Dear Editor,
Over the weekend, I was dog sitting for my daughter who was out of town. So every day I would take the dog for a walk around the village. I noticed that most sidewalks were un walkable because they were not shoveled.
The footprints made in the slushy snow have now frozen solid, making the pavement very uneven and dangerous to walk on. According to town bylaws, the town is responsible for general maintenance responsibility of the sidewalks, including snow and ice operations.
The town is pushing us to accept the DOT design as being safer for town residents, because it includes more sidewalks and wider sidewalks for pedestrians. The town seems unable to accept the responsibilities of snow removal on the current sidewalks, making them significantly more difficult to walk on and more dangerous for the town’s residence. They also seem unable to fix sidewalks that are raised by the roots of trees, creating many slip and fall hazards.
Wider sidewalks doesn’t seem to be the answer since highway department can’t take care of the ones we already have.
The DOT program does not include anything for bicyclists and refused to consider speed bumps or tables as seen in many other cities in the area. My understanding is the Fire Chief is concerned about response time. I can’t imagine it significantly affects the response time while the town leaders are seems willing to sacrifice pedestrian safety so the fire department can respond to about 40 fires a year, most of which are not life-threatening.
The current Select Board seems so focused on the pot of gold at the end of the DOT rainbow, while ignoring the real needs of its citizens. I really hope they reconsider the path they’re on.
Best regards,
Donald Bamberger, Mattapoisett
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