Railroad Street Business Owners Express Concerns about Reconstruction Project
At a public hearing before the Board of Selectmen on Monday, February 10, regarding the FY 2020 Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) application for the town, several Railroad Street business owners shared concerns and comments about the proposed reconstruction of Railroad Street.
The 2020 CDBG proposal includes the reconstruction of Railroad Street (to be done in conjunction with the Central Street Reconstruction Project), and a supplemental fuel assistance program to be available to income eligible Winchendon households on a town-wide basis. The CDBG application can request up to $800,000 and also includes delivery and general administration expenses.
Tracy Murphy, Director of Planning and Development for Winchendon, and Linda Overring of Breezeway Farm Consulting who is the town's CDBG consultant, presented the details of the CDBG application. The town will request a total of $715,510. $649,800 will cover the Railroad Street reconstruction. This does not include replacing the water lines under the street, in order to keep the amount below the maximum limit. The town is paying roughly $52,000 for design and construction administration through Chapter 90, so the grant will cover $633,600 of the project costs.
The town is asking for $25,000 for fuel assistance, almost double what it requested last year. Ms. Murphy stated that this amount is expected to be entirely disbursed to citizens. Winchendon is partnering with the New England Farm Worker's Council, which administers the LIHEAP federal fuel assistance program for north Worcester County. Residents who apply and qualify for LIHEAP will automatically qualify for the Winchendon program. Last year some 300 households in Winchendon qualified for LIHEAP. Ms. Murphy stated that the Winchendon program accepts a higher income for applicants than the federal program, and will pay for one tank of fuel, up to $500. Residents whose income exceeds LIHEAP's cap are encouraged to apply for the Winchendon program separately.
Vanthan Un, owner of Winchendon Wine & Spirits at 18 Railroad Street, rose to speak against the proposed plan to make one block of Railroad Street one-way (so that traffic could only turn in from Central Street, not exit onto Central). Mr. Un asserted that this would hurt his business by eliminating the through traffic passing down Railroad Street to get to other businesses such as Belletetes, Rite Aid and CVS. He noted that his store has a lot of competition in town, and he wants to support the town. He asked if additional parking spaces could be created without making the street one-way.
Selectman Barbara Anderson asked whether changing Railroad Street to one way would force people to make dangerous turns onto Central Street at Grove and Summer Streets, which they now use Railroad Street to avoid. Ms. Murphy explained that both the Grove Street and Summer Street intersections will be completely re-designed with the Central Street Reconstruction to make them much safer, and eliminate the parking spaces in front of C&S Pizza which block the view of drivers at that intersection. Ms. Anderson asked whether Railroad Street could be made one way in the other direction.
John Ladeau, owner of Winchendon Furniture at 13 Railroad Street, rose to argue that "ninety percent of the traffic comes off of Central Street" onto Railroad and would not be stopped by the proposed change to one way. He admitted that his business has its own parking lot and doesn't need parking on Railroad Street. "My business won't be affected by what you're doing," he said.
Mr. Ladeau asked about the drainage on Railroad Street, saying that has been a big problem in the past. He also noted that when his business connected to the water main, they had to run a diagonal line to Pleasant Street.
Mr. Un stated that his customers "come and go" continuously and that his customers have commented that they're used to exiting Railroad Street onto Central and are unhappy that they won't be able to do this. He also stated that he gets regular deliveries which will be more difficult for the supplier, since the truck pulls up in front of the store facing toward Central Street.
DPW Director Al Gallant stated that the town has already spent $52,000 on the design for the Railroad Street project. To change it now would involve at least another $20,000 in design costs, and the town would lose most of the planned additional parking. The grant application is due by March 6. Mr. Gallant also assured Mr. Ladeau that the drainage issues will be corrected.
Several other potential issues were discussed. It was noted that diagonal parking spaces on Railroad Street could make it hard for delivery trucks to unload without blocking the street entirely, as they have nowhere else to stop except at the curb in front of the businesses. It was also noted that customers and large trucks for Brooks Automotive are often parked along Pleasant Street and Grove Street adjacent to Brooks' facility, and the additional traffic around that block could become a problem.
Board Chair Audrey LaBrie said, "To be honest, to my mind this has exposed a flaw in the process of coming to the Board, making a presentation to us, and then at a later date, getting the public input. This gentleman [Mr. Un] I feel has a valid concern...would I have voted differently had I had input from those who might be most affected by it--perhaps." She said that this topic should be discussed further at a later time. Town Manager Keith Hickey agreed that he understood her concerns and the town can modify the process so that public comments are available earlier.
Ms. LaBrie asked what would happen if the Board of Selectmen did not approve the CDBG application. Ms. Murphy said the application would not be submitted, and Mr. Gallant said, "we'd have wasted fifty two thousand dollars."
Mr. Hickey said he understood the concerns of the business owners, but he emphasized that the current situation on Railroad Street is a major safety issue, and the reconstruction plans will address that. "There really isn't a lot of other options," he said.
The Board of Selectmen approved the application 4-1, with the Chair voting no.
(For previous coverage of the Railroad Street project, see "Selectmen Discuss Community Development Block Grant for Reconstruction of Railroad Street" in the December 12-19 edition of the Winchendon Courier online.)
