WESTBOROUGH – The plans for the future of downtown are beginning to take shape, including potential changes to the rotary.
During the Planning Department’s second public workshop on downtown, which took place on Wednesday, June 5, at the Great Hall, attendees worked in teams to make changes to maps of downtown.
The object? To better envision what these changes would look like – zoning, parking, amenities, traffic and especially, the rotary.
Francisco Gomes of FHI Studio, which is working with RKG Associates on the downtown plan, presented the current condition of the rotary. Gomes said the rotary isn’t doing a good job.
“There are a lot of crashes, and it’s not great for pedestrians,” he said.
Three “scenarios” were presented – a circle with minimum changes to the present rotary; a triangle, where part of the rotary would be altered, with changes to East Main and South streets; and a square, which straightens out the streets surrounding the rotary, creates a new street, and may necessitate removing at least two buildings.
The consultants and attendees favored the “triangle” option because it offered a better traffic flow.
The workshop also included presentations on zoning and mobility, such as parking, bicycle lanes, traffic signals and sidewalks.
According to Eric Halvorsen, principal with RKG Associates, the information gathered from this workshop, and the first planning workshop held last month, will be combined into a report that will be presented to town staff.
After the town receives the report, it will begin working with the state’s Department of Transportation toward making any changes recommended.
Learn more about the plans for downtown at https://www.westboroughma.gov/1040/Downtown-Development-Plan
