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Selectboard directs staff to develop School Street safety plan after long discussion on crosswalks and enforcement
Summary
Board asked staff to produce ideas and cost estimates for School Street traffic‑calming and crossing improvements, and to review the town speed ordinance; discussion emphasized pairing engineering changes with law‑enforcement enforcement.
The selectboard spent an extended portion of the meeting on School Street safety: members asked staff to coordinate with the elementary school, the art studio, highway staff and the sheriff to develop compliant crosswalk designs and an estimate of costs for engineering and long‑term maintenance.
Howard Romero (staff member) said the intent of the project is safety rather than decoration: "The intent of this is not to make a pretty thing. It's to slow down traffic," he said, framing the proposed approaches as traffic‑calming paired with enforcement. Board members suggested speed tables, paint, relocated crosswalks based on engineering warrants, radar speed signs, and clearer penalties in the town speed ordinance. One member asked staff to return with options, cost estimates and a recommendation on maintenance responsibilities and enforcement coordination with the sheriff’s office.
The board agreed to collect data (including speed‑readouts), consult the Orange Book for standards, and ask the road foreman and sheriff whether proposals are practical and enforceable; members also discussed the potential long‑term budget implications of ongoing maintenance.
