By Beth David, Editor
The Fairhaven Select Board reviewed two proposals at its meeting on 7/17/23: the Benoit Square proposed road changes, and the bridge on Goulart Memorial Drive/Causeway Road.
Bill Travers, MassDOT District Operations Engineer for District 5, and Sam Hawkins, Sr. Engineer in the district traffic section presented to the board, with the most significant update being that the proposed changes using painted lines and pylons are a temporary measure.
Mr. Travers said it was a “short term measure,” and would be used during a trial period. If it works, then the painted lines and other measures would be changed to “hardscape.”
Benoit Square is a triangular shaped island along one block of Howland Road between Main and Adams Streets, making a point where Main and Adams merge on the north side and become Main Street.
The result is a crazy merge point with a very wide four-lane crossing area where it is unclear who has the right of way. To complicate matters, Adams Street is a state road, and Main Street is a town road up until it merges with Adams.
There are traffic lights at both the intersections of Adams and Howland, and Main and Howland. The Main Street intersection is the spot that gets backed up on the north side when the Fairhaven-New Bedford swing bridge is closed to vehicles and they are rerouted.
Mr. Travers said the proposal does not address the traffic signals, because that is more of a long term concern when the bridge is replaced.
Mr. Hawkins said the concept is to increase safety for “vulnerable users.”
There are many conflict points, he said, and although they cannot be eliminated, they can be moved.
The plan is to create a painted white island on the north side of the square to create a “refuge” for pedestrians as they try to cross the 60 feet of roadway.
Main Street would have the right of way because a SRPEDD (Southeast Regional Planning and Economic Development District) traffic study showed it has more traffic than Adams.
The plan is to create a curvature along Adams Street to force people to slow down and have to make a hard right turn instead of the merger. It would shorten the crosswalk and have minimal impact on on-street parking, although it does take away a few spots in front of the old Oxford School. The school is now a residence for 55+ people with 50+ apartments.
Mr. Hawkins said the concept can be put into place quickly. He said the paint on the road would in the future become “hardscape elements.”
The design also provides an opportunity for a small “pocket park,” where some green space and a bench or two could be added in front of the Oxford Residences.
MassDOT also looked at the possibility of making both streets one ways, essentially creating a rotary, but decided against it.
SB member Charles Murphy said the concern of residents is that the “pylons will be there forever.”
“We don’t want them there forever, either,” said Mr. Travers.
Lt. David Sobral, Safety Officer for the police department said he was concerned about vehicles exiting the residences and trying to cross all four lanes of traffic to take a side street to avoid the lights.
Mr. Hawkins said they took that into consideration, which is why they added the stop sign.
Resident Will Gardner said he wanted them to go a little further and prioritize a design that will make Benoit Square a real hub that people will want to go to. There are businesses there, and more coming, residents, and lots of traffic.
He said he hoped they would look “beyond not just killing us,” but also making it business friendly, pedestrian friendly, and kid friendly.
John Medeiros of the North Fairhaven Improvement Association said they needed to find a way to let people know there are 30 public parking spaces behind the Oxford residence. He also suggested signs to stop people from parking too close to the corners, as the side streets are narrow.
Ann Richard suggested they limit parking on Main Street because of how congested it is. Mr. Hawkins said they were trying to maintain as much street parking as possible.
Ms. Richard said they needed to think about safety for everyone. Not everyone has a car.
“We want them to feel safe walking and riding a bike, not just cars,” she said.
Mr. Travers said he was looking for a “some concurrence from the town’ to move forward.
The board voted unanimously, 4-0 to support the concept. Ms. Powers was not at the meeting.
The board also heard from engineers from Tighe & Bond for fixing or replacing the bridge on Goulart Memorial Drive, the causeway to West Island.
Public Works Superintendent Vinnie Furtado told the board that the state inspects the bridges every two years. The causeway bridge is still structurally sound, he said, but every two years “it’s a little bit worse than the time before.”
He said he wanted to use Chapter 90 money to fix what was there, but learned that he would not get the permitting from the state without making it higher due to sea level rise.
Eric Ohanian from Tighe & Bond said the existing causeway was built in 1970 on abutments from 1920. So the abutments are 100 years old and the beams are 50 years old. The bridge has been rated as a 5, with closure occurring at a 3.
The concept, that was resisted by several residents is a raised roadway up about 10 feet higher than the current causeway. It would also be wider and include bike and pedestrian lanes.
The concept drawings do not include the “approaches,” which is where the elevated roadway comes down to meet the reast of the road. The plan also includes keeping most of the existing causeway in place because it protects the marina, and can provide a recreation area.
Resident David Hickox asked about simply building up on the existing structure, but Brian Brenner, a bridge professor at Tufts who works with T&B, said the existing structure cannot sustain it. It is “sitting on sand right now,” he said and will probably sink.
Resident Ginny Slater said she hoped to see some different “sight lines.” She said the aerial views were nice, but “since I live on the ground, I’d like to see what it looks like.”
She said she would like to see how it will look like for homeowners, beach users, and people at the approaches.
She said West Island is a different kind of community. It’s beautiful, a really nice place, and has a certain look and feel.
“That needs to be considered also,” she said.
“We don’t want a monstrosity,” said resident Dan Wood.
People on West Island want a “minimum amount of changes.”
He said they do not want something that will encourage speeding; the want “serene, peaceful.”
Mr. Furtado said that nothing was happening anytime soon, but they had to get started.
The current state is a 5, he said, but “We’re gonna be knocking on three’s door not too long from now.”
Mr. Furtado said he would have been happy to keep it the same height, but that is not possibile.
“I want to make it the lowest higher I can,” said Mr. Furtado.
In another matter, the board briefly discussed the government meeting recording policy, at the request of Mr. Espindola, who handed out a copy of the bylaw that was passed by Town Meeting requiring all town meetings to be recorded and# available online.
Mr. Espindola said he felt the original intent of the bylaw was to provide “openness and transparency to every board meeting.”
The bylaw does allow for exceptions for operational conditions. He said that means if there is not enough staffing or other logistical concern, not that they are “just deciding” it’s an operational condition.
Mr. Espindola said if a meeting is not going to be recorded, it should be noted on the agenda or meeting notice because people are expect the meeting to be recorded. So they should be alerted if it is not.
The reason the issue came up is that the Select Board held a “retreat,” with a quorum present. He said last year the retread was more “interpersonal,” but this year they talked about goals. He said that is the kind of thing that the community should have access to so they can view it later.
Town Administrator Angie Lopes Ellison said they should have the discussion at a meeting when Ms. Powers is present, and SB chairperson Leon Correy agreed.
Under board member items, Mr. Espindola reiterated his concern that some items on the agenda have been in the wrong categories. Anything that might require a vote should be an action item, he said. As an example, he noted that the Benoit Square presentation was under the TA report, yet the board voted on it
Ms. Ellison said it was intended as a discussion, and not a vote.
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