HomeMy WebLinkAbout1978-05-18 Board of Public Works Minutes May 18, 1978
' Meeting of the Board of Public Works convened in Room 131 ,
Reading Memorial High School at 7:00 P.M.
Present were Chairman Dustin, Secretary Price, Board Mem-
bers Russell and Cowell and Superintendent Louanis.
Chairman Dustin opened the meeting by explaining the pur-
pose of the hearing was to try to inform the residents of Wake-
field Street of the Board' s preliminary plan for reconstruction
of Wakefield Street from Charles Street to Haverhill Street and
that due to the fact the Town Meeting was to begin at 8:00 P.M.
it was planned to close the meeting at ten minutes of eight.
Mr. Price read Notice of Public Hearing and Mr. Louanis, the
Superintendent, was introduced and asked to make a presentation
to the Board and the citizens regarding Wakefield Street. The
Superintendent pointed out that since his meeting with the resi-
dents at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Plansky on Friday, April 28th,
the Engineering Division had attempted to address some of the
' concerns expressed at that time. Initial preliminary plans had
called for a twenty foot paved way from Charles Street easterly
to Bainbridge Road and then a short transition section of a twenty-
four foot travelled way from there to Haverhill Street. The Super-
intendent pointed out that the existing pavement on Wakefield
Street was in the vicinity of 192 feet wide from Charles Street
to Bainbridge Road and at Bainbridge Road it narrowed to 172 feet
and from that point to Haverhill Street it varied from 17 feet
all the way to 242 feet wide. The new preliminary plan was an
attempt to address the concerns of the meeting of April 28th
mainly not to widen the street. The new proposal is a 20 foot
travelled way except for the area near the intersection of Tamarack
Road which widens out to 24 feet because of the need of a better
site distance around the curve. The granite radius curbing at
Haverhill and Charles Street were reduced to a more reasonable
figure and in the light of a request of the citizens the drain-
age is planned to be improved by rebuilding some existing drainage
and adding new drainage from Tamarack Road to Haverhill Street.
The section of road where serious ice conditions exist due to
the fact that the houses in that area have drains which discharge
into the street, it is the intention of the Town to connect
those drains to the storm drains once the drains are constructed. ,
Questions were raised regarding utilities and it was questioned
whether the street would be dug up again after construction.
The Superintendent pointed out that there were four houses that
had not been sewered and laterals would be constructed to the
edge of the roadway so the road would not be required to be dug
up when the abutters wished to connect. Water had been installed
in 1900 and all services are of copper or cement lined pipe. It
is proposed to install a hydrant near #57 Wakefield Street. If
sometime in the future the water main requires cleaning it could
be cleaned and lined in place to avoid excavating the roadway.
The Superintendent reported the one area where he was unable to
modify the design at the request of the citizens was the retain-
ing wall that would be constructed in front of #17 however the
department is still working on it to see if it is possible to
come up with a better solution. The Superintendent turned the
meeting over to the Chairman.
The Chairman asked for questions from the residents. Mr. ,
John Anderson was recognized and he had a statement which he
stated he would like to read. It developed to be a general
statement regarding roadways in general and the Chairman requested
that in the interest of time he confine his remarks to the recon-
struction of Wakefield Street. Mr. Anderson stated they were
opposed to any widening on the grounds of safety. Several
statements were made by the residents stating they did not want
the street widened or to lose the country atmosphere or integrity
of the neighborhood. Mr. Frederick Stevenson offered the comment
it was a good job, go ahead and do it. Mrs Plansky of #17 Wake-
field Street was concerned about the safety of her children and
her birch trees which might be killed where the retaining wall
might be built. Many questions were asked as to why the street
was chosen, what the policy was of the Town regarding street
reconstruction. The Chairman answered the questions generally in
terms that it was the responsibility of the Board of Public '
Works as Highway Commissioners to maintain the public ways and
a Highway Maintenance Program had been developed and an inventory
made as to the condition of all streets and a twenty year con-
struction program had been instituted and Wakefield Street is
' not the only street being considered for reconstruction this
coming financial year.
It was moved, seconded and voted to adjourn to attend
Town Meeting.
R A pectfully submitted,
ecretary