Standing on the street where he has lived since 1971, Arthur Freitas returned time and again to a central point as he discussed the coming reconstruction of Colburn Street. Option 2, which would put a five-foot sidewalk and granite curbing on the south side, he argued would make Colburn too narrow when snow piles come into the equation.
Instead of cars parking on the shoulder, by the fence, they would go outside the telephone pole on the road, Freitas said – scarcely leaving room for one vehicle to get by, and not enough for fire trucks to get through, he argued.
“It’s strictly a summertime plan. Option 2 would be beautiful, if it didn’t snow around here,” Freitas said. “I’d love to have curbs and sidewalks. It’d be beautiful. It’s just not practical.”
A Mack truck came down Colburn from Maverick Street.
“You tell me how this truck’s going to get down this road with snow on either side of the road and cars outside the telephone pole,” said Freitas, who pushed for option 1, which would repave Colburn Street but keep the existing setup.
Neighbors aired many opinions about the five reconstruction plans Engineering Director David Field put forward at a meeting at the Avery School Monday night, but one thing is clear: Colburn Street needs work.
The street is riddled with potholes and cracks, even though it is frequently patched. The trickier part is that there are only two driveways on Colburn between Maverick and Denmark streets, so people park on both sides of the street – contributing to its narrowness, and essentially taking away any sidewalk for school kids on the south side, by Mother Brook.
The town plans to renovate Colburn between Maverick and Curve streets during fiscal 2011, which begins next July. All proposals would keep the roadway 23 feet wide.
Option 2 would include the sidewalk, curbing, and a two-foot strip of grass and landscaping on the south side, and a repaved shoulder behind a berm on the north side, where most cars would park. Option 3 would include curbing on both sides, the sidewalk on the south side, and the grass and landscaping on the north. Cars would only be allowed to park on the south side, to free up more room. Still, Field said because putting granite curbing on both sides adversely affects the street because you can’t fit oncoming traffic, one-way scenarios have been suggested for options 4 and 5.
Standing on the street where he has lived since 1971, Arthur Freitas returned time and again to a central point as he discussed the coming reconstruction of Colburn Street. Option 2, which would put a five-foot sidewalk and granite curbing on the south side, he argued would make Colburn too narrow when snow piles come into the equation.
Instead of cars parking on the shoulder, by the fence, they would go outside the telephone pole on the road, Freitas said – scarcely leaving room for one vehicle to get by, and not enough for fire trucks to get through, he argued.
“It’s strictly a summertime plan. Option 2 would be beautiful, if it didn’t snow around here,” Freitas said. “I’d love to have curbs and sidewalks. It’d be beautiful. It’s just not practical.”
A Mack truck came down Colburn from Maverick Street.
“You tell me how this truck’s going to get down this road with snow on either side of the road and cars outside the telephone pole,” said Freitas, who pushed for option 1, which would repave Colburn Street but keep the existing setup.
Neighbors aired many opinions about the five reconstruction plans Engineering Director David Field put forward at a meeting at the Avery School Monday night, but one thing is clear: Colburn Street needs work.
The street is riddled with potholes and cracks, even though it is frequently patched. The trickier part is that there are only two driveways on Colburn between Maverick and Denmark streets, so people park on both sides of the street – contributing to its narrowness, and essentially taking away any sidewalk for school kids on the south side, by Mother Brook.
The town plans to renovate Colburn between Maverick and Curve streets during fiscal 2011, which begins next July. All proposals would keep the roadway 23 feet wide.
Option 2 would include the sidewalk, curbing, and a two-foot strip of grass and landscaping on the south side, and a repaved shoulder behind a berm on the north side, where most cars would park. Option 3 would include curbing on both sides, the sidewalk on the south side, and the grass and landscaping on the north. Cars would only be allowed to park on the south side, to free up more room. Still, Field said because putting granite curbing on both sides adversely affects the street because you can’t fit oncoming traffic, one-way scenarios have been suggested for options 4 and 5.
Option 4 would turn Colburn into a one-way westbound street from Curve to Maverick, with a 13-foot-wide travel lane, and a 10-foot-wide parking lane and the sidewalk on the south side. Option 5 would be similar, except traffic would be one-way eastbound.
Selectmen will ultimately make the decision, after taking input from neighbors, Field, and DPW Director Joseph Flanagan.
At Monday’s meeting, Barbara Gula, a Town Meeting member from Curve Street, said no work should be done on Colburn Street unless Maverick is repaved from Colburn north to Curve. Gula noted that the lower section of Maverick was already repaved, but said the street is “getting ready to collapse again at Evergreen (Way).”
Field responded, “There’s $24 million worth of roads in town that need to be repaved today. So Colburn Street is recommended. It’s just worse than Maverick right now.”
“We’re spending about $2 million a year on streets” through Dedham’s pavement management program, Field added later. “We just can’t get to them all at once.”
Ken Gilchrist of Colburn Street also gave a wider view of the project, telling Field “you haven’t really taken into consideration the impact” on smaller streets nearby, such as Waldo, Gould, and Denmark. Gilchrist said he agreed with another speaker that “if you’re going to make Colburn a one-way, you’d want to do the same for Waldo, because (it) impacts the neighborhood.”
Donna Goulet said she liked the idea of speed bumps. “On Maverick Street alone we have 25 little kids under the age of 11. So if you make Colburn into a one-way, it’s going to direct traffic up to Maverick,” she said.
Selectmen Chairman Michael Butler said, however, that in general his board “is not inclined to support one-way streets… because it just takes more cars and spreads them over other parts of the neighborhoods.”
Freitas talked about all the 18-wheelers who come down the street – “cars have had mirrors ripped off, cars have been damaged” – while Gilchrist said the sidewalk should be put on the other side of the fence. “I’ve been there for 35 years. My car’s been hit probably 15 times out there, once by a UPS truck,” he said.
But for Charlie Krueger of the Mother Brook Community Group – who said his children walk up Colburn Street to go to school – “it’s just a safety issue.”
“You guys have the opportunity to get a sidewalk in there. Give them a sidewalk, they’ll use the sidewalk,” he said. “My kids’ safety is more important than a mirror.”
Back on Colburn Street on Tuesday, Freitas said it would be great to have sidewalks, “but the real world is option 1.”
“This road’s been long overdue to be done,” he said. “I just hope they get it right.”
Dedham Transcript staff writer Edward B. Colby can be reached at 781-433-8336 or ecolby@cnc.com.
