If Stanley Hildreth had chosen to build his house just a little farther from the center of town more than 100 years ago, site plan approval for the Hildreth House renovation might have been easier to come by. Instead, the “free-for-all” traffic area shared by the fire station, Town Hall, and the Hildreth House driveway became the subject of an extended debate at the last two Planning Board meetings. While the board approved most of the Hildreth House project site plan at its April 25 meeting, traffic flow to and from the property remains an open issue. Requests for bids for the project went out on May 4 as planned, with the understanding that changes to the site plan may be necessary pending the outcome of future traffic flow discussions.
At issue is the traffic from Elm Street that crosses in front of the fire station to get to the Hildreth House driveway, and traffic coming from Hildreth House to the Town Hall exit onto Ayer Road. There are no lane markings or signage to direct drivers through that area. Currently, the portion of the Hildreth House driveway behind Town Hall is closed, but when it opens in a few weeks, it will add even more traffic to the already confusing intersection.
Curbing and crossovers
Engineer Cal Goldsmith of Goldsmith, Prest & Ringwall Inc. initially drew up a site plan that included drainage design, widening of the driveway, and additional parking spaces. It also included the installation of curbing next to the portion of the Hildreth House driveway that borders the fire station driveway, as well as a marked crossover with stop signs near the town vault to allow access to and from the Hildreth House driveway.
At its April 25 meeting, the Planning Board accepted most of the plan, but identified two existing parking spaces behind Town Hall that will need to be removed to allow for widening the driveway. The board also discussed traffic flow in front of the fire station as a possible problem, and it made its acceptance of the site plan contingent on the approval of Fire Chief Rick Sicard. But, according to Town Planner Bill Scanlan, Sicard was not happy with the plan. Because of the limited availability of parking around the fire station, Sicard proposed a parking “lane” for Fire Department personnel instead of curbing next to the Hildreth House driveway.
Traffic discussions to be continued
Scanlan modified the plan to include that parking lane. After reviewing the modified plan at its May 2 meeting, the Planning Board expressed further concern with traffic flow. Chairwoman Kara Minar said that if the town decides to build senior housing next to Hildreth House, this traffic plan would not support the residents of the new development. She wants all of the parties involved—the fire chief, the town administrator, the town planner, and representatives from the Council on Aging, the Board of Selectmen, the Hildreth House Construction Committee, and the Planning Board—to meet and come up with a better traffic plan. She also wants that group to use information from the recent Montachusett Regional Planning Commission traffic study and the recommendations of the Town Center Transportation Committee in reaching a decision.
Minar said that she didn’t want to hold up the bidding process for the Hildreth House project, so the bid package that went out on May 4 contained the site plan that was presented at the May 2 meeting. Scanlan said that if future traffic flow discussions result in any changes to the site plan, change orders would have to be issued when the project gets underway.
