On April 23, Mayor Knapik hosted his State of the City update for Ward One at the Southampton Road Elementary School. I attended as well as Heather Miller from the Engineering Department and about a dozen residents from the North Side.
Heather Miller started the presentation, which was appropriate as construction projects were very much on everyone’s mind. The number one topic was the Drug Store Hill Bridge, which has a projected opening for the end of this year. In fact, the timely opening has heightened importance as designs are underway for the reconstruction and widening of the intersection of Notre Dame and North Elm Streets, which will require relieving traffic flow through the intersection, ideally with the new bridge at the end of Pochassic and Montgomery.
The next topic was Arch Street and the Massachusetts Turnpike interchange at Exit 3. Most of the road issues on Arch Street devolve from an undersized drainage pipe coming off of North Elm Street which results in frequent back ups and flooding. Arch Street was closed this week while the contractor installed a new larger drainage pipe; repairs to the remainder of the drainage and surface will continue this spring, resulting in the frequent closing of one lane during the day. In the meantime, plans for a double-right hand turn off of the turnpike and a slip ramp near Savage Arms are still on the table, but are subject to state review.
Working northward, residents had questions about traffic and traffic signals along Routes 10 and 202. Mayor Knapik stated that given the amount of money available for construction projects, the city would have to decide which intersections would take precedence over others, and that the installation of a traffic signal would mean delaying intersection improvements at the Pike entrance or further up at North Road. Ideally, everything would be on the table, as both Charlie Medeiros and I had made motions for the installation of a traffic light at either Woodside or Sunset, but with a potential $500,000 price tag and most road money currently committed to other projects, the light would likely be installed after the Pike interchange improvements, which would also allow the state’s five-year cutting ban on the Southampton Road surface to expire.
Finally, there were the inevitable inquiries about the future of the 400 megawatt gas-fired power plant proposed for the industrial park. The news? Due to a current surplus in the New England electricity market, the power plant is economically unfeasible, and unless there is a noticeable increase in electric demand, is likely to remain dormant past the terms of their current permits. Given the dedication with which many North Side residents have challenged every step of the permitting process, one wonders if any power plant developer would show the enthusiasm for initiating the process all over again….
Congratulation to Edward Markey and Gabriel Gomez on their US Senate primary election victories, and a tip of the cap to every voter who took the time to participate in the primary election process last Tuesday.
Christopher Keefe
Westfield City Council
Ward One
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this column are those of the author and not the staff, editor, or publisher of the Westfield News.
