Downtown traffic islands to be removed

Officials hope to eventually improve traffic patterns

By Owen Boss

GARDNER — The downtown paving project, which began earlier this week, includes the removal of three islands from the city’s business district, a move that officials expect will eventually lead to the reconfiguring of the flow of traffic through the area. Director of Public Works Dane Arnold, who is overseeing the extensive downtown road project said the island removal will not cause immediate changes to traffic patterns but store owners have several concerns. “This will not affect traffic — people will do the same thing they’ve been doing,” said Mr. Arnold. “The major concern has always been that store owners want traffic to flow by their storefronts and they figured that basically people aren’t going to spend as much time in front of their stores.” Deputy Chief Rock A. Barrieau, who has served on the Traffic Safety Commission for 10 years, said the rethinking of the downtown traffic flow has been something he has strongly advocated for. “Whether or not we are able to afford this or effect the changes immediately I think this is worthwhile to look at,” said Mr. Barrieau. “I have had a lot of complaints from people coming through downtown that were confused with the traffic patterns.” According to Mr. Barrieau, the removal of the three islands located at Parker and Main streets, Pleasant Street and City Hall Avenue, and Main Street and City Hall Avenue is the first step toward making significant changes. “After we remove (the islands) there will be some kind of physical barrier there, and the reason for doing that is if we come up with different ideas we want something that is easily removable to test out other theories,” said Mr. Barrieau. “Nothing is etched in stone, we are seeking out past engineering studies and we are seeking ideas from the owners of downtown businesses.” Although a specific plan has not yet been formulated for changes to traffic flow, Mr. Barrieau said he is encouraged with the recent developments. “Basically, Mr. Arnold has provided us an opportunity to wipe the blackboard clean and implement new patterns so we can look at different ideas,” said Mr. Barrieau. A public forum will be held at the Levi Heywood Memorial Library at 8 a.m. on Tuesday that will allow residents and store owners to discuss traffic changes with various city officials. oboss@thegardnernews.com

Appeared on Page 1 on 8/7/2008 (Vol. 206 No. 186)