Residents press Planning Board for Kimley Horn downtown report update and active-transportation clarifications

Residents used the Planning Board's open forum to press for clear next steps on a downtown improvement report and for more inclusive outreach on an active transportation plan.

Julie Squires of the Active Transportation and Safety Committee told the board she had seen mixed statements from town sources about whether the consultant's final report had been received and asked the board directly for recommendations and a timeline. "I'm requesting an update from the planning board of recommendations for this report," Squires said.

Joanne Arimini, a Westborough resident, said residents are not adequately represented on the active-transportation working group, asked who the plan's "stakeholders" are, and criticized the plan for lacking prioritization by cost and return on investment. "We can't afford everything in this town," Arimini said, urging the board to include residents on decision-making groups rather than relying only on outreach events.

Kevin Barry, a resident, urged greater transparency about how the Kimley Horn report and the active transportation plan will be reviewed and implemented, and he called attention to an attorney-general legal-notice item that had drawn community attention but had not been publicly acknowledged by town officials.

Planning staff later told the board that the Kimley Horn final report had been posted to the town website and that the active transportation consultant (BHB) is completing an initial inventory and gap analysis ahead of public workshops scheduled for September and October.

Why it matters: the downtown report and the transportation plan both set priorities that could affect parking, street design and budgets downtown; residents said they want earlier, clearer opportunities to influence ranking and cost estimates before projects are advanced.