The best use for the old Town Garage site is for relocating the Farmer's Market and possibly permitting food trucks as well as an extension of Linear Park. This use would greatly benefit the Water Street shopping district, both for merchants and the town as a whole. The Select Board should rescind its vote and make this happen.
Think about it.
This would also hold the lot in reserve for potential future uses.
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Williamstown Studying Major Overhaul for Main Street
By Stephen DravisiBerkshires Staff
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.
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.
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The elevated bridge between the Clark Art Institute's main museum and the Manton Research Center is being transformed into new gallery space and storage, and the permanent home of the Aso O. Tavitian collection. click for more
Nearly 90 towns and cities across the commonwealth have voted in favor or replacing the seal, which depicts an arm holding a sword above the head of a Native American. click for more
But participants know that the challenge of riding their bicycles 177 miles from Worcester to Provincetown pales in comparison to the day-to-day challenge faced by cancer survivors.
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