The Department of Public Works' proposal is to close Lincoln Avenue at the North Hadley Road intersection to prevent drivers from using Lincoln as a straight route from Amity Street to the University of Massachusetts campus
AMHERST - Although an agenda posting glitch delayed the official public hearing, people still turned out for a Public Works Committee meeting this week to voice concerns about a proposal to close Lincoln Avenue to through traffic.
The Department of Public Works plan is to close Lincoln Avenue at the North Hadley Road intersection to prevent drivers from using Lincoln as a straight route from Amity Street to Massachusetts Avenue and the University of Massachusetts. There could also be a partial closure on Sunset Avenue, which runs parallel to Lincoln.
Residents on Lincoln have complained about traffic volume and speeding cars for years.
Five people spoke against the proposal while three from Lincoln Avenue spoke in favor during this weeks' Public Works Committee meeting.
The formal public hearing will be held March 1, and Department of Public Works Superintendent Guilford B. Mooring said people can send comments to the department. The proposal can be viewed here: http://amherstma.gov/index.aspx?nid=1464.
Caren M. Rotello and her husband, Vincent M. Rotello III, both spoke against the proposal.
“It will take an extra 10 minutes driving all the way around,” he said. “Ever since I moved here 20 years ago, I drove down Lincoln. It’s a thoroughfare,” he said.
“I’m concerned about safety,” said Lincoln Avenue resident Britt Ruhe, who endorsed the proposal. She feels there’s “a greater percentage of inattentive drivers on Lincoln.”
If police were out enforcing the traffic speed, she’d support that, but she said, “We don’t have enough law enforcement.”
People “can’t expect to live on Lincoln and have the quiet of Walden Pond,” said Ruth K. Miller, who opposed the proposal. She said people knew they were at the doorstep of UMass when they moved to that neighborhood.
Mooring said the move to close a street to through traffic “is not unprecedented. It has been done.” But the closing of Lincoln would be the biggest.
People in the neighborhood have raised traffic concerns for decades, and town officials have tried various ways to address the issues of volume and speed. Temporary speed cushions were put in place in late 2007. That slowed vehicle speed, but did not reduce the volume. Most recently temporary barriers were put in place. However, many complained about those because they did not reduce volume or speed as drivers found ways of skirting them.
The proposal would have to come before the Select Board before it would be implemented. Mooring said the idea is to put the closing in place in April, and leave it in place until the fall.
In an e-mail, Select Board chairwoman Stephanie J. O’Keeffe said she did not know when the proposal will come to the board. “I expect we would allow for public comment,” she said.