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Town meeting asks Select Board to reconsider Common Road two-way option and allocates engineering funds
Summary
A citizens petition seeking Select Board review of the one-way conversion of Common Road passed along with a referral of up to $100,000 for engineering and construction should the Select Board adopt changes. Debate focused on safety, prior multi-year deliberations by Traffic Safety and the Select Board, and whether road-layout decisions should be made by the Select Board or revisited in the town-center study.
Town meeting voted to ask the Select Board to reconsider the one-way conversion of Common Road and referred up to $100,000 from free cash for engineering and potential construction if the Select Board elects to proceed.
Petitioner Ross Perry and other residents said that the temporary closure of the Library-end access during recent construction revealed circulation and safety problems that might be improved by restoring two-way access. "Allowing cars to enter and exit Common Road from both ends can reduce traffic through the traffic light at Library Hill Road and Great Road," Perry said, urging the Select Board to reopen the conversation rather than leaving the status quo in place for years while a town-center study is scheduled.
Select Board members and Traffic Safety representatives reminded the meeting that the question of Common Road'9s configuration had been under active review for several years. JT Tulle summarized the process, noting Traffic Safety'9s October 2023 public hearing and the Select Board'9s subsequent one-way recommendation adopted after deliberation. Board members emphasized that local traffic engineers and consultants had recommended one-way or closure as options during prior town-center reviews and that the board had sought to protect pedestrian safety near the library.
Residents on both sides of the question spoke about near-misses, sight-line problems on 117 and Library Hill Road, pedestrian safety, and the need to consider parking and the library'9s operations. Several planning and capital-planning participants recommended the broader town-center design study as the best forum for a comprehensive solution, while petitioners argued that waiting years for that study would leave immediate safety and circulation concerns unaddressed.
The motion on the floor combined a non-binding request that the Select Board discuss returning Common Road to two-way traffic and an appropriation referral of $100,000 from free cash to fund engineering and construction should the Select Board choose to pursue changes. The motion passed by a vote of 76 in favor, 49 opposed, and five abstentions.
Next steps: The Select Board now has a standing referral from Town Meeting to consider Common Road reopening and (if it approves changes) the option to use the referred funding. Capital Planning recommended considering this work in the context of the scheduled town-center study but acknowledged town meeting'9s direction.
