Williamstown Board of Health: Face Coverings 'A Personal Decision'

By Stephen DravisiBerkshires Staff
04:57PM / Monday, March 14, 2022Print Story | Email Story

WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — The Board of Health on Monday decided to change its messaging on the use of face coverings in public indoor spaces in response to improving metrics on the spread of COVID-19 in the community.

The board, which never took the step of mandating face masks in town, authorized the health inspector to inform businesses that the board is no longer recommending that otherwise healthy individuals wear face coverings.

"Although the Board of Health has never had a masking mandate, at its March 14 meeting it stated that masking is a personal decision," Jeff Kennedy wrote in a message to local food and lodging establishments. "It is up to each establishment to have its own masking standards (if any), but should not discourage persons who want to wear a mask.

"The incidence of COVID is greatly diminished in Williamstown (and the Berkshires) and there is a high vaccination rate."

Board of Health Chair Ruth Harrison said the panel will continue to closely monitor the numbers for COVID-19 in town, but it is encouraged by the way the community has managed to keep transmission rates down.

"There are certain people who need to wear masks ... high risk people," Harrison said. "And there are still some health care facilities – we’d certainly back those having people wear masks."

And even in the general population, the board recognizes that there are people who might want to choose to take the extra precaution of wearing a face covering in public, Harrison said.

"It wouldn't be an individual thing going into that business," she said. "And people who choose to wear a mask shouldn’t be singled out. … We would hope that people wouldn't be criticized for wearing a mask. They should have that right."

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control does recommend using a face covering indoors if you are not vaccinated or have a compromised immune system. Most communities and school district have lifted masking advisories and mandates by this week.

There were 46 positive cases countywide of the novel coronavirus reported over the weekend; Williamstown reported only 15 cases and a 14-day positivity rate of 0.43 percent for the two weeks ending March 5.

Tags: COVID-19, masks,

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Williamstown Studying Major Overhaul for Main Street

By Stephen DravisiBerkshires Staff
05:14AM / Wednesday, July 29, 2026

WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — The town is working with a Worcester civil engineering firm to redesign Main Street with an eye toward a major project sometime in the next decade.

Community Development Director Andrew Groff was before the Select Board on Monday night to talk about Town Hall's use of a $500,000 state grant to do preliminary design on major improvements to that portion of Route 2 that runs from Water Street west to the Field Park rotary, through the middle of Williams College's campus.

Groff introduced the elected officials to Amanda Bazinet of Worcester's Vanasse Hangen Brustlin, who is helping the town to develop a plan for Main Street that would align with the commonwealth's Complete Streets Program.

"Our project goals, in addition to the increased pedestrian and bicycle accommodations, is just, in general, improving the sightlines and improving the intersection geometry," Bazinet said.

"Complete Streets … has a lot of different facets to it. As Andrew had mentioned, the goal is to improve the safety for all of the roadway users — not just the motorists. We're looking at improving it for pedestrians, bicyclists, anyone using a mobility device. We want to create streets that are safe for all ages and abilities to use. So, while bicyclists will still be allowed, legally, to use the roadway, we want to look at providing a separate bicycle accommodation along the corridor, whether it's a shared use path along both sides of the streets that is a little more accessible to young children or older people with disabilities to look at all transportation options."

One goal is to encourage "active transportation." The Massachusetts Department of Transportation, who the town hopes one day might fund the construction, has a "healthy transportation policy," Bazinet said.

That MassDOT funding would come through the Transportation Improvement Program, which is managed locally by the Berkshire Regional Planning Commission. The design work underway now is being done with an eye toward going after TIP funding years down the road.

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