The Select Board has set a date of Tuesday, Dec. 3, to vote on a plan to upgrade existing sidewalks and crosswalks in the town center, add a new sidewalk along Still River Road in front of the Congregational Church and General Store, and redesign the store parking lot. The plan would be paid for by a grant awarded to Harvard in 2018 by the state’s Complete Streets program, which promotes vehicular and pedestrian safety.
At its Nov. 19 meeting, the board agreed to schedule the vote after asking Assistant Town Administrator Marie Sobalvarro to arrange for a partial mockup—using tape and fluorescent paint—to be installed in front of the General Store. Board members also spoke approvingly of a tweak to the traffic pattern for the exit in front of CK Bikes. Instead of allowing both left- and right-hand turns, the exit would allow right turns only; to accommodate northbound traffic onto Mass. Ave. the “No Left Turn” sign at the end of Park Street would be removed. Sobalvarro assured the board that changes in traffic patterns in and out of the parking lot could be allowed under conditions of the grant; it would be changes to the sidewalk plan, she said, that would void it.
At public comment time, several opponents spoke up, all criticizing the process and asking for a do-over. Former Parks and Recreation member Bob O’Shea gave the board a schematic design of the sidewalks he’d prefer to see and reacted to town counsel’s recent conclusion that the Select Board is responsible for determining the plan’s fate. Decrying what he called the board’s and town administrator’s lack of respect for Parks and Rec, O’Shea said he had asked the board for a determination of jurisdiction in 2018, but received no response. Meanwhile, Parks and Rec had continued to design a patio on land between the General Store and Congregational Church—land it believed was in its control. (See story on page 1.) Parks and Rec had even negotiated in good faith to sacrifice 4 feet of the patio it wanted to build in order to avoid cramped diagonal spaces in the parking lot, O’Shea said. After acceding to town counsel’s decision that the Select Board controls the land, O’Shea surrendered stacks of paperwork related to the project, and with a thud, deposited a patio stone on the meeting table.
General Store owner Scott Hayward read a statement alleging that the town administration has “led a systematic campaign to disenfranchise the Historical Commission and Parks and Recreation, the keepers of the Common,” calling the effort “unconscionable.” He gave the board a photo showing a so-called truck apron, which he said was similar to the one proposed for the intersection across from the store and, he said, was more appropriate for an “industrial area.” Proponents of the project have previously said the apron is a safety improvement that will prevent cars from stopping two-abreast and will shorten the crosswalk, while accommodating turning 18-wheelers.
Select Board member Stu Sklar said he had sympathy for those who “don’t like” the plan, but disputed claims that all the planning was done “behind closed doors.” Sklar said the plan was four years in the making, and that along the way, the town boards involved had held public meetings. Parents with young kids who “don’t have time” to attend evening meetings have approached him, he said, to endorse the sidewalks.
