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Springfield subcommittee hears safety case for closing parts of Wilburham Avenue; keeps item in committee
Summary
The General Government Subcommittee heard presentations from Springfield College and DPW on Feb. 19 about discontinuing two segments of Wilburham Avenue to reduce pedestrian crashes; residents pressed for traffic-calming alternatives and legal guarantees about access, and the subcommittee kept the item in committee for more outreach and materials.
The General Government Subcommittee of the Springfield City Council discussed a proposal on Feb. 19 to discontinue two short segments of Wilburham Avenue adjacent to the Springfield College campus as a public-safety measure, but stopped short of sending the discontinuance to the full council for a vote.
Dr. Marybeth Cooper, president of Springfield College, told the committee the request is driven by safety concerns tied to recent campus development and pedestrian volumes. "We're not trying to control property," Cooper said, adding the college is not seeking to close Alden Street and that college leaders "come here for a dialogue and a conversation." Mike Chari, the collegevice president for administration, cited the college's incident records and an independent traffic study: "Therehave been more than 70 incidents reported" since…
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