Commission authorizes chair to seek Shared Streets grant for pedestrian improvements

The Commission on Disability voted to authorize its chair to seek a Shared Streets grant for sidewalk and pedestrian-safety improvements on a compressed timeline. Don Priest moved the authorization; Kelly Burke seconded. Members who announced their votes—Kelly Burke, Jasmine and Chair Cindy Kane—voted yes and the motion carried.

Kane told the commission that the Shared Streets program includes pedestrian, bicycle and public-space improvements and that some local intersections lack curb cuts and accessible sidewalks. She warned the grant would require substantial coordination with the town highway department and, for state roads, MassDOT, and said the application window is short (the program's mass-coordination demands could exceed the commission's capacity without additional town support).

Kane also raised a potential ethics question: she said one candidate intersection is near her residence and that she would seek guidance from the town's ethics official before proceeding; if ethics advises a conflict, she said she would identify alternate sites and continue work with town staff.

Members asked for limited authority so staff could pursue small, manageable projects that could meet the grant timeline. The motion authorized the chair to "determine if we have a project able to be submitted for the shared streets grant and handle the administrative tasks to attempt to secure it." The commission said it will report back on any identified project and, if required, will obtain select-board or other approvals before final submission.