Juniper bushes that were removed near the junction of Lawrence Hall Drive on the Williams College campus and Main Street will be replaced by plants to be determined.
WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — A busy summer construction season around town got a little busier this week with the advancement of two unrelated projects near the Williams College Museum of Art.
Both the entrance and exit to Lawrence Hall Drive are seeing some changes in the coming weeks.
Earlier this summer, the college removed several large juniper bushes near the east side of Lawrence Hall Drive (the exit onto Main Street) as part of a larger project to make the area more safe for pedestrians.
"The College is replacing broken and deteriorating sections of sidewalk that are a safety issue," Williams Horticulture and Grounds Manager Tim Roberts wrote in an email responding to an inquiry about the work. "The old junipers have been damaged over time and constantly need to be pruned back off the sidewalk.
"I will be replacing the junipers with a plant to be determined later. The walkway will be widened three feet using a crushed stone material to accommodate large trucks that use this entry."
Roberts said the existing junipers in the Town Green needed to be removed to allow for the sidewalk widening.
He said, depending on weather, that the project should take about two weeks.
This week, a different construction projection got under way on the other end of the Lawrence Hall Drive loop.
The college is rebuilding and expanding the existing BRTA bus stop at the site to also accommodate Peter Pan buses, which are set to change their route from the historical drop-off/pickup site in front of the former site of the Williams Inn on the Field Park rotary.
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Williamstown Board of Health Looks to Regulate Nitrous Oxide Sales
By Stephen DravisiBerkshires Staff
WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — The Board of Health last week agreed to look into drafting a local ordinance that would regulate the sale of nitrous oxide.
Resident Danielle Luchi raised the issue, telling the board she recently learned a local retailer was selling large containers of the compound, which has legitimate medical and culinary uses but also is used as a recreational drug.
The nitrous oxide (N2O) canisters are widely marketed as "whippets," a reference to the compound's use in creating whipped cream. Also called "laughing gas" for its medical use for pain relief and sedation, N2O is also used recreationally — and illegally — to achieve feelings of euphoria and relaxation, sometimes with tragic consequences.
A study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association earlier this year found that, "from 2010 to 2023, there was a total of 1,240 deaths attributable to nitrous oxide poisoning among people aged 15 to 74 years in the U.S."
"Nitrous oxide is a drug," Luchi told the board at its Tuesday morning meeting. "Kids are getting high from it. They're dying in their cars."
To combat the issue, the city of Northampton passed an ordinance that went into effect in June of this year.
"Under the new policy … the sale of [nitrous oxide] is prohibited in all retail establishments in Northampton, with the exception of licensed kitchen supply stores and medical supply stores," according to Northampton's website. "The regulation also limits sales to individuals 21 years of age and older and requires businesses to verify age using a valid government-issued photo ID."
The urgent care center will occupies a suite of rooms off the right side of the entry, with two treatment rooms, offices, amenities and X-ray room.
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The group planning a new skate park for a town-owned site on Stetson Road hopes to get construction underway in the spring — if it can raise a little more than $500,000 needed to reach its goal. click for more
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