Published in the February 18, 2020 edition.
By MARK SARDELLA
WAKEFIELD — A couple dozen local residents attended last week’s Envision Wakefield session where town officials and representatives from VHB provided updates on the planned downtown revitalization and infrastructure upgrade.
At Town Meeting in November 2018, residents voted to conduct a design study for the town’s downtown revitalization project. Town officials enlisted VHB, a civil-engineering consulting and design firm, to help conceptualize improved transportation for everyone who travels to or through Wakefield center in cars, on foot, by bus, or on bikes. Voters at the April 2019 Town Meeting approved moving into the second phase of design for this project. The process has included several meetings for the public to provide input on the concepts.
The effort is expected to result in a $26 million, federally-funded downtown infrastructure improvement project overseen by the Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT).
At last week’s session, Town Council Chairman Edward Dombroski noted that VHB had gone to MassDOT in December and had received preliminary approval of the concept plans for the project. This means that the project meets all of the requirements for federal funding.
Dombroski said that it is unusual for MassDOT to green light such a large project all at once, noting that they usually prefer to break projects down into smaller pieces for approval. He called the approval of the conceptual design as a whole “a really positive thing” that speaks to the quality of the concepts developed.
Dombroski said that when the time comes, the most important thing is to be “shovel ready,” which can fast-track a project past other communities that are higher on the list but may not be ready to proceed.
Patricia Domegan, the project manager from VHB, briefly reviewed the concepts that have been developed for the project, which encompasses Main Street from North Avenue to the Rockery, as well as Water Street, Albion Street, Common Street, Lake Avenue and Spaulding Street.
Domegan said that the objective of the project is to make Wakefield a destination and create improved transportation for everyone who travels to or through Wakefield center in cars, on foot, by bus or on bikes.
Domegan explained that VHB has estimated engineering costs for the project at about $16 million. MassDOT then added in another $10 million for construction administration, contingencies, inflation, utilities relocation and police details.
She noted that things like paving, utility work and ADA compliance measures, which would need to be done anyway, can be included in the project.
Domegan reviewed some of the concepts that have been developed, including narrowing Main Street and putting in a median in the area of the Galvin Middle School. More trees will be planted on Main Street between North Avenue and Water Street. The Lincoln Street parking lot will be reconfigured and parking will be added on Princess and Centre streets, she said. Some angled parking will be preserved on Main Street in the area of the library and the Co-operative Bank.
The Rockery will get improved landscaping and enhanced access, with crosswalks leading to the Rockery, Domegan said. Lake Avenue will be widened and angle parking will be changed to perpendicular. Improvements are also planned for Spaulding Street.
Domegan said that Common Street “has been working out very well” as a one-way street and that merchants have been taking advantage of the long-term parking.
For Water Street, wider sidewalks are planned as well as adaptive traffic signals that will respond to traffic conditions.
Domegan noted that a separate grant from the Complete Streets program will allow work on Albion Street to begin this summer.
In the coming months, Domegan said, another public meeting will be held to talk about the “palette of materials” that can be used, including curbing, benches, trees and other materials that the public will have an opportunity to weigh in on. The goal, she said, was to create “a vibrant downtown and a sense of place” and to make the downtown universally accessible to vehicles, pedestrians and cyclists, as required by MassDOT.
VHB’s Geoffrey Morrison-Logan spoke at last week’s session about the various materials options, including concrete and brick bumpouts, trash and recycling receptacles and bike racks. He said that public input will also be sought for street and pedestrian lighting fixtures, trees and other plantings.
He said that over the next six months, the aim is to advance the engineering and design of the roadways, sidewalks and bike lanes. Once the 25 percent design is reached, a public meeting will be held in Wakefield with MassDOT.
Several members of the public asked questions at last week’s session. A downtown property owner asked about the amount of parking that will be available after the project is completed. Domegan state that there would be more parking.
Julie Scott of Main Street expressed concern over losing green space around the Rockery and on Lake and Spaulding streets.
Robert Mitchell of Spaulding Street said that for about one-tenth of the cost of this project, the town could build more parking. He also objected to the change of Common Street to one-way, claiming that it will now take emergency vehicles longer to get to his neighborhood and the Common. He was also opposed to losing any grassy areas of the Common in the name of widening Lake Avenue.