Pittsfield Councilors Request Speed Bumps on Lakeway Drive
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Councilors have requested speed bumps on Lakeway Drive to address safety concerns on the residential street where Taconic High School's track is located.
At last week's City Council meeting, Councilor at Large Kathy Amuso's petition for the speed bumps was referred to the Traffic Commission. It was reported that there are wider city efforts to identify streets that need them.
Ward 7 Councilor Katherine Moody reported that mostly Lenox Avenue and Lakeway Drive have requested speed bumps. Over the past several months, they have worked with the Department of Public Works and the city engineer on it.
"Everything moves at the pace of government, which we all know is very slow," she said.
"So these are in the works. Speed bumps are coming."
There has been a traffic study on Lakeway Drive, which Moody said is probably No.1 on the list. She reported that there is a plan to conduct traffic studies within the city, create a list of streets that qualify for speed bumps, and then prioritize them.
"We are in the process of creating a safe streets and traffic calming toolkit, it's kind of based on the one that they're doing in Salem right now, so there are funds that we have from the Safe Streets for All grant program," she explained.
"And then we will also be using Chapter 90 funds, rather than just installing speed bumps willy nilly in the city, to come up with a proper plan and an implementation plan."
Ward 5 Councilor Patrick Kavey said they will also have the ability to use in-house paving funds, but the city will not spend money on speed bumps unless it has data proving that people are actually speeding. This is why the traffic studies are vital.
The City Council also approved a 10-year tax increment exemption agreement to redevelop the former Catholic high school.
Over the last decade or so, developer David Carver, of Scarafoni Associates & CT Management Group, has been involved with several overhauls of churches, school buildings, and even a firehouse into apartments.
The plan is to convert the shuttered school into a 70 percent residential, 30 percent commercial building with 20 percent of the 19 apartments designated affordable. It is expected to be an 18-month project once begun.
The TIE freezes the current property value base, starting at 100 percent forgiveness in the first year, decreasing by 10 percent annually over the agreement's 10-year period.
The base value of the property is about $322,000, paying about $39,000 in annual taxes. The developer plans to put more than $8 million into the site, bringing its market value to about $2.9 million after completion.
With the TIE, more than $573,000 in taxes will be paid over the ten years, and the owners save about $178,000.
"It's bringing historic high-speed property back to life that's been just sitting there. For the first time in that building's history, it's going to contribute to our tax base, and that's a win," Ward 6 Councilor Dina Lampiasi said.
"And the prospect of bringing childcare to that building almost brings it full circle, that is bringing education and children and families back to that space, and keeping with its original intent in some way."
Tags: speeding, tax incentive,
