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Hechenblefter, Peter V
From: Deb Mason-McCaffrey [DebMM@comcast.net]
Sent: Friday, August 05, 2005 6:23 PM
To: Town Manager
Subject: Question about Legal Notice you sent
Hi Peter,
In the legal notice you sent to us, there is no street intersection
listed
in the 6th paragraph. Does that proposal apply to Emerson and Franklin
as
well?
Michael and I are both VERY concerned about the Town's inconsistent use -
of
private roads. With the exception of plowing and street sweeping,
Reading
does nothing to maintain our private road, and yet the town is directing
people to use it for access to the school.
I now have a great deal more understanding of the continuing strong
position
(Dare I say militancy?) of the residents on Old Sanborn Lane. Their
unyielding resistance toward others using their road has served them
very
well. I used to interpret that as being unfriendly. Now I see the wisdom
in
it.
Unfortunately, we on Emerson Street were neighborly and let people drive
by,
and somehow, the town can claim that we are private, so we cannot have
our
road maintained but we are not 'private enough' to have any protection
from
the town encouraging others to use and increase the wear and tear on our
road.
The road is narrow. The road is private. There are no sidewalks. And,the
town is encouraging the public use our road in a manner that is not
safe.
Regards,
Deb Mason-McCaffrey
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Page 1 of 2
Hechenbleikner, Peter
From: James Yoshizawa Qimyosh@rcn.com]
Sent: Monday, August 08, 20051:19 PM
To: Town Manager
August 8, 2005
Mr. Peter Hechenbleikner
Town Manager
Town of Reading
16 Lowell Street
Reading, MA 01867
Dear Mr. Hechenbleiker:
My wife, Kathy, and I live at 64 Dividence Road and we would like to make you aware of our thoughts
regarding sidewalks and using Dividence Road for access to the Wood's End School.
As you know, Dividence Road is a dead end, private way with only a few houses beyond Zachary Lane.
Cars that go into Dividence Road to the end would either need to turn around in the private driveway at
the Lindberg residence (who have a pre-school age child) or back out of the street to exit. Neither of
these options are safe or desirable for the residents of the street. We agree that automobiles should not
be driven into Dividence Road in order to drop off or pick up students and that stopping, parking or
standing by automobiles should be prohibited during opening or closing hours of the school.
It was recently reported in the Reading Advocate that the town was considering changing Dividence
Road (and Emerson Road) from a private way to public road and installing sidewalks. We very opposed
to either of these proposals. If students are walking to school from the neighborhood and the only
automobile traffic is from the few residents of the road, there is no need for sidewalks on the road.
Sidewalks installed on either side of the road would hurt the property value by reducing the attractive
look of the road and/or make the road much more narrow. People have walked down this road for years
to go through the wooded area or to see the school without any problems. I was also under the
impression that the initial proposals for the school specifically stated that sidewalks would not be
installed on Dividence Road. If this was the case, I do not believe it is proper or necessary to change the
policy.
We also feel there is no reason to change from a Private Way to a Public Road. The landscaping and
other work done by the residents have made this into a very nice attractive road and we do not want the
town to have the arbitrary right to make changes now or in the future.
Thank you for your consideration. Unfortunately neither my wife or I will be able to attend tonight's
Board of Selectman meeting. Please make our views known to them. We have also made our views
known to David Farwell of 65 Dividence Road who will be attending the meeting. He has our
authorization to speak on our behalf and/or vote on these matters if necessary.
Sincerely,
8/8/2005
Cal)