, interconnecting land parcels so that drivers would not have to re-enter the corridor to go from one business to the next and, of course, police enforcement of the speed limits along that stretch.

"There's no problem moving through this corridor," Meisberger said. "It's not about movement, it's about safety."

iBerkshires.com Text Ads

Summer Sizzle!

0% APR for new card holders. Apply today at Greylock! Subject to credit approval. Insured by NCUA.

www.greylock.org

RIBCO Supply

Check out our great lineup of Boss Plows, and spreaders. 2 Locations Clarksburg & Pittsfield!

ribcosupply.com

rk MILES Blding Materials

Are You Ready to Update Your Home? Start With rk MILES. 4 Locations (800)670-7433

www.rkmiles.com

If you would like to contribute information on this article, contact us at info@iberkshires.com.

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.

Many years ago when my jisband and I were first married (1971) we lived just "up the hill" a bit from this intersection area. It was problematic then, for cars trying to enter/exit any of the businesses along that stretch of road. The rerouting done to Holmes Rd was of no benefit, indeed it seemed to add to the problem of more traffic in an already difficult traffic area, Then they had the "brilliant idea of putting in a traffic light at the RT.7/20 and Holmes Rd. intersection and we got to watch and listen to the vehicle accidents, esp. in the winter, as cars slid along down the hill heading North, trying to "allow" for the possibilityof a red light at the bottom of the hill. those were the ones familial with the road and knew about the traffic light. for those unfamiliar with the route, all bets were off! Can't tell you how many times we spent sleep hours listening to the crunch of auto metal connection with auto meyal or tractor trailers stomping and squeeling brakes hoping against hope to avoid an accident. I certainly do hope that highway constuction "experts" listen carefully to those most frequently affected by design changes for this stretch of the road: those who live and work in this area of concern. It might also help to explore options available to get drivers to adhere to the posted(?) speed limit. We know people will try to get by with exceeding the speed limit, and if there is little to no enforcement of that motor vehicle law, then nothing done to "fix" the road will make much difference. Believe me we know all about speeding vehicles as we currently reside in Naples, FL. and while Florida is often jokingly referred to as God's waiting room, it would seem that many living down here are in a BIG hurry to get to Heaven via their car. Good luck! Shari Shogry: sharays@centurylink.net
from: Shari Shogry	on: 03-27-2010 12:00AM I Agree (0) - I Disagree (0)

A Boutique Hotel is Bringing Guests a Luxury Stay in Lenox

By Breanna SteeleiBerkshires Staff
04:19AM / Tuesday, June 02, 2026

LENOX, Mass. — A new Inn is bringing a boutique-style stay for visitors and locals to enjoy.

Owners, Sullivan Capital LLC, purchased the property, located on 135 Main Street, in 2024. After a year or renovations, Garden Gables Inn is open for business.

"Garden Gables started off as one of the many Berkshire cottages, 1790 was the date on that, and it's always operated as an inn," said Hospitality Manager Yvonne Walton. "It's just a great gathering place and relaxation spot for people to come and get the feel of Lenox, and just slow down and enjoy the nature and the surrounding area...get culture and art and see some great concerts. I think it'll be a wonderful place, definitely does more of the upper-scale hospitality."

Owners Niko Giallouis and Eric Sullivan bought the property from the former owner. Sullivan had his eye on Lenox since attending a wedding almost 10 years ago.

"I came to a wedding in Lenox, probably six or seven years ago. Personally, just kind of fell in love with the area, and I guess that's kind of how it got on my radar. So you know from that perspective, as we got into the hotel business out towards an area, it was a place I was kind of monitoring and waiting for the right property to show up."

After purchasing the two underwent a full renovation, a project that cost around $1.5 million. The building, first built in 1780, required some TLC. Sullivan's wife, Jessica, who owns Jessica Sullivan Design, designed the inn.

Sullivan said they installed a new roof, repainted everything, renovated the bathrooms, installed new floors, a new HVAC system, and new plumbing.

"We really touched everything from the outside...I mean, all the aesthetics and layouts changed a bit," he said. "As I said, put about a million and a half into it. All new furniture, fixtures, everything. The design's completely different. It wasn't a full gut, but it was a heavy, heavy renovation."

The two like to collaborate with local businesses, and they make a point to direct visitors to local restaurants, businesses, and attractions.

"If guests are asking for recommendations, our customer service team, our guest services team, will relay that kind of information. Even if we can call and make a reservation for somebody, happy to do it," he said. "We aren't doing breakfast, but what we do is we have partnerships with a lot of the breakfast places downtown. We actually purchase a gift certificates for each person each day, so that they can use that to go downtown."

Sullivan hopes that guests don't see their inn as just a place to sleep and dump their bags, but make it an experience for anyone who stays.

"We really focus on kind of the experience side of things, so again, we want to give you the best experience you can have here...and we want that not just to be the place you put your bag and go do things. It's important to think of everything," he said.

Sullivan said partnerships are important to their business and are a way to connect with locals.

"The local partnerships, I can't stress that enough, because no matter how much and how great the room is, people are still going to want to go do other things," he said. "So, I think it just benefits everybody if we're all working together and so forth, and supporting the community, being neighborly too, because we are surrounded by residential homes...But we really try to put a lot of blood, sweat, and tears, a lot of love into the building, all the details, really care about the senses," Sullivan said.

The Inn's check-in and reservations are completely online. When guests arrive, all they have to do is check in online and receive their code that they will use to enter their room. Sullivan hopes this helps create less stress for guests and gets them to their room as fast as possible, especially after a long trip.

View Full Story