Committee backs short-term bike shoulders as Washington Street coastal resiliency design advances

The Bicycle and Pedestrian Committee voted to support a short-term plan to add 4-foot usable shoulders for bicyclists on Washington Street and to continue schematic design work for coastal resiliency improvements at Francis Street Beach, a project team told the committee.

Leah Hill, the town’s Coastal Resilience Coordinator, and consultants from SCAPE presented two schematic alternatives for the Francis Street site — a curving “dune swoop” and a more rectilinear “beach overlook” — both built around an elevated dune-like feature that would reach about elevation 8 (roughly four feet above the existing roadway) and include a universally accessible 10-foot pathway. Laura Morette, a landscape architect and principal at SCAPE, said the project is in schematic (about 30%) design and that next steps include agency permitting, identifying funding sources and producing a benefit-cost analysis.

The presentation emphasized multimodal goals: reduce coastal flood risk, preserve and improve pedestrian access, and create multimodal connections in the Washington Street corridor. Rachel Freeman, executive director of the Nantucket Land Bank, said the corridor contains a “critical mass” of town and land bank property that creates an opportunity to both manage stormwater inland and create a waterside elevated path where practicable.

Committee discussion focused on two recurring tradeoffs: whether the waterfront multiuse path should explicitly accommodate commuter bicyclists or be designed primarily for pedestrian access with cyclists kept on the roadway, and how feasible a waterside boardwalk would be given permitting risks. Several members — including RJ Turcotte and RJ Turcotte said, “I’m going to consciously try to start bringing up more ... to encourage as much flow as possible for cyclists” — argued for designing elements to preserve momentum and flow for bicycle commuting. Other members, including Edwin Claflin, urged caution about mixing commuter bikes with pedestrians on a boardwalk-style surface and favored keeping higher-speed commuter bikes on the roadway when possible.

Town staff and consultants warned that a path built farther into the water would face substantial permitting hurdles. A staff member advising the meeting explained that any structure seaward of the tideline could require additional permits — including from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers — and likely face legal and technical challenges that would make an in-water alignment difficult to pursue.

On a procedural motion, committee member RJ Turcotte moved to “support the short-term plan for the usable 4-foot shoulders” on Washington Street; the motion was seconded and approved by roll call. Committee members RJ Turcotte, Edwin Claflin, Michelle Kramer, John Maetinen, and Ian Golding voted aye (5–0). The motion’s recorded outcome directs support for the short-term roadway shoulders while design work on the Francis Street schematic alternatives continues.

Next steps outlined by the project team include continuing community and stakeholder outreach, refining technical design and materials (including discussion of surfacing suitable for bicycles versus a boardwalk material preferred by historic-district reviewers), completing a benefit-cost analysis, and initiating agency permitting and funding identification. The team noted that the project is intended as a first phase that could, if properties and easements become available, be extended into a longer-term continuous water-side multiuse path in the future.

The committee’s approval does not change the schematic designs presented; it records support for the short-term roadway accommodation while retaining the broader goal of a multimodal corridor and further study of waterfront options. The consultants encouraged continued public feedback on material choices, ramp slopes and how future connections would join the Washington Street roadway improvements already in long-range planning documents.