Woburn approves pedestrian-crossing work at Horn Pond, grants waiver for 25-foot no‑disturb zone

WOBURN, Mass. — The Woburn Conservation Commission on April 24 approved pedestrian-improvement work near Horn Pond, granting a waiver that allows limited construction in the 25‑foot no‑disturb buffer and issuing related determinations required under the town’s wetlands process.

City Engineer Alex Rzycki told the commission the project would shorten a crosswalk on Lake Avenue leading into the Horn Pond parking lot from about 70 feet to roughly 40 feet and replace existing concrete ramps and sidewalk panels to improve Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) access and pedestrian safety. “It’s tightening up the sidewalk to provide a safer pedestrian crossing, essentially,” Rzycki said.

The commission’s action clears three near-term steps for the work. Members voted to grant the applicant’s request to allow the proposed work within the 25‑foot no‑disturb area where limited erosion-control installation and replacement of existing sidewalk panels are required; they closed the public hearing; and later issued Determinations of Applicability recorded as a negative 3 and a negative 6 on the project’s IDA/RDA filing.

Why it matters: shortening the crossing reduces the distance pedestrians must travel across a parking area, and the concrete replacements are aimed at bringing ramps and walkways into ADA compliance. The city said it hopes to complete construction before the end of the fiscal year in July to meet a grant spending deadline.

Project details and constraints Alex Rzycki said the Lake Avenue bump‑out that shortens the crossing is entirely outside the 100‑foot buffer to the pond; the work nearer Arlington Road and Hudson Street replaces an existing sidewalk panel that lies adjacent to the 25‑foot no‑disturb line. He told commissioners the project will not increase impervious area on the pond side and that the sidewalk replacements are “in kind.”

Rzycki said the applicant removed a proposed new ADA path to a nearby bench from the submission after determining that installing an accessible path to a bench that is itself not accessible would create unnecessary disturbance inside the buffer. He also said erosion-control measures shown in the plan — including filter socks/silt sacks — will be used and that the city will hold a contractor kickoff meeting to confirm details.

Commission questions and conditions Commissioners pressed staff on where construction materials would be staged and whether stockpiles would be kept outside regulated areas. Rzycki said the likely staging areas are on Hudson Street or in nearby parking lots and that a condition prohibiting materials stockpiled inside the 25‑foot buffer would be acceptable. Commissioners also asked the applicant to specify the type of erosion controls to be used; Rzycki said the plans list straw wattles and that the commission could require compost filter socks or other types and that the project can add that detail in the contract documents.

Votes and formal actions - Waiver to allow proposed work in the 25‑foot no‑disturb zone: motion moved and seconded; outcome: approved (commission recorded voice vote: “Aye,” no opposition or abstentions recorded). - Close public hearing: motion moved and seconded; outcome: approved. - Issue Determination(s) of Applicability for the project (negative 3 and negative 6 determination on the IDA/RDA form): motion moved and seconded; outcome: approved.

What remains Rzycki told the commission the city will include any specific erosion-control product notes in the construction addendum and run a kickoff meeting with the contractor to confirm installation details and staging limits. He also said the city aims to complete the work before the end of the fiscal year to meet grant requirements.

The commission’s approvals apply to the work described in the application package and the site plans presented at the hearing; the commission noted that replacement “in kind” of existing sidewalk within the buffer reduces the need for additional disturbance.