Release from Howard Stein Hudson
On Wednesday, May 18, 2011, the Town of Milton will hold the last of a series of three community meetings associated with the East Milton Square Parking and Access Study. The public meeting, which will take place at Cunningham Hall from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m., will provide an important opportunity for Milton residents and business owners to voice their opinions on how to enhance East Milton Square’s character as one of Milton’s business districts, and to provide their input on the report the Business and Citizens’ Advisory Committee (BCAC) will submit to the Board of Selectmen at the end of the month. Cunningham Hall is located at 75 Edge Hill Road in Milton.
This meeting marks a major milestone in the East Milton Square Parking and Access Study. Since last meeting with the community in March 2011, the project team has been working with the BCAC to finalize short and long-term alternatives to improve the Square. Alternatives address changes to traffic patterns, opportunities to provide additional parking, and a menu of possible traffic calming options aimed at reducing cut-through traffic speeds on the residential streets surrounding the Square. At present, the BCAC’s suite of locally preferred alternatives does not include acquiring property to create new parking lots. The project team will also provide information regarding next steps for the project, such as obtaining additional funding for design and construction of the preferred alternatives.
The upcoming public information meeting represents an excellent opportunity for Milton residents to review what has been accomplished, develop an understanding of the options to be submitted by the BCAC to the Board of Selectmen, and provide input to the project team and the BCAC as they finalize their report to the Board.
Assisting the Town and the BCAC is a diverse team of consultants led by Howard/Stein-Hudson Associates (HSH), with over 24 years of experience in transportation planning, traffic engineering, civil engineering, and public involvement. ICON architecture has provided assistance with land use and zoning issues; ICON Parks Design addressed streetscape and open space. Todreas-Hanley has provided advice to the project team on issues of retail business vitality, and Gill Engineering has offered structural engineering expertise regarding the deck over I-93. The project has been coordinated with MassDOT Highway Division which provided project oversight and serves as the conduit for the study’s funding obtained by Congressman Stephen Lynch.
The Town of Milton, the BCAC, and the project team are committed to public involvement in planning process, believing that effective planning is done with the community and not just for it. All residents, business owners, and other stakeholders are welcome to attend the meeting, provide opinions and information, ask questions, and become involved. The project team understands that attendance at public meetings can represent a challenge for people with full schedules. To help reach these individuals, information about the project, including the materials that will be presented on May 18 can be found on the study website. Following the community meeting, a copy of the presentation and meeting minutes will be made available through the project website. We also encourage members of the community to follow the project on FaceBook and Twitter.
To sign up for either FaceBook or Twitter, please visit the project website. Questions, concerns, or requests for information on the meeting or the options can be directed to:
Bill Clark, Planning Director, Town of Milton, (617) 898-4847 1st Community Meeting, orNathaniel Cabral-Curtis, Transportation Planner and Public Involvement Specialist, Howard/Stein-Hudson Associates, (617) 348-3336.