I couldn’t attend the public meeting about the Main Street reconstruction project on Wednesday night, but about 15 residents turned up to voice their opinions.
Planning on the project hit a snag recently when the state rejected Southborough’s preliminary plans citing safety concerns. You can read the full details from the DPW, but the issue seems to be around how to accommodate parking along the portion of Main Street near the town common without taking property from residents and without moving the stone wall along the common. The town came up with a plan, but MassHighway didn’t like it.
Parking was a big topic of conversation at last night’s meeting according to the write-up in the Metrowest Daily News. Some want more, while others want to preserve the street’s residential character. Aesthetics and traffic were other issues discussed.
The state-funded reconstruction effort extends from Sears Road through Park Street. The town is also considering a second phase of the project to tackle Park Street through Boston Road.
The town needs to resubmit plans to the state before they can move forward with the project. At a public hearing on Monday about the separate but related effort to bury the utility lines along Main Street, DPW head Karen Galligan said they will resubmit in the fall. The earliest construction would begin is 2011.
More public meetings are planned to discuss design options before plans are resubmitted to the state. As always, you’ll hear about them here.
