In 3-2 vote, HRA endorses proposal to change traffic configuration in beach area
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A rendering of the proposed changes in beachfront area traffic flow. Click here for more studies and information on the two-way road plan.
By Carol Britton Meyer
Following a number of lengthy and sometimes contentious discussions during Hull Redevelopment Authority meetings over many months – and even a decision to not discuss it further at one point – authority members voted 3-2 this week to endorse the proposed two-way road plan, with Dan Kernan and Adrienne Paquin voting against the motion.
Newly appointed HRA member Charles Richardson made the motion Monday night, which was seconded by Chair Bartley Kelly, following an update on the plan by longtime project engineer Kevin Dandrade of The Engineering Corporation, or TEC, Inc. The presentation and related discussion took up most of the nearly three-hour meeting.
“I’m a huge advocate of the two-way road plan after what I’ve heard about it,” Richardson said.
Before Dandrade’s presentation, Kelly explained that Monday’s Zoom session was a “working meeting” with the town – represented by Town Manager Jennifer Constable and Director of Community Development & Planning Chris DiIorio – the HRA, and TEC, and that no public comments would be accepted.
The street reconfiguration plan would remove two of the four lanes of traffic crossing the HRA land and convert the remaining two lanes to one in each direction from Monument Square through the Surfside business district to the Anastos Corner area. Hull Shore Drive and Hull Shore Drive Extension also would become two-way, and would connect with a redesigned intersection with incoming traffic from George Washington Boulevard near the Mezzo Mare restaurant. Click here for diagrams of the reconfigured traffic pattern and more information about the plan (scroll down the page).
Resident objects to vote
Prior to the vote, resident C. Anne Murray spoke out during the Zoom meeting, and when Kelly reiterated that the board was not taking public comments, she said that she was going to speak anyway.
“Do you have a clue about what the latest plan looks like? The HRA doesn’t need to endorse the project, so why are you voting now?” she asked. “You should let the public have a say after this discussion that we have all been waiting for.”
After Murray spoke, Paquin said she was worried “that we are painting ourselves into a bit of a corner voting on such a vague [motion].”
Following the vote, Paquin said she felt it was “sprung on the board,” noting that such a vote was not on the agenda. “We took a generic vote out of nowhere. The plan is changing all the time.”
Kelly disagreed, noting that the board has discussed the two-way road plan numerous times.
The source of funding has not yet been determined, with options including the MassWorks program and the potential to get on the Massachusetts Department of Transportation’s Transportation Improvement Program (TIP) list, which would be a lengthy process. The town recently received an $850,000 federal earmark grant through MassDOT, but acceptance into the TIP program has not yet been determined.
A state economic development grant is another possibility to help fund the project. The town’s/HRA’s share of the total cost depends on how the project is funded.
Kernan asked a number of questions related to the project, including funding, but the answers were not clear even after Kernan repeated his questions. He emphasized the importance of putting such details in writing.
“It would be good to understand what the money would be spent on, even if the plans change, so that [the HRA and] citizens know what’s going on, what the options are, and what [the town] would lose if we don’t offer the funding,” he said.
Paquin continued to press on what financial commitments the HRA has made to the project – a question she has asked numerous times. That answer also remains unclear.
Constable urged everyone involved to focus on the “design and merits of the project to get us to the 75% stage and see if there’s a path forward.”
Benefits of traffic change cited
Dandrade provided an update about the two-way road plan – which is at the 25% design stage – and its benefits to the community, which he said include improved pedestrian safety and access between the beach and businesses, reduction of the “speedway effect” between Water and Phipps streets, surplus land providing an “engaging walking and biking experience” connecting the Surfside and Kenberma commercial districts, improved access to “businesses, parking, and Hull itself,” quicker emergency-vehicle access and response route alternatives, elimination of current traffic bottlenecks, and improvement of the safety of pedestrian spaces, among others.
“I’m really excited about this project, and always have been,” Dandrade said. “It could be transformative to the town and could be something that everyone would be proud of. I remain optimistic for this opportunity.”
Prior to the destruction of the homes and businesses on the HRA property in the 1970s, Nantasket Avenue was a two-lane street with one lane in each direction; Franklin Street, which ran along the ocean, also was a two-way road.
At the end of the discussion, DiIorio suggested those who are involved with the project “work together to put all the information about the two-way roads project in writing” to post on the town’s website.
In other business, Market Street Research was named the lowest bidder and was awarded the contract in the search for a company to conduct a townwide survey about possible uses of the HRA property. More details will be available at the next HRA meeting, scheduled for Monday, December 22, at 7:30 p.m.
A replay of the November 24 meeting will be available on demand on Hull Community Television’s website, www.hulltv.net.
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