Southwick Department of Public Works Director Randy Brown, standing left, addresses audience members who attended an informational public hearing on the Congamond Road Reconstruction Project Wednesday evening at the Southwick Town Hall. (Photo by Frederick Gore)
SOUTHWICK – Residents of the Congamond Road neighborhood gathered at Town Hall Wednesday night and the majority spoke out against the addition of sidewalks to a proposed road project.
A representative from the Massachusetts Department of Transportation, Tighe and Bond Vice President David Loring, and Department of Public Works Director Randy Brown made a short presentation on the state project and fielded questions from the audience.
The scope of the project includes widening Congamond Road from College Highway to the Connecticut border to 32 feet.
“Right now, it comes to about 26 feet,” said Brown.
Other work includes improving a curve, adding a dry sewer line, improving the storm drain system, and shaving a hill to create a better sight line.
The focus of the meeting was to let residents weigh-in on the inclusion of sidewalks, which are set to run the length of Congamond Road on the south side of the street only.
Loring said the sidewalks would be five-feet wide and have a grass buffer of more than four feet to the street.
“We don’t need any land takings for the sidewalks, but we’re looking for a little bit of land easements,” Loring said.
MassDOT requires the sidewalk in order to approve and fund it.
A resident asked if sidewalks were necessary for the entire length of the road. Brown said they were, and that a request for an exception was already made to have south-side sidewalks only rather than sidewalks on both sides of the street, which is what MassDOT normally requires.
“If we don’t meet the MassDOT policy or have an approved exception, MassDOT will not fund the project,” said Brown.
He projected the proposal would be 80-percent federaly funded and 20-percent state funded.
An audience member asked if the project could proceed without sidewalks and without state money. Brown said any road project must be MassDOT-approved despite the funding source.
Several residents asked who would be responsible for keeping sidewalks clear of snow. Town bylaws require residents to clear snow and ice on sidewalks along their property lines within 24 hours of a storm. Failure to do so could result in fines. Some residents complained that imposing fees on people who are unable to clear their sidewalks was not fair.
Southwick Police Safety Officer Sgt. Kirk Sanders spoke during the meeting and assured residents that the sidewalks are a safety measure. He said many people come down Congamond Road on bikes and foot from the rail trail and create traffic and safety concerns.
‘The shoulders are very narrow – they have to widen them,” said Sanders. ‘This is a safety issue.”
A resident asked if there was a way to petition MassDOT to remove the sidewalk requirement and was told he could contact MassDOT directly.
