From Union-News/Sunday Republican

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DPW seeks control of 2-mile stretch

Amherst officials want a "village center" design to control traffic and make it safer for pedestrians.

01/29/2003

By DIANE LEDERMAN
Staff writer

AMHERST - Department of Public Works superintendent Guilford B. Mooring said a project now in the works could take the fast track or the slow track.

He's opting for the fast.

That means there could likely be a traffic signal at the Route 116 and Pomeroy Lane intersection by the end of this year.

Mooring asked the Select Board Monday night to ask the state for permission to take over about two miles of Route 116 from Snell Street to Glendale Street. This would enable the town to implement the design it wants at the Pomeroy Lane intersection - include bike lanes, determine the travel lane width as well as sidewalk width and put in the used traffic light sooner.

Mooring said the town will have two traffic lights available from two projects that are getting new signals, one at the Amity Street-Main Street intersection and another from a project at Route 116 and Route 9. He said the lights are relatively new.

Taking over the road would also allow the town to request a reduction in the posted speed there.

Douglas W. Cope, a spokesman with the state Highway Department, said it's unusual for a community to ask for control of a road. "Usually a town doesn't want to take on extra maintenance."

He was unsure of the procedure after the local office in Northampton was notified.

The road at that point is zoned for 40 miles per hour traffic. Mooring said they will ask that it be reduced to at least 35.

The Select Board in November asked that the state not go out to bid for the intersection design because the town wanted a more village-center type design. The state had planned a highway intersection aimed at moving traffic through as quickly as possible. Town officials, however, wanted more of a "village center" design to control traffic and make it safer for pedestrians.

But that meant further design and a delay that would slow the installation of the traffic light.

Police and some residents and merchants in the area favored getting the light in as soon as possible and were unhappy with the delay. There have been 31 recorded traffic accidents there in a two-year period.

The work was not expected to begin until 2004.

And while it's still uncertain when the work will begin, the town would be able to install the traffic light sooner.

"I think this is outstanding work," said Select Board chairman Carl W. Seppala. "This is a much more rapid solution and a creative reuse of the light."

Diane Lederman can be reached at dlederman@union-news.com.

© 2001 UNION-NEWS. Used with permission.