North Amherst center Pine/Meadow intersection (circled)
Local long time activist and North Amherst resident Vince O'Connor told the Public Works Committee last night that a stop sign was needed at the Sunderland/Montague Road junction just north of the main intersection in the North Amherst Village Center. Now!
O'Connor is worried that students coming to the University of Massachusetts driving through the intersection for the first time will be confused by the 5-way intersect taking place within a small distance leading to public safety issues.
Public Works Committee Chair Christine Gray-Mullen did not want to hear about that particular micro-management issue since it was not on the agenda for committee discussion. So any extended discussion now would be a violation of Open Meeting Law.
Public Works Committee last night. DPW Chief Guilford Mooring top center
DPW Chief Guilford Mooring stated many people were confused by the issue at the June 24 Public Forum and wanted to solve the entire 5-way intersection problem, when in fact there are two distinct separate intersections that need to be addressed individually.
The agenda for the PWC meeting sought to do just that.
After O'Connor stormed out of the meeting, saying he would press his concerns with the Amherst Select Board, the Public Works Committee voted unanimously to separate Pine/Meadow/North Pleasant from Montague/Sunderland Road for redesign purposes.
Mr. O'Connor wants a stop sign on Montague Road (circled)
Mooring reaffirmed his belief that the only solution for Pine/Meadow/North Pleasant was a simple traffic light tweak allowing guaranteed left turns, like the traffic control at University Drive and Amity Street.
And new traffic control lights could be up and flashing by next year.
The town will host another public forum on the North Amherst intersection in October. The Amherst Select Board has final say over the design improvements.
10 comments:
I wish Vince would storm out of all the meetings. In fact, just don't come at all.
Vince is a product of his environment. And a cruel trick of evolution.
Vince worries a lot
Vince's knickers are in a twist about the sky being blue.
What a circus freak. This man needs daily institutionalized psychiatric help.
If it's such an "easy fix" why hasn't it happened already? The traffic backed up on Meadow heading east (especially in the late afternoon) is a long standing condition (that would make a great drone photo, by the way). All of a sudden, Guildford has an answer? What's taken him so long to consider implementing it?
While I agree that some times he's "just too much," here Vince- and the many others who've asked for the stop sign - is right.
(Why can't we please address the message, not the messenger? How did this community and this blog evolve to be so ad hominem? )
North Amherst residents have been asking for a stop sign there for some time now. The PWC should have had that item on its agenda, or maybe have a general agenda item like "Stop sign requests" at every meeting. Then they could listen at this meeting, and schedule a hearing for - vote a recommendation at - their next meeting. That's the way a well-run committee works!
Larry, wouldn't the location of the stop sign be on the west side of Sunderland Rd?
I've also heard rumors of major redesign, with town buying Joe's auto repair property & redirecting Sunderland into a traffic circle with Montague Rd. And adding official parking for North Amherst library.
Anyone know more about this?
By the way, i've heard from Joe that he may sell to private party before Amherst gets around to acting...
Yes I believe it is the west side of Sunderland.
The town is supposedly in negotiations with the auto repair business for the other three major redesign options being considered, but with land buys everybody is pretty tight lipped.
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