UPDATE ON RE-PAVING ROUTE 1A
Regarding the re-surfacing of Route 1A/North End Blvd.,
Mass DOT has responded to our communication. Unfortunately, some of our concerns are not being addressed at this time.
1. They are not widening the road lane width from 10.5 feet to 12 feet. We are still requesting that.
2. They insist they need to keep the bike lanes at 9 feet. We believe they can and should get a waiver for this and reduce the width. In discussing bicycling with various bike riders, they all claim they will continue to use the roadway going with the traffic. So bicyclists heading north to Seabrook will continue to ride in the shoulder of Route 1A regardless of whether or not there are designated bike lanes abutting the westerly facing sidewalk. There is no need for a nine-foot bike lane, which adds to the reduction of parking, road width and shoulder width.
3. They are considering reducing the sidewalk from 6.5 feet to five feet, which will provide a wider shoulder on the west side.
4. They still are refusing to lower the speed limit from 40 MPH to 30 MPH. My hope is that we can convince them to go to 35 MPH.
5. Any loss of parking will be presented at the spring meeting with property owners. We do not have dates for those meetings yet. If we have excessive loss of parking, we will have to protest and object to the entire repaving project.
6. I reminded them that the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, along with the town of Salisbury, dating back 60, 80 and 100 years, approved of and continued to allow this high-density home construction knowing full well that many of these homeowners as well as their visitors and guests would need street parking. They can’t change the rules now. This is an oceanfront road bordering the Atlantic Ocean. They had to have known parking would be absolutely necessary for hundreds of vehicles on the road.
7. Mass DOT informed me that they will consider some type of warning lights at crosswalks.
8. I informed them that the main input on this project should come from the homeowners of the properties on Route 1A that contribute to the 43% of taxes that come from the beach to the Town of Salisbury. Although the leadership at town hall is welcome to share their insight, the final proposal should be agreeable to the property owners who own and live on North End Blvd.
There are other issues that I have communicated to them, too many to mention here. This will be an ongoing debate and struggle until we are satisfied with the final proposal. Our legislators have been kept informed about our concerns. Stay tuned.
Tom