WESTFIELD – The City of Westfield and the Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) held a public forum on “Rethinking Western Ave.” The public was invited to speak on the planned construction, which includes a multi-use bike and pedestrian lane.
City Engineer Mark Cressotti said the construction will run from Laurel Drive to Lloyds Hill then east to Baystate Noble Hospital. The City of Westfield is currently at the 25 percent design submission phase with MassDOT. He said discussion on improving the traffic and pedestrian flow has been ongoing for over a dozen years.
The approval process for the project was accelerated after the state transferred funds originally slated for Westfield State University to the Western Avenue project, which has been fast-tracked by the Commonwealth.
The city and MassDot held previous public meetings on the project. He said the meeting, including Tuesday night’s forum, educates the public on the project’s scope and how it will impact residents. The City of Westfield and MassDOT reached a consensus on design, he said.
The plans are currently under review and Cressotti did not provide a start date for the construction. After an initial review, MassDOT called for more accommodations regarding bike and foot traffic or setting aside a multi-use trail away from vehicles.
He added the multi-use lanes are currently state and federal priorities.
“It encourages that kind of use,” he said.
The lanes were not included in the original submission to MassDOT.
Western Avenue, he said, has a host of problems, including pavement, poor drainage and traffic flow, and two cyclist fatalities in the last five years. The project will concentrate initially on the central portion of Western Avenue, followed by the eastern section two years later.
The city received $2.5 million of federal highway funding for the project. If the city favors the multi-use trail, additional highway funding may be made available, according to Cressotti. He envisions the trail eventually connecting into a trail along the Westfield River.
Tuesday’s meeting was well attended, as were previous forums. “It’s very much an interest for the neighborhood and for the area,” he said. “Hopefully we’ll move forward because we don’t have a lot of time.”
During the public phase of the hearing, George Michael, of 2 Overlook Drive, asked if the project plans included changing the speed limit along the avenue, which currently averages 40 miles per hour.
“A lot of people drive over the speed limit. That is something we should consider,” he said.
He also wants more traffic enforcement along Western Avenue. “It needs to be beefed up there. I’m not talking about harassment or making money by issuing a bunch of tickets. There’s a dearth of enforcement at the present time,” he said.
The current design incorporates traffic-calming measures, said Cressotti. He did agree with Michael that the posted speed limit is “not respected” by drivers. While the design does not reduce the speed limit, the design parameters should have some affect on driving speeds.
Luciano Rabito, a project manager with MassDOT, said altering the speeds on Western Avenue could “open a can of worms.” A new traffic study, he said, could actually call for raising the speeds, creating the opposite desired effect.
Jay Ducharme, of 265 Western Ave., said he likes the present project design with the added bike lanes. He favored keeping the proposed multi-use lane on the road’s north side. He believed a concrete path would wear better over time rather than an asphalt one.
“I think this whole project is treating the symptom rather than attacking the cause. The cause, as most of us realize, is the increased traffic at the university, which is going to continue to increase,” he said.
He asked how the design will address any future increases in traffic? Ducharme said the bulk of traffic to and from the university should be off-loaded onto Route 20.
Cressotti said the project designers will look at whether concrete is an appropriate materiel for the trail. He reiterated that traffic-calming measures have been inserted into the design.
Lynn Bannon, of Mountain View St., said the bike path has not been a “big concern” of residents, but ponding or poor drainage during storms and drivers swerving to avoid potholes are. She asked Cressotti how much of the project’s budget will be set aside to fix road hazards or to resurface the road.
“Is that the same project or are you going to dig up Western Avenue again?” said Bannon. She also asked if the city would be responsible for clearing the new and wider paths?
Cressotti said improving road conditions on Western Avenue will be in concert with the project. Regarding snow removal, he said homeowners must clear a wide enough path for foot traffic. His answer produced groans in the audience.
The City of Westfield, he said, has no current policy concerning the clearing of bike or multi-use paths.
Information on the Western Avenue improvement project is available on the City of Westfield’s website at www.cityofwestfield.org.
