Westborough committee says select board removed crosswalk warrant article; committee seeks working group and will present at open forum

The Town of Westborough Active Transportation and Safety Committee on Monday outlined a chronology it says shows the select board removed the committee’s Rugles crosswalk warrant article from the town warrant after internal planning discussions and limited notice to the committee.

Ellen, an ATSC member who presented the timeline, said the committee had voted Jan. 12 to place the crosswalk request on the warrant based on the town’s Safe Routes to School audit and Complete Streets prioritization and that early outreach with DPW staff produced an estimated package cost of about $60,000. She said direct communication with DPW staff later broke down and that a planning-board letter urging the select board to omit the article reached the select board process late.

The nut of the committee’s complaint is procedural: members said they were not informed in time to respond before the select board voted 4–1 on Feb. 24 to remove the article. “No one notified me or Julie or anyone on the ATSC that our article was being attacked that night or or at any point,” Ellen said, recounting how she learned of the planning board letter only after the select board vote. Committee members noted the school committee had voted 5–0 in support of the article.

Committee members argued the crosswalk had been documented in the town’s planning work—including Complete Streets and a Safe Routes to School audit—and that the item could have been carried out either alongside a scheduled sewer project or independently if it is outside the sewer scope. The committee also said the school committee had requested a rapid flashing beacon, which the ATSC had voted to add to the warrant proposal with an estimated additional $15,000.

In response, ATSC members acknowledged a range of explanations at the select board meeting — including questions about timing, location and funding — and said they want direct answers from department leadership. The committee voted to ask the select board to establish a working group to improve coordination among planning, DPW, the select board, school department, police and ATSC representatives, and it authorized two committee members to present that request at the select board’s open forum. The motion was moved by Don and seconded by Joanne; recorded votes in the meeting included Julie, Suzanne, Don and Ellen voting yes.

Kristen, the planning staff liaison to ATSC, said she has asked the select board chair and town manager to arrange for the DPW director and the planning director to meet with the committee so staff can explain project timing and scope. “Once we have a formal documented plan of what the town wants as a priority for transportation related items, it will be a different story,” she said, describing the active transportation plan now under procurement.

The committee also discussed next steps including a citizens’ warrant petition if coordination fails and whether to reintroduce the crosswalk at fall town meeting. Members said they plan additional outreach to the select board and planning staff and to press for clearer communications about which projects DPW intends to schedule in upcoming fiscal years.

The ATSC said it will follow up publicly at the select board open forum and through a requested working group; the committee set a working timeline for fall warrant and further outreach but did not adopt a new formal project schedule at Monday’s meeting.