North

Street Neighbors P.O. Box 273 Northampton, MA 01061-0273 northstreetneighbors1@gmail.com

May 20, 2012

We are residents and businesses in the North Street community. We write to express our serious concerns regarding the North Street Reconstruction Project. After careful examination of the project drawings, we have identified four interrelated matters: 1. The lack of due process: This project did not allow proper time for the proposal to be analyzed by the North Street community, nor were we offered an opportunity to respond to the final plans. The public gained access to the DPWs decision only as the bidding process was being finalized. This has left residents with little or no time in which to respond to the DPWs final choice. In fact, the DPW never asked neighbors who attended the public meeting which of the plans they preferred. As a result, the community has compiled a series of pressing questions that we feel must be resolved prior to construction of the sidewalks and curbing. 2. The lack of a well-defined parking ordinance for the full length of North Street: Current plans will reduce parking for local businesses and create more on-street parking. More on-street parking will result in an unsafe restriction on traffic flow and hinder snow removal. We do not believe that on-street parking congestion is a safe solution to the dangers of speeding cars. 3. The absence of any rationale for determining which segments of North Street will receive upgraded materials in pavement and curbing: Without a clear explanation, residents are left wondering why they are not receiving the upgrades. In addition, snow removal equipment quickly degrades asphalt curbing. 4. The lack of an explanation for the DPWs decision to create parallel sidewalks on North Street: Given the reality of finite resources, the consensus at the open meeting on March 6, 2012 was to have better, upgraded sidewalks, rather than more sidewalks. Some neighbors are concerned about trading green spaces for pavement and the impact on our environment. The decision to invest a substantial portion of the budget on a second sidewalk requires a compelling argument for such an investment.

We urge you to create space for discussion and dialogue on these unresolved issues. As our concerns relate to Phase Two of this project, there should be adequate time for proper process and community input. Surely contracts of this magnitude contain some built in flexibility that would allow these discussions to occur and result in a better reconstruction plan that has the support of a greater number of neighbors. The North Street neighbors ask that our concerns be heard before the project eliminates our opportunity to be heard. Once the work is completed, it is the community taxpayers who will live with the results. The collective voice of the impacted neighborhood deserves to be heard. Given the timeline for this project and the approaching deadlines that the DPW must accommodate, we respectfully ask for a public meeting as soon as reasonably possible, so that these four concerns can be discussed and dealt with in a timely process that is open and satisfactory for everyone. Thank you. Sincerely yours, Joan McCallum Abdul-Rasool David Newton For the North Street Neighbors Signatures Attached
CC: The Honorable David Narkewicz CC: Members of the City Council William H. Dwight, City Council President/Councilor-At-Large Jesse M. Adams, Councilor-At-Large Maureen T. Carney, City Councilor, Ward 1 Paul D. Spector, City Councilor, Ward 2 Owen Freeman-Daniels, City Councilor, Ward 3 Pamela C. Schwartz, City Councilor, Ward 4 David A. Murphy, City Councilor, Ward 5 Marianne LaBarge, City Councilor, Ward 6 Eugene A. Tacy, City Councilor, Ward 7 CC: Members of the Department of Public Works: Edward S. Huntley, P.E., Director James R. Laurila, P.E., Engineer David Veleta, Senior Engineer Laura Hanson, Transportation Engineer CC: Terry Culhane, Chair, Board of Public Works