Brought to the City’s attention, it never appeared to be the government’s concern that the folks along Main St., between State St. and the Little River bridge, would be forced to suffer from the consequences of widening Main St. Widening the highway into town cost these homes – and pedestrians – the tree belt separating the speeding traffic from the sidewalk.
Despite the typically narrow (5-6′) widths of most tree belts, they do provide people with both perceived and physical senses of separation from the traffic. The separation is greater when trees are planted and maintained in them. The eliminated and severely diminished tree belts along Main St. have added an easily predictable layer of problems to those living on Main St. Look to see how the Main St. snow, slush, and ice has been dumped on the public walks AND the private front walks to the people’s homes.
The former tree belts were wide enough to absorb much of the plowed snow. Now, the government engineering solutions have left those people with much greater MOUNTAINS of Main Street’s ice and snow than they used to deal with. It was difficult enough to clear the walks of ice and snow before the tree belts were removed.
Since many of the walks have not been cleared, it appears to be impossible for some to chop, lift, shovel, or snow blow, the icy and packed debris. The walks that people have been able to clear look to be about a shovel width or two wide. The Little River bridge sidewalk wasn’t cleared at all! Who is responsible for clearing that public walk?
On Sunday, a woman was trying to walk toward the Westfield Shops along the bridge. She was looked to be struggling atop the ice and snow where the sidewalk surface was supposed to be. With the walk buried deep, the height of the safety railing is less effective.
Government/engineering ‘solutions’ to increase traffic flows often increase problems for others. Imagine K-5 aged kids having to struggle along the mountainous public ice and snow banks on Main St to get to school. Imagine a kid, or an adult, losing their balance and slipping into the Main St. traffic. Imagine living on Main St. and being fined for not clearing an amount of snow and ice from your front walk worth half the width of Main St.! Not a good job for those who are paid to foresee – and respond – to such issues brought to their attention.
Tom Smith
