The McGrath Square intersection improvement project design phase is at 85% completion, Director of Public Works Robert A. Lewis told the Bicycle, Pedestrian & Trails Committee Thursday. Design is “essentially 100% done” and “the other 15% is putting the bid package together and some tweaking,” he said. The DPW expects to then seek funding for the $11.6 million project.
Committee member David Anderson stressed the need for pedestrian safety improvements there. “I feel like my life is in danger every time I walk to Saxonville Mills,” he said.
Lewis acknowledge there is “no safe pedestrian crossing” from the city-owned parking lot at Concord and Danforth streets to Saxonville Mills.
The DPW’s plan is to move the stop bar going northbound on Concord Street to be south of Danforth Street, instead of at Central Street as it is now. However, that requires a new signal system, Lewis said. “We can’t do it with the existing signal system. If that was possible, that would’ve been done a long time ago,” he said. Unfortunately, that traffic light signal system is among the oldest in Framingham, Lewis noted.
Last summer, the DPW did some water and sewer work in the area in preparation for (hopefully) construction to begin this year. Work had once been expected to start in 2022, but was delayed.
Also at Thursday’s meeting, Ron Chick from Friends of Framingham Trails reported that construction on improving the north and south ends of the Getchell Trail has begun. “We hope to get that north and south section completed this summer,” he said.
“There’s also pending grants - a Community Preservation grant for design and funding for the middle section, and the Mayor’s office initiated a Mass Trails grant for construction of the middle section,” Chick added. “So the Carol Getchell Trail is well on its way [to be substantially improved] and it should be quite a feature for Saxonville and Framingham.”
The boardwalk from Danforth Street will be 1,200 feet long, accessible for those with mobility challenges, and there will be an observation platform. At the north end, four pedestrian footbridges are being replaced to meet accessibility guidelines, he said. “It’s the middle section now we’re looking for funding for.”
“When it comes to ADA-accessible trails, I think the Carol Getchell, if we do it right, will become something that not only we can take pride in, but we can point to: ‘This is how you do it,’ Anderson said.
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