Select Board ends Pleasant Street one-way pilot, urges encroachment remediation

The Select Board voted unanimously on March 19 to end the Pleasant Street one-way pilot program effective immediately and asked staff to begin the process of obtaining easements and removing encroachments needed for a permanent sidewalk.

Select Board members and public commenters described the pilot as a safety problem during a quiet March period and said it was causing traffic conflicts at key intersections. Select Board member Don (referenced by first name in the meeting) said prolonged complaints and an overlapping Atlantic closure had made the pilot impractical; resident Curtis Barnes told the board he had “never seen anyone walking in the reserved area except today” and urged the board to end the experiment. Amy Eldridge said she had recorded a driver “driving the wrong way” and described multiple incidents that left traffic at a standstill.

At the meeting the board discussed whether to continue spending for further traffic study versus moving to permanent fixes. The motion adopted—moved and seconded—directed staff to discontinue the pilot program immediately and added a friendly amendment from Select Board member Tom to proceed with the process of removing encroachments to improve traffic safety. Chair Moore called for a vote and declared it unanimous.

Town staff told the board Pleasant Street is on the town’s paving list and will be paved once competing projects and the island’s asphalt plant availability allow. The board discussed the pilot as part of a larger set of circulation improvements, including possible roundabout work at Atlantic Avenue and school-area traffic measures.