Consultants propose 'peanut' roundabout for Westborough rotary; board asks for more parking and business outreach

Kimley‑Horn presented a preliminary redesign of Westborough’s downtown rotary on Dec. 16, proposing a single‑lane "peanut" roundabout that narrows the central pavement, shortens pedestrian crossings with raised splitter islands, and routes protected, raised bike accommodations through the center. The design, the consultant said, comes from a crash analysis of the downtown and aims to balance traffic flow with improved pedestrian and bicycle safety.

The consultant, George Clayton of Kimley‑Horn, told the board the analysis found 236 crashes in the rotary area from 2018–2023, including pedestrian and cyclist incidents, and that the proposed plan would cut potential conflict points and better manage approach speeds. "Our estimated construction cost of the project is 5 and a half million dollars," Clayton said, and he described design elements intended to allow long trucks to turn, including a truck apron and tested turning templates for fire apparatus.

Board members pressed the team on tradeoffs they expect the plan to create. Hazel raised concerns about the loss of parking for downtown businesses and the project cost; another member asked about weekend and off‑peak conditions. The consultant acknowledged the parking impact, estimating a loss of roughly "40 to 50 on‑street spaces" within the circle but said the team had identified options to recover spaces (for example, converting a segment of Union Street to one‑way and adding about 20 parallel spaces there, plus underutilized spaces in the South Street lot).

Local business owners in the public comment period urged caution. "Those businesses would be devastated if you removed these parking spaces," said property owner Gary Sanjenerio, who said downtown merchants rely on quick, curbside access. Longtime resident and trustee Lee Stroud warned about mature trees and the soldiers' memorials in the island and about maneuvering long‑axle trailers.

The planning board did not reject the concept; instead members instructed staff and the consultant to continue the grant‑funded preliminary engineering, address parking and bike‑lane tradeoffs, and conduct one‑on‑one outreach with critical downtown merchants before a public information meeting scheduled for late January or early February 2026. Staff said further design and final engineering would require additional grant funding and likely a future town meeting action if local match is needed.

Next steps: Kimley‑Horn will refine the preliminary plans under the current grant, return with updated parking and bike‑lane options, and present the revised concept at a public meeting in late Jan/early Feb 2026. The board asked staff to prioritize targeted outreach to businesses that would be directly affected and to provide utilization data on downtown parking for that public meeting.