HUDSON – A portion of Wheeler Road may soon become one-way.
During the Feb. 23 Internal Traffic Committee (ITC) meeting, the committee recommended making Wheeler Road one-way from Broad Street to Forest Avenue.
According to a memo from Director of Planning and Community Development Kristina Johnson to the ITC, last September, Department of Public Works Director Eric Ryder recommended that, with the recent paving of Wheeler Road, it be made a one-way.
“Mr. Ryder expressed concerns that with the narrow roadway and the recent paving, high speeds with two-way traffic poses a safety issue,” the memo read.
During the February meeting, Ryder added that his plows have difficulty plowing the road with another vehicle coming the opposite way.
In the fall, the committee decided to table the issue to let the Hudson Fire Department to visit the site with its apparatuses.
“My biggest issue [was that] both directions we had issues navigating the road in either direction with two-way traffic,” said Fire Chief Bryan Johannes.
Johannes had previously presented videos of the apparatuses in both directions coming onto Forest Avenue and Broad Street.
Some committee members voiced concerns about traffic backing up on Broad Street, particularly if drivers are trying to turn right onto Wheeler from Broad, Johannes noted.
“Depending on road conditions, they can be slick, and they can back up,” Johannes said.
He said that some residents have placed stones close to the road to keep people from driving on their lawns. Coming onto Forest from Wheeler, there are some sight line issues, he added.
The ITC recommended that the Select Board get a legal opinion on the change.
According to Johnson, it is a private road, but Ryder said the town has been maintaining the road for over seven years.
