The state has contacted the Town of Rochester regarding High Street, a rural roadway that the state deems an elevated risk for vehicular crashes, and has offered to fund some safety improvement that might help to lower the number of crashes in the future.
Highway Surveyor Jeff Eldridge said that on this upcoming Thursday he would be submitting his first application for grant money to address some of the 14 different items on a list he formed with traffic safety engineer Dave DeBaie during an analysis of potential problem areas of the road.
High Street is what the state considers a roadway with a higher-than-state-average number of crashes, DeBaie said, with most vehicles crashing into trees and running off the road.
“It got picked because of crash data … between 2010 to 2015,” said DeBaie. “I think thirty-four crashes…. Higher-than-state average for crashes on that type of roadway.”
Eldridge and DeBaie will focus on four of the 14 items on the list of problems they identified, which will include more reinforced guard rails to replace the concrete post and cable guardrails currently in place in some locations.
“Concrete posts and cable guardrail were the standard,” said DeBaie, “but they’re not anymore. In fact, they’re more of a hazard now.”
The replacement guardrails, said DeBaie, will be replaced in a way that is consistent with newer state standards.
State funding would also pay for the installation of new thermoplastic painted street lines, said Eldridge, “And that really is state of the art.”
Studies done and records kept, said DeBaie, “…Show that, with those lines that are better seen, you could get a significant reduction in the number of crashes.”
“Is this a chance for the town to be able to use them without having to pay for them,” asked Selectmen Chairman Naida Parker.
“Absolutely” replied Eldridge.
Warning signs around sharp corners of High Street, as well as diamond-shaped orange signs would be replaced, with further upgrading of all the speed limit signs. Chevron arrow warning signs are also planned for two significantly more dangerous curves in the roadway.
“These kinds of improvements … are such that we can do it with limited survey information and limited review (from Mass DOT),” said DeBaie.
In other matters, the board voted to increase the maximum earnable tax credit for the senior tax work-off program from $750 to $1,000 and could increase that amount further in the next fiscal year to a maximum of $1,500.
Towards the end of the meeting, the topic of a new town hall annex came up, with Parker first telling selectmen that she had spoken with members of the town hall annex building committee, then saying that she would support a town hall annex construction at Dexter Lane. She mentioned it would be cost-effective should the COA expand its parking onto the adjacent lot where parking could be shared with an annex.
“If we go forward with it,” said Parker, it would be prudent to “keep it on track and not allow anybody to try to veer it back to the town hall…”
Resident David Eckert was present to remind the selectmen that voters at the last special town meeting were decidedly against the construction of any new building of any sort, saying, “We do not want our taxpayer dollars being spent on constructing a new administrative building in town.”
Eckert criticized the Finance Committee for continuing to support the idea of a new town hall annex construction.
“So I think the directions that are being taken by some of the elected and appointed officials are widely different [from the residents],” said Eckert, adding some ideas for a lease agreement with the Women’s Club, which Selectman Brad Morse said were already in place.
Morse suggested a joint meeting of the Board of Selectmen with the Finance Committee and the annex committee as a more productive way to discuss the matter.
The next meeting of the Rochester Board of Selectmen is scheduled for December 19 at 6:30 pm at the Rochester Town Hall.
By Jean Perry