Which Roads In Amherst Are The Worst?
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Report Of The July 21 Cuppa Joe
The informal Cuppa Joe meeting with Town Manager Paul Bockelman and Superintendent of Public Works Guilford Mooring led to a spirited discussion about roads in Amherst deemed barely drivable by residents who live on or near them.
A contingent from the Flat Hills and High Point area pointed to flat tires and pedestrian injuries resulting from the numerous potholes, noting that driving on these roads is the only means out of their neighborhood. Residents from Heatherstone in Echo Hill also pointed to the terrible condition of this road, although one person said he thought the only thing that prevented speeding on the road was its poor condition. A third group decried the condition of Jeffrey Lane, which they said makes even walking difficult. John Varner added that the temporary patches in the road mostly “end up on my front lawn with the first snow plowing.”
Mooring noted the large backlog of streets to be fixed and the shortage of staff, materials, and money to accomplish much of what needs to be done. He said that Heatherstone is slated to be repaved in the next batch of road repair and that Flat Hills has degraded much quicker than was anticipated, so is not included in the latest plans, but will be placed in the queue for the next funding request. Jeffrey Lane is a small street and is not as high priority as more heavily traveled roads, he said, but added that there are more effective ways of patching potholes than the cold patch used there in the past.
Roads were not the only focus of the discussion. Toni Cunningham asked about the status of a sidewalk along East Pleasant Street that was proposed six years ago. Mooring replied that constructing the sidewalk would be a complicated engineering issue, and would also involve work on privately owned land. Cunningham responded that six years ago, all homeowners along the route agreed to the project and newer homeowners would need to be approached.
The other issue raised was the condition of the athletic fields, especially those used for adult softball. The adult league is much smaller than it was prior to the pandemic. Members would like to build it up again, but the fields, especially the ones at Groff Park, are in terrible shape and players have gotten injured. Mooring replied that new equipment for field management is in the 2024 budget. He added that the best playing fields will eventually be at the site of the new Fort River school. He added that the most likely place for the town’s pickleball courts will be at Kiwanis on Stanley Street.
Mooring said that maintenance of hiking trails is the purview of the Conservation Department, not the DPW. He said that residents with concerns about potholes and sidewalk maintenance should contact the DPW at its website https://www.amherstma.gov/2113/Amherst-Connect—Service-Requests to submit a repair request.
Last month, the DPW’s subcontractor Taylor Davis “repaired” the sidewalk for the west side of one block of North Pleasant St. in North Amherst Village Center. They turned what was a nice green space into a completely new asphalt covered “multi use path” and enormous new bus stop, and in no way was the old sidewalk repaired.. The new asphalt ends across from Fisher St. and the sidewalk turns back into a bumpy narrow strip. North Amherst Village Center is Registered as a National Historic Place. The paving done there is is completely inappropriate to its historic atmosphere.
There is enough asphalt used in this “repair” to fill in a LOT of potholes. According to Mr. Mooring, the Town Council approved the work two years ago as part of the DPW budget. No notice was given to neighbors about the imminence of this reworking of what was a perfectly adequate sidewalk and bus stop . This work is supposed to be part of a mile long multi-use path along North Pleasant from Meadow St. to the University. I am sure, though, that this intrusive, unnecessary paving will be the only segment of this path to exist for many years to come. And there was little to no public input about this plan at all! I suggest that in future, Mr. Mooring be REQUIRED to fix the streets before adding blacktop to green space.
I don’t understand why we are able to construct roundabouts, but unable to maintain the safety of our roads? And why, when we claim to be striving to be a green town, does the roundabout at 116 and Pomeroy contain so much asphalt rather than serve as a space for native plants to flourish?