1 DESIGN PUBLIC HEARING THURSDAY, JANUARY 31, 2013 AT WORCESTER TECHNICAL HIGH SCHOOL
1 SKYLINE DRIVE
WORCESTER, MASSACHUSETTS
7:00 P.M. FOR THE PROPOSED
BRIDGE REPLACEMENT PROJECT
Belmont Street (Route 9) over Interstate I­290
Project # 604065
Project Management
IN THE CITY OF WORCESTER, MASSACHUSETTS
COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS
MASSACHUSETTS DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
HIGHWAY DIVISION
FRANCIS DEPAOLO, P.E.
HIGHWAY ADMINISTRATOR
THOMAS F. BRODERICK, P.E.
CHIEF ENGINEER
A R L I N G T O N T Y P I N G A N D M A I L I N G
2 PRESENTERS Michael Bloukos MassDOT – Highway Division, Project Manager Mario Russo Right of Way Bureau, MassDOT – Highway Division Joseph Frawley District 3 Office MassDOT Highway Division Thomas Emerick District 3 Office, MassDOT Highway Division Micky Spillane District 3 Office, MassDOT Highway Division John Wicks WSP Sells, Design Consultant Rich Lenox WSP Sells, Design Consultant Nate Curtis Howard, Stein, Hudson SPEAKER INDEX Michael Bloukos Project Manager Mario Russo Right of Way Bureau Rich Lenox Design Consultant Page 5, 10, 15, 18, 23, 28, 34, 35, 36, 37, 40, 42, 44, 45, 46, 47, 51, 54, 58, 62, 63 8, 47, 48, 50, 51 10, 17, 22, 23, 25, 26, 27 28, 31, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43 44, 45, 59 A R L I N G T O N T Y P I N G A N D M A I L I N G
3 SPEAKER INDEX Joseph Frawley District 3 MassDOT Thomas Emerick District 3 MassDOT Mickey Spillane District 3 MassDOT Nate Curtis Howard, Stein, Hudson Phil Palmeri City Council Fred DiMauro WPI Timothy Shu Pastor Zhi Qiu Xu Concerned Citizen Songheng Li Concerned Citizen Paul Rieth Concerned Citizen Frank McCabe Concerned Citizen Melvin DeFrilla Concerned Citizen 29, 38, 42, 54 49, 52, 54, 55, 56 18, 26, 27, 37, 55 16, 17, 18, 32, 34 35, 36, 37, 57, 63 22 22, 23 24, 47 24, 45, 46, 47, 48 50, 51 25, 26, 27, 28, 41 43 26, 28, 36, 37, 39, 40, 42, 43, 44, 58, 59 Page 59 41, 42 A R L I N G T O N T Y P I N G A N D M A I L I N G
4 Paul Tolliver Concerned Citizen Mark Chamda Concerned Citizen Gio Dellostri Concerned Citizen Lily Davis Concerned Citizen Fran Early Concerned Citizen SPEAKER INDEX 29, 32, 42 30, 31, 54, 55, 56 31, 32, 42 44, 45, 50 52, 53 Page EXHIBIT Description PAGE Public Comments 1 ­ 65 Sign In Sheet 66 ­ 68 Notice of Public Hearing/Brochure 69 ­ 79 Written comments from Attendee 80 A R L I N G T O N T Y P I N G A N D M A I L I N G
5 1 2 P R O C E E D I N G S MICHAEL BLOUKOS: Good evening ladies and 3 gentlemen. I would like to welcome you to this 4 official hearing regarding the Belmont Street Bridge 5 Project tonight. My name is Michael Bloukos. I was 6 directed by Chief Engineer, Thomas Broderick, to be 7 here and present tonight's hearing. 8 We would like to welcome you here tonight. I 9 have a couple of general announcements to make. We 10 have a sign in sheet. If you haven’t sign in 11 already, please do so. We have also prepared a 12 handout for you that has more information about this 13 project. 14 I’d like to start by introducing the members we 15 have assembled for this presentation. The design 16 firm of WSP Sells ­­ John Wicks is the Project 17 Manager and Rich Lenox is the Design Engineer, and 18 Andy Burkhart is the Bridge Engineer. Also, Brenda 19 Burns is our stenographer from Arlington Typing and 20 Mailing. She is here tonight to take our verbatim 21 notes. 22 Also at this table right here, I would like to 23 introduce the members and staff from our District 3 24 office right here in Worcester. Joseph Frawley is a A R L I N G T O N T Y P I N G A N D M A I L I N G
6 1 Traffic Engineer. To his left is Mr. Thomas Emerick. 2 He is the Utilities and Structure Engineer. I would 3 like to introduce Mr. Mickey Spillane. He is the 4 Assistant Bridge Engineer. Mr. Mario Russo is our 5 Right of Way Agent. He is here to talk about the 6 Right of Way procedures. 7 I would like to briefly explain the proposal, as 8 it is stated in the official notice of the public 9 hearing. You can find the official Notice of the 10 Public Hearing in the handout that we have prepared. 11 Proposal: The proposed project in Worcester 12 will replace the bridge carrying Route 9, also known 13 as Belmont Street, over I­290 by a new, two­span 14 continuous steel girder superstructure with a 15 reinforced concrete desk and hot mix asphalt wearing 16 surface. The new bridge will be constructed in the 17 same footprint as the existing bridge with the same 18 length. However, the new bridge will be built 19 approximately 15 and one­half feet wider to the 20 south. The widening is necessary to maintain two 21 lanes of traffic at all times during construction. 22 It will allow for the dedicated left turn lane that 23 turns from Route 9 Westbound onto Interstate I­290. 24 Shared user accommodations consisting of a wide A R L I N G T O N T Y P I N G A N D M A I L I N G
7 1 outside travel lane and new pavement markings have 2 been provided in accordance with guidelines. 3 A secured Right of Way is necessary for 4 this project. Acquisitions in fee and permanent or 5 temporary easements may be required. The 6 Commonwealth of Massachusetts is responsible for 7 acquiring all needed rights in private and public 8 lands. MassDOT’S policy concerning land acquisitions 9 will be discussed at this hearing. 10 I would like to introduce Mr. Nate Curtis, whom 11 some of you have already met. He is with the firm of 12 Howard, Stein and Hudson. He is responsible for the 13 Community Outreach program. They did tremendous work 14 informing and inviting people for this project. 15 I also have a couple of general announcements to 16 make at this point. The official notice of the 17 hearing was publicized in two newspapers ­­ Worcester 18 Telegram and Gazette on January 17, 2013; and January 19 24, 2013. It was also published in the Vosaro 20 Hispano on January 18 and January 25, 2013. 21 I would like to go over the handout, which I 22 believe you all have in front of you by now. After 23 the Notice of the Public Hearing, there is a brief 24 letter from Francis DePalo, the Administrator of the A R L I N G T O N T Y P I N G A N D M A I L I N G
8 1 Highway Division. Then, there is a general 2 informational page about what a public hearing is and 3 what we seek to accomplish. Mainly, we are here 4 tonight to present the proposed project and inform 5 you as to what is going on. We are here to collect 6 your opinions and ideas. To the extent that we can 7 accommodate your suggestions and comments, we will 8 incorporate them into the next design phase. 9 Also, there is a general script about the Right 10 of Way process and how that will work. Mario Russo 11 will discuss that in detail, and he will answer your 12 questions if you have any. 13 We have included a locust map and a very 14 detailed presentation that pretty much covers every 15 stage of the construction and the scope of the 16 project. 17 Please note that on the very last page you can 18 write in your comments and mail them to us within the 19 next two weeks. 20 With this in mind, I would like to turn the mike 21 over to Mario Russo and, he will discuss the right of 22 way procedures. 23 MARIO RUSSO: Thank you. Good evening. My name 24 is Mario Russo. My phone number, in case we don’t A R L I N G T O N T Y P I N G A N D M A I L I N G
9 1 cover everything tonight that you would like to, 2 is (508) 929­3862. I would be happy to answer any 3 questions you may have. 4 I represent the Right of Way Bureau for the 5 Massachusetts Department of Transportation. We are 6 responsible for acquiring the necessary rights in all 7 private and public lands dealing with this project.
8 Affected property owners will be contacted by 9 personnel from the Right of Way Bureau or their 10 consultants representing the department. Everything 11 will comply with state and federal regulations 12 governing the acquisition process. 13 The current design plans indicate that there will 14 be fee takings and permanent takings and some 15 necessary temporary easements. 16 Affected property owners’ rights are protected 17 under our Massachusetts General Laws, primarily 18 Chapter 79; and because the project is receiving 19 federal funds, the property owners' rights are further 20 protected under Title III of the Real Property Act of 21 1970, as amended. 22 I will be available during this meeting, after 23 this meeting, and any time after that for those of you 24 that the department has not contacted already. A R L I N G T O N T Y P I N G A N D M A I L I N G
10 1 MICHAEL BLOUKAS: Thank you, Mario. 2 Rich Lenox, Design Engineer for WSP Sells, will 3 now give us a detailed presentation of this project. 4 RICH LENOX: Thank you, Michael. Again, my 5 name is Rich Lenox. I’m with WSP Sells. We are the 6 design consultant, working with MassDOT on the design 7 of this project. 8 I think the slides will show up a little better 9 with the lights off. I’m going to take a few minutes 10 to describe the details of the scope of the project. 11 Again, there is information on the details in the 12 handout we provided. 13 The first thing ­– why are we here? The bridge 14 needs to be replaced. It’s in deteriorating 15 condition. It’s structurally deficient. 16 What we are proposing to do is replace the 17 superstructure of the bridge, which consists of the 18 beam, the deck, railings, riding surface, in its 19 entirety. Then, we are going to be partially 20 replacing the foundations. We are going to be using 21 the existing abutments. We are going to be replacing 22 the center pier. 23 The cost at this time, at this 25% stage, is 24 estimated at $9.8 million. In order to reconstruct A R L I N G T O N T Y P I N G A N D M A I L I N G
11 1 the bridge, we are looking at what we call accelerated 2 construction techniques. We are trying to see if 3 there are ways we can minimize the duration of the 4 construction. So, we are introducing methods like 5 pre­cast concrete in order to minimize duration. 6 One of the big challenges of this project is 7 traffic management; how are we going to get this 8 bridge built and still keep some traffic coming to the 9 area. 10 The main focus of the job is to build this bridge 11 in two stages; half at a time. In order to do that, 12 we will have to reduce the cross section on the bridge 13 from two lanes in each direction to one lane in each 14 direction. The basic reason for that is explained in 15 the project description. 16 We are also going to be widening the road about 17 15 feet to the south. This slide here is the plan 18 view of the site north. I­290 is here. Belmont 19 Street is here running west to east. The first phase 20 is to squeeze traffic to the north side of the 21 structure. Then, we’ll reconstruct the existing south 22 half of the structure. Also, at that time, the 15 23 feet widening will come into play, which will allow us 24 to reverse the project to Phase Two. A R L I N G T O N T Y P I N G A N D M A I L I N G
12 1 Another element of this, in reducing the flow in 2 each direction, we will need to restrict the left 3 turning movements through the area. As you can see, 4 the project limits pretty much begins at Fountain 5 Street and extends east. In this area, in terms of 6 the ramps, Converse Street, and Oak Avenue, we will be 7 putting in restrictions on left turn movements in 8 order to allow better traffic flow through the area 9 during construction. 10 Here’s a slide showing the cross section of the 11 bridge and how the sequence will work. Again, the 12 existing condition is two lanes in each direction. 13 During the first phase, we will be removing half the 14 structure; keeping one lane in each direction at the 15 north side of the bridge. Once the existing bridge is 16 demolished, we will construct the first half of the 17 new structure to the south. 18 Phase 2 is just the reverse. We will shift 19 traffic on to the portion of the bridge built during 20 Phase 1. Traffic will be shifted to the south. That 21 will allow us to complete the rest of the bridge 22 construction on the north side, demolish the old 23 bridge, and construct the rest of the bridge. 24 This is showing phasing in reverse. There’s A R L I N G T O N T Y P I N G A N D M A I L I N G
13 1 traffic on the south side of the bridge while we 2 reconstruct on the north half. Again, the bridge has 3 a wider cross section by about 15 feet, which allows 4 us to incorporate a left turn lane for westbound 5 Belmont Street traffic that want to enter onto 290. 6 You can see in the cross section a lot of these 7 pipes along here. That’s another challenge to the 8 project. There’s a lot of utilities in this area. We 9 have to make sure we keep those services in place. We 10 have to coordinate with them during the phasing of the 11 project –­ electric, water, gas, telephone; just about 12 everything. 13 On I290, it is less severe. We are not doing any 14 lane restrictions on I290. We do need existing 15 shoulder lanes to allow contractors room to construct 16 the project. This is north ­­ the left side of the 17 slide, with Belmont Street here. We are showing the 18 construction area here. What we will do is use the 19 shoulders on the outside; squeeze traffic towards the 20 abutments in order to create a work area and allow 21 reconstruction of the pier. 22 Again, we are talking about accelerated 23 construction techniques regarding the pier. We’ve set 24 up some ways to try and accelerate the project. We A R L I N G T O N T Y P I N G A N D M A I L I N G
14 1 are proposing to construct the new pier slightly off 2 from the existing pier. We feel we can construct that 3 new pier offline, so to speak, prior to the impact of 4 traffic on Belmont Street. By constructing the new 5 pier just to the side of the existing allows us to 6 save a little time in terms of impact to the traffic 7 on Belmont Street. 8 Because of the restriction of turning movements 9 and lane reductions, we are going to advise detours 10 and alternate routes to advise traffic to seek 11 alternate routes; primarily using Exit 16, Martin King 12 Boulevard, in terms of exiting there. The left turn 13 on Belmont Street will be restricted. The same thing 14 for those people who want to get on 290 westbound –­ 15 try and use alternate routes like Shrewsbury Street to 16 get to the south. 17 We’ll use message boards; things such as that; to 18 advise the people in advance about the interchange and 19 the work that is going on; reroute traffic as much as 20 we can to allow better flow of traffic through the 21 site during construction. 22 The new bridge will be a similar structure as the 23 existing bridge; a two­span steel bridge. The new 24 bridge will be a two­span steel bridge. This is a A R L I N G T O N T Y P I N G A N D M A I L I N G
15 1 view of the southwest corner of the bridge. The 2 biggest difference you’ll notice is a new railing 3 system and fencing. As opposed to the open rail, we 4 are proposing a solid concrete parapet. So, it will 5 be the same structure ­– two­span steel ­– with just a 6 different railing structure and fencing then what you 7 see now. 8 In terms of the substructure, we are going to be 9 extending the abutments in order to accommodate the 10 wider structure. We are going to be using pre­cast 11 concrete to extend those abutments in here, as opposed 12 to being out in the field and pouring concrete. That 13 will help reduce construction duration. That’s just 14 another aspect of the construction. 15 Right now, the project timeline is to have our 16 design completed and open for bids this fall. We hope 17 construction will begin early next year. At this 18 time, as we go through the process, we try to come up 19 with as many ways as possible to reduce construction 20 duration. But, at this time, we are probably looking 21 at two construction seasons to reconstruct the bridge. 22 That pretty much describes what we are talking 23 about. I’ll turn things over to Michael. 24 MICHAEL BLOUKOS: This is pretty much the A R L I N G T O N T Y P I N G A N D M A I L I N G
16 1 end of the presentation. First, Rich, thank you very 2 much. This was a very informative and thorough 3 presentation. 4 Now the floor is open for any questions and 5 answers. We ask that, if we have any officials –­ 6 elected, state ­– please have the first comment or 7 question. I would like to thank you all again. We 8 understand this is a very complicated project, and it 9 will impact the downtown area of Worcester for at 10 least two construction seasons. We are trying to do 11 the best we can, and we looked into several options. 12 We examined several ideas as to how to minimize 13 impacts. 14 What we are presenting to you tonight is the 15 best, optimum solution we can come up with that 16 addresses all impacts ­– traffic, construction, 17 structure, stability. We tried to give you a very 18 comprehensive package. This is what we are giving you 19 tonight. If you have any questions tonight, we’d like 20 to hear it. 21 PHIL PALMERI, DISTRICT CITY COUNCIL: I 22 represent this area. This is obviously a pretty 23 comprehensive construction we have. As it is, without 24 any construction, the backup of traffic is, as you A R L I N G T O N T Y P I N G A N D M A I L I N G
17 1 well know, cataclysmic on a daily basis. Cutting it 2 down to one lane on either side should be a real 3 adjustment for both. 4 My initial question would be have you had any 5 real contact with the primary abutters in this area? 6 Have you had discussions with the hospital personnel; 7 those that work at the hospital that utilizes this 8 area on a daily basis, which is adjacent? 9 RICH LENOX: Yes. We’ve had two public 10 information meetings with attendees from the hospital 11 at both locations. In addition, this project was sort 12 of started several years ago. When we started the 13 project, at that time, we had several meetings with 14 representatives from the hospital, EMT, fire, police. 15 So, we’ve had several. 16 PHIL PALMERI: Out of curiosity, were those 17 meetings at the hospital? 18 RICH LENOX: No. 19 PHIL PALMERI: My suggestion, as you 20 continue to move forward ­­ my strong suggestion would 21 be to have meetings at the hospital. That’s where 22 you’ll have a full house of people who will have lots 23 of questions about what’s taking place. What will 24 happen is you’ll have public advertisements through A R L I N G T O N T Y P I N G A N D M A I L I N G
18 1 the newspapers. I don’t think that’s enough. 2 This is an extraordinary, serious project. It’s 3 needed, but to alleviate some of the angst of the 4 thousands and thousands of people who go in and out of 5 that hospital and the private businesses in that area 6 as well, I think one or two meetings are absolutely 7 critical so that we, as municipal lawmakers, don’t get 8 calls that say there was no outreach. 9 MICHAEL BLOUKOS: Nate, do you have 10 something to say to this? 11 NATE CURTIS: I work for Howard, Stein 12 Associates. I’m the Public Involvement specialist. 13 One thing I would like to add is that we have a 14 stakeholder database that has over 120 people. That 15 has the hospital, fire, EMT, police. 16 MICHAEL BLOUKOS: And for businesses, I may NATE CURTIS: As far as the run up to this, 17 add. 18 19 in addition to the advertisement in the newspaper, all 20 of them received an e­mail from me and a telephone 21 call from me requesting they attend this meeting. We 22 did try to hammer that out. 23 PHIL PALMERI: I understand that. Again, 24 for the record, in order to really reach out; in order A R L I N G T O N T Y P I N G A N D M A I L I N G
19 1 to really have an impact; in order for the community 2 to have input –­ I’m sure that’s what you want. I’m 3 going to be a little long here. This is a serious 4 issue. 5 We’ve had issues with just the pedestrian 6 crosswalk that goes from the little strip plaza to the 7 hospital where several people have been killed. It’s 8 the tightness of the traffic and the absurd way this 9 design is; not the future; but the present. We had 10 one meeting when Representative Downey was in office, 11 along with Representative Leary. We had a full house 12 just for the crosswalk and looking for some type of 13 signalization that would slow traffic down so people 14 wouldn’t get killed. This, quite honestly, is a huge 15 issue. 16 It’s not only the hospital. You have lots of 17 people who are disabled. You have schools in the 18 area. You have pre­schools in the area. There is 19 just an enormous amount of angst about what happens 20 right here. 21 There needs to be; there needs to be ­– and I’ll 22 raise it on the council floor this Tuesday night. I 23 would suggest our City Manager reach out to you, along 24 with the Mayor, to make certain that we have at least A R L I N G T O N T Y P I N G A N D M A I L I N G
20 1 one public meeting, so we can get more of the 2 community involved. It is critical. I don’t say that 3 as adversarial. It’s just a matter of being able to 4 understand what really is going to happen. 5 If you are going to cut it down to one lane, 6 parking is there in front of those businesses. Those 7 will likely be eliminated either prior to or after. 8 That, in and of itself, will be problematic for some 9 of those businesses. They need to know. They need to 10 have government show them here’s what’s really 11 happening. You need to take some heat for that, so 12 they’ll know in the future that there’s a better plan. 13 You’ve given us a general overview of what’s 14 happening. But, I think what’s extremely important, 15 is whether there’s new signalization that’s going to 16 be implemented; particularly where the hospital is; 17 that small little strip mall is. It is a bear to be 18 able to get people back and forth across that street. 19 It is happening regularly. It’s one of the bigger 20 issues. 21 Parking is going to be eliminated. Let’s be up 22 front. There needs to be a far more defined 23 description than what you gave here. These people are 24 well vested in this community. We’ve been dealing A R L I N G T O N T Y P I N G A N D M A I L I N G
21 1 with this for years. 2 We are thrilled that the state is coming up with 3 the dough to repair this decrepit bridge. It’s not 4 only the repair and the expansion, but the 5 signalization and how we are going to have pedestrian 6 movement in this bottleneck area. You can expand it 7 by 20 feet, and it will still be a problem. We need 8 to have more detail about this plan. 9 We are thrilled it’s happening. Make no mistake 10 about it. We have the Lake Quinsigamond Bridge 11 happening. It’s all from my district. I’m a happy 12 guy. All the money being poured in is for my 13 district. But, we need to have people informed. 14 The first thing they’ll say is we weren’t 15 informed. You can say they were. You can say you 16 followed the letter of the law by putting it in the 17 newspaper. Know what the Italians say? (Gesture 18 made.) No one’s read it. There’s only half dozen 19 people here from our community. That’s it. 20 For the people here in my community, this will 21 have a real adversity. Schools are in that district. 22 They should be there. Businesses are in that 23 district. They should be there. And the hospital ­– 24 they will definitely be there; all of the nurses; all A R L I N G T O N T Y P I N G A N D M A I L I N G
22 1 of the doctors. 2 I say this humbly, but forcefully. It’s 3 critical. It’s very critical. I hope you’ll have 4 this in place in the coming weeks, so we can have real 5 input as to what really should happen, as opposed to 6 just this meeting. 7 FRED D’MAURO: I’m from WPI. I was at the 8 last session you had. There’s two questions I need 9 clarification on. You said two construction seasons. 10 You are starting in the spring of 2014. What is the 11 approximate ending date? 12 RICH LENOX: If we started it in the spring 13 of 2014, we’d end in the season of 2015; by the fall. 14 FRED D’MAURO: By the end of 2015? 15 RICH LENOX: Yes. 16 FRED D’MAURO: The question I have, and I 17 mentioned this at the earlier meeting, the spring of 18 2014 ­­ after June 1 from our perspective at WPI and 19 the Mass College of Pharmacy and Assumption College. 20 After June 1 would be a tremendous advantage instead 21 of starting in the spring. 22 RICH LENOX: Yes, I do recall that. We have 23 that notation from the last meeting. 24 TIMOTHY SHU: I am the Pastor of the church A R L I N G T O N T Y P I N G A N D M A I L I N G
23 1 on the corner of the bridge. This does cause a lot of 2 adversity to the members of the church. I have a lot 3 of members of our church and a lot of employees who 4 use the parking lot and walk back and forth across 5 that bridge. We want to make sure it will be safe. 6 RICH LENOX: One thing I didn’t touch on was 7 that we will have one sidewalk on the bridge at all 8 times. In the initial phase, the sidewalk on the 9 north side, your side, will remain. When we flip over 10 to the second phase, they’ll have to cross and use the 11 south side sidewalk. We will have a sidewalk in 12 operation during the entire construction duration. 13 TIMOTHY SHU: I think we realize that it 14 will have an impact on our community. May I offer our 15 fellowship hall for you to host a meeting to inform 16 our members and our employees? 17 MICHAEL BLOUKOS: This is a public hearing 18 for the MassDOT. You can have as many meetings as you 19 want. That does not mean you can’t have meetings; 20 that you can’t meet with the town engineers; that you 21 can’t meet with the design engineers at any point. 22 TIMOTHY SHU: The City Councilor was just 23 mentioning to have a meeting with everyone in the 24 Chinese church. A R L I N G T O N T Y P I N G A N D M A I L I N G
24 1 ZHI QIU XU: I’m a member of the Chinese 2 church; right next to this project. You mentioned 3 several hearings. We are surprised. We never get 4 informed. Our church is right on the corner of the 5 project. 6 We want to know next time of any developments. 7 We need to get involved. 8 Based on this proposal, it looks like for our 9 church –­ we have children. It causes concern. 10 As Pastor just mentioned, I’d like to have a 11 meeting and address our church. I understand this is 12 a 25% hearing. I would hope in the future we would 13 appreciate keeping us involved in the progress. I 14 would like to understand the details of the project. 15 We have a plan here that we do not understand. 16 I would hope someone would come to our church and 17 talk to us about it and really explain the impact of 18 what this will cause our church. 19 SONGHENG LI: I’m also a member of the 20 church; Chinese Gospel Church. Actually, it’s a new 21 name. We saw this plan a couple of days ago. I have 22 no idea the details, information. 23 We are asking more information for our church. 24 We need to understand what’s really, really going on A R L I N G T O N T Y P I N G A N D M A I L I N G
25 1 here. There’s talk about taking some land from our 2 church. We need to know what parcel will be taken 3 out. What’s the purpose for this land usage? 4 We would really appreciate more detailed 5 information. We would appreciate the engineering 6 design to be presented to our church members, so we 7 can have a better understanding. 8 PAUL RIETH: Can you put up the slide that 9 shows how you are going to change the traffic? 10 Can you explain why they decided to change the 11 traffic? We are at 67 Belmont Street. We’re at the 12 corner of Converse. That’s how people get to our 13 building. Can you explain how our patients are going 14 to get there? What’s the plan to divert traffic? You 15 won’t be able to go up I290 and go straight to 16 Converse Street. How will they be able to get to our 17 building? 18 RICH LENOX: If they are coming 290, they 19 will be advised to get off the previous exit and go up 20 through Lincoln Square. They’ll have to loop around 21 Shrewsbury Street and come in the opposite direction. 22 The other thing is we possibly reverse the one 23 way direction on Converse Street, which would allow 24 access from the rear; to use the street east of the A R L I N G T O N T Y P I N G A N D M A I L I N G
26 1 hospital; come up and go around in that direction. 2 That’s another alternative. 3 FRANK MCCABE: I have an office at 67 4 Belmont Street. I see over 100 patients a day. Most 5 of our patients are over 70. We get referrals from 6 all of Central Mass, Connecticut, east of us, New 7 Hampshire. I don’t see how a new patient coming from 8 Connecticut is going to find their way to our office. 9 This doesn’t seem to be an ideal situation. Will you 10 have signage telling them how to get to our office? 11 RICH LENOX: That is part of the reason we 12 are here tonight. We want to try and get some of the 13 input and see how we can work with the abutters, and 14 get the things appropriate to help. To do this type 15 of project in this location, it won’t be ideal for 16 anyone. In order to get it done, we’re doing the best 17 we can to work with the abutters to find out these 18 things. This is the type of thing we were hoping to 19 find out. 20 NATE CURTIS: If I may interrupt? One thing 21 is that, as you are writing your comments to the DOT, 22 you should feel comfortable doing in. The message 23 boards ­­ that’s part of this; right? 24 RICH LENOX: Yes. A R L I N G T O N T Y P I N G A N D M A I L I N G
27 1 NATE CURTIS: This is the current detour 2 plan. When you write in your comments, if you think 3 the left turns not being there during construction; if 4 you think there should be a different detour than 5 this, you should write it in. 6 PAUL RIETH: I don’t understand. How are 7 you going to handle it? You have two lanes of 8 traffic. That’s all you have in front of Converse 9 Street; just two lanes. You’re not allowing a turn in 10 there. How are people going to get to those 11 buildings? It sounds like you’re only going to have 12 one turn to get in there. It sounds as if it’s only 13 coming down the opposite way. 14 RICH LENOX: One of the things we had was to 15 reverse the one way. So, instead of one way in and 16 one way out, you’d be allowed to access the rear, the 17 north end of Converse Street, in that direction. 18 PAUL RIETH: I guess my question is you are 19 talking about Oak Avenue, the street that’s the next 20 one over? 21 RICH LENOX: No. I think you have to go up 22 around. 23 PAUL RIETH: Why don’t you show us on the 24 slide again? A R L I N G T O N T Y P I N G A N D M A I L I N G
28 1 RICH LENOX: Converse Street is here. One 2 way coming out as opposed to one way going in, but 3 then they can loop up around the hospital and come in 4 front on the north side. That’s the concept we are 5 currently showing. 6 FRANK MCCABE: If someone is coming from 7 Auburn, how are they going to ­– are they going to 8 exit? 9 RICH LENOX: In that case, you get off; take 10 a right; then a left just past the hospital. 11 FRANK MCCABE: So, they can get off that off 12 ramp there? 13 RICH LENOX: You can get off, but you’re 14 going to have to take a right. 15 PAUL RIETH: Why can’t they turn on Oak 16 Avenue? 17 RICH LENOX: Once somebody stops and is 18 waiting to make a left turn, it can back up the whole 19 area. At this point, we were thinking there would be 20 too much of a queue, and no one will get anywhere in 21 terms of people waiting to take that left turn. We 22 thought it would be more advisable to push it up a 23 little further to the east. 24 MICHAEL BLOUKOS: During each phase, there A R L I N G T O N T Y P I N G A N D M A I L I N G
29 1 will be adequate signage. There will also be police 2 details to moderate traffic; in some cases, to stop 3 traffic; depending on what the situation is. 4 It’s a good idea now that we know what the 5 general plan is. You can incorporate the elements of 6 the detour plan into the directions you give your 7 patients. Further along, you could inform your 8 patients that, because of construction, you might have 9 to go this way; that way; in order to reach your 10 office. There might be some way to update your site. 11 You might be able to reach your patients through some 12 other means. 13 JOSEPH FRAWLEY: How the Converse Street 14 detour happens is something we should talk more about 15 with people who are impacted by it. If we can make it 16 work by using Oak Avenue, instead of people going all 17 the way up to Hooper, we want to have that discussion. 18 It’s not something that is set in stone at this point. 19 PAUL TOLLIVER: You can use temporary 20 traffic signals that they utilize in the city. You’re 21 using one now. You are using them because of road 22 conditions. You use them on Franklin Street. You use 23 them on North Lake Avenue. You could use a temporary 24 traffic signal at Oak Avenue to allow left turns with A R L I N G T O N T Y P I N G A N D M A I L I N G
30 1 a traffic signal. 2 This is a two part comment if I may take the 3 opportunity. I’m concerned about the proposed 4 detouring and what it’s going to do to emergency 5 vehicles responding to a very, very large 6 neighborhood. 7 Secondly, the pedestrian traffic, like the church 8 people said, they use the parking lot for people who 9 work at Memorial. At some point, they will have to 10 cross this construction site two, three times. I 11 would like to throw this out for a thought. 12 North of the existing Belmont Street Bridge, is 13 it possible to put in a pedestrian only, temporary, 14 bailey­type, military bridge, and leave it there 15 permanently until the bridge is completed and have 16 that for pedestrians only? They won’t be crossing 17 Belmont Street at any time. 18 MARK CHAMDA: I’m also representing the 19 medical practice that’s at 67 Belmont. I want to 20 reiterate what Dr. McCabe said with the volume of 21 patients we see. The type of patient we frequently 22 see are urgent patients who are referred to us and 23 time is of the essence. There could sight saving 24 procedures that need to be done in order to prevent A R L I N G T O N T Y P I N G A N D M A I L I N G
31 1 death. 2 With this type of delay, bottleneck of traffic 3 and detouring them far away to get to 67 Belmont, it 4 could potentially expose to one to legal 5 ramifications. I did want to add that as a 6 consideration. 7 What would be the flow of traffic; any change 8 during the offseason; during the winter? 9 RICH LENOX: At this point, I don’t think 10 there would be. To minimize the duration, we’ll hope 11 to work as much as possible. They’ll shut down if the 12 weather didn’t cooperate. 13 MARK CHAMDA: So, the plan would be no 14 change for the duration? 15 RICH LENOX: I don’t think so. Physically, 16 I don’t think there would be room. We might not have 17 lanes available in the winter that would be available 18 in the summer. 19 GIO DELLOSTIO: I work at the hospital. 20 Exit 17 off 290 currently has three lanes; you’re 21 reducing it to one lane, right turn only. Is that 22 going to be a shifting lane as are you’re coming off? 23 RICH LENOX: Yes. It’ll be a gradual shift 24 to bring the traffic down to one lane. A R L I N G T O N T Y P I N G A N D M A I L I N G
32 1 PAUL TOLLIVER: There’s a tremendous amount 2 of traffic there. They’ll be backed up on 290. 3 GIO DELLOSTIO: It’s backed up now. 4 PHIL PALMERI: I just want to respond to a 5 few questions. One of them was Michael’s response to 6 the 25% meeting; is this the only one; is there going 7 to be future meetings? That doesn’t stand. Make no 8 mistake. We need to have another meeting with you and 9 all of the people here and the hospital. It could 10 include the churches and businesses and everyone, so 11 they understand what is going to happen. There will 12 be many, many suggestions. Just having a couple of 13 businesses here is not enough. 14 Your response ­– I don’t know what the legal 15 ramifications –­ but, to my vantage point doesn’t work 16 for me. It doesn’t work for the City. It doesn’t 17 work for the community. 18 I would strongly suggest, please make an 19 adjustment; please make the major contact at the 20 hospital. Set it up in their auditorium. Talk with 21 the State Representatives in the area. Mary Keefe is 22 not here or James Leary is not here. Harriet Chandler 23 is not here. They should be at that meeting as well; 24 as well as the Mayor, City Manager, and the members of A R L I N G T O N T Y P I N G A N D M A I L I N G
33 1 the City Council who would have a vested interest. It 2 should be all 11 districts because this is going to 3 create the biggest bottleneck in the history of the 4 City. We don’t take it lightly. 5 I’m not trying to be scolding. I’m just trying 6 to be informative. That has to be a must, or it will 7 become a challenge. Then, it will become adversarial, 8 which I think, would put us in an awful ­– We don’t 9 need adversaries. We need cooperation. We need more 10 information. We need more communication. We don’t 11 have enough of it. 12 Secondly, I think this is equally important. 13 When you talk about the two seasons, we know what the 14 seasons are –­ summer, spring, fall, reach over into 15 the winter. It also adds to the bottom line, which I 16 think, makes no sense. When it’s done ­– if it’s done 17 during the daytime when everyone is in business, and 18 it adversely impacts their business; it impacts the 19 community. We shut down at 6:00 when all the people 20 that work there are gone. There’s less traffic. 21 There should be some consideration for the hours, 22 particularly for this area. I don’t think there’s 23 another area in the City of Worcester that will have 24 such adverse impact to it. You’re in a tough spot. A R L I N G T O N T Y P I N G A N D M A I L I N G
34 1 I’d like you to consider suggesting looking at 2 the hours of operation. When they do work on the Mass 3 Pike and they do it on the bridges, sometimes they 4 don’t do it during the daytime. Sometimes they do it 5 in the evening for the obvious reasons. This is 6 busier than the Mass Pike. There are more cars going 7 through here than go through the Mass Pike. It should 8 be a discussion point. It should be more than just 9 talking about it. 10 I’m pleased these people are here. I’m pleased 11 that the neighbors from Lake Avenue are here. They 12 are concerned. We need to have another meeting. It 13 should be full throttle. It needs to be a full 14 relationship. Most projects ­– when it happens ­– 15 what do people say? I didn’t know about it. No one 16 told me. It’s the government as usual. 17 MICHAEL BLOUKOS: Let me respond to you. 18 PHIL PALMERI: You can respond. I’ll respond 19 that. 20 MICHAEL BLOUKOS: For the purpose of the 21 MassDOT, it’s to have one public hearing, unless the 22 design changes drastically. 23 PHIL PALMERI: It could if there could be 24 more people here. I think there’d be more A R L I N G T O N T Y P I N G A N D M A I L I N G
35 1 communication. I think there will be ten times as 2 many people; ten times the amount of discussion; ten 3 times the suggestions. These people live and work in 4 this area. I do appreciate that your engineers, who 5 are good people, have looked at this inside out, 6 upside down. Communication is a point. You are not 7 communicating with our community. If you’re not 8 communicating with our community and you think you are 9 on the side of the law, well, I’ll raise the 10 temperature a little. We’ll see if we have another 11 one. We’ll see if we can get people here. If you 12 want to fall on the side of, “hey; look; this is it”, 13 we’ll bring someone in. But, I’ll raise the 14 temperature. 15 MICHAEL BLOUKOS: You are doing the talking, 16 but not listening. 17 PHIL PALMERI: We can have an adversarial 18 conversation. I’m having a discussion because you 19 said there’s only going to be one meeting. I say 20 there’s not going to be just one meeting. 21 That’s not my microphone. It’s yours. 22 MICHAEL BLOUKOS: Let me state it again for 23 the record. This is the public hearing we are having 24 for the project unless the design changes. A R L I N G T O N T Y P I N G A N D M A I L I N G
36 1 PHIL PALMERI: It will. 2 MICHAEL BLOUKOS: That does not mean we are 3 not going to have any meetings with any specific 4 groups. You are very welcome to contact us. You are 5 very welcome to have meetings in groups of people to 6 discuss your concerns. 7 For the record, this is the third meeting we have 8 had for this project. The first meeting was in 9 October, 2012. The second one was in November of 10 2012. 11 You are raising a lot of interesting issues 12 tonight, and some of them are worth elaborating 13 further about. We are here to talk about them as long 14 as you want. If there’s an issue you don’t 15 understand, we can explain it further. We are here to 16 discuss and listen. 17 If you think someone would like to know more 18 about this project, or that group of businesses, by 19 all means, invite them to reach us and voice their 20 concerns. You have all raised very good points. To 21 the extent we can incorporate them, we’d like to give 22 you further details. 23 Are there any more comments? 24 FRANK MCCABE: The 290 off ramp has 3 lanes A R L I N G T O N T Y P I N G A N D M A I L I N G
37 1 of traffic. In the morning, it’s really backed up. 2 To go to a right turn only with one lane, I don’t see 3 how that’s going to work. 4 My second question is will the businesses from 5 Belmont be able to meet with you again to discuss 6 traffic plans and the detour? If there’s no more 7 public meetings, how are we going to meet again? 8 MICHAEL BLOUKOS: You can always call us. 9 You can talk to the district people. You can call the 10 consultant. 11 FRANK MCCABE: Has the traffic flow been 12 brought up about ­­ the traffic flow getting off I90? 13 How much volume is there now, and how much will that 14 change with traffic going down Oak Avenue or Harper 15 Avenue? 16 RICH LENOX: Well, if you can imagine the 17 off ramp with 3 lanes; one going left; one going 18 through; one going right. We’re hoping and expecting 19 people, who want to go left, get off 290 here. The 20 volume of traffic should cut. Those people will find 21 alternate routes. They won’t be coming off the exit 22 ramp, and therefore, the volume of traffic should 23 reduce. 24 NATE CURTIS: Rich, help me, so I know. A R L I N G T O N T Y P I N G A N D M A I L I N G
38 1 Joe, I’ll look to you as well. I know just enough 2 traffic can be dangerous. One of the most inefficient 3 movements in any traffic situation is a left. If we 4 remove the left, some of the back up traffic may 5 dissipate just by not having that left turn lane. 6 Gentlemen, did I say anything wrong? 7 JOSEPH FRAWLEY: In order to build the 8 bridge in two stages and have one lane in each 9 direction, if you try to keep the existing left 10 movements onto 290 West open, turning from Belmont 11 Street, then you’ll be in a situation where we cannot 12 handle that situation. It doesn’t work. That’s why 13 we are going ahead with it this way. 14 In terms of traffic volumes, we do have a fair 15 amount of traffic studies. I don’t have it in front 16 of me. We can come prepared to any meeting so you’ll 17 understand what we looked at. 18 In general, what we’re doing here and what we’re 19 doing with the detour, when it comes to this amount of 20 traffic volumes, we try and diminish traffic as much 21 as we want, but people are going to find their own 22 way. Some may take the alternate route. A lot of 23 them will go other ways. 24 We’re going to be working with the City DPW to A R L I N G T O N T Y P I N G A N D M A I L I N G
39 1 look at the intersection. We did this when we did the 2 I295 project, which was an extremely challenging 3 project from that perspective. 4 We go to the traffic signals. We watch the 5 traffic in the morning and in the afternoon, and work 6 with the City to make the timing as best we can. 7 Certainly, we can look at what we have for traffic 8 volumes going into Oak Avenue now; what it would be 9 with proposed traffic. I think we can try to get more 10 information. We can come and sit down with you, and 11 talk through all this. 12 FRANK MCCABE: I don’t know anything about 13 the building a bridge business. But the traffic here 14 now is horrible. Is there any way with the 15 accelerated construction techniques and pre­cast 16 concrete ­– two years seems like a long time ­– any 17 way of accelerating that to shorter than two years? 18 That seems like a long time. Maybe it’s not. 19 RICH LENOX: We can certainly look at it. 20 As we go forward, we try to refine things to see if 21 there are ways in the design that we reduce that 22 duration. One thing we have talked about is extended 23 hours; work longer shifts. Our two year season is 24 based on a normal 8 hour day. It’s not 6 days, 10 A R L I N G T O N T Y P I N G A N D M A I L I N G
40 1 hours a day. If that’s something that may be amenable 2 with the City and the abutters –­ 3 FRANK MCCABE: Twenty four hours a day? 4 It’s going to be terrible traffic wise. 5 RICH LENOX: Those are the kinds of things 6 we want to discuss to see if those are possibilities. 7 Those certainly would help. 8 MICHAEL BLOUKOS: I would like to add to 9 what Rich has said. What we are presenting tonight is 10 a formalization of a lot of thinking in terms of 11 structures, impacts, costs, duration. Everything goes 12 into the mix to try and come up with something that 13 will give you a good bridge in the least amount of 14 time with minimal disturbance. 15 There are other ways that the structure can take 16 longer. We don’t want the structure to take longer, 17 as much as you don’t want the structure to take 18 longer. We try to come up with a good solution that 19 will be implemented in the least amount of time with 20 the least disturbance. In this case, we want two 21 construction seasons. 22 We can give you other solutions that will take 23 three construction seasons. Maybe the impacts won’t 24 be as big. Maybe the cost won’t be as high. But, you A R L I N G T O N T Y P I N G A N D M A I L I N G
41 1 don’t want three years. You want two years. 2 MELVIN DEFRILLA: What is the rationale for 3 not allowing straight through traffic on to Converse? 4 RICH LENOX: I think it goes back to what 5 Joe says. Any time we create a conflict ­­­ if we 6 allow straight through traffic with a signal on to 7 Belmont Street. I think the concept it to reduce as 8 many conflicts as we can to allow as good a flow of 9 traffic as we can. 10 The only reason for the signal is for the left 11 turn onto 290. That move will be restricted. So, the 12 signal will only be in effect for pedestrians. 13 MELVIN DEFRILLA: Are you going to allow a 14 signal from the exit ramp for right turns? 15 RICH LENOX: At this time, we have a stop 16 sign. That may be something we still have to study. 17 MELVIN DEFRILLA: You have crosswalks there. 18 To go straight on to Concord or right turn only on to 19 Belmont seems to warrant a light. 20 PAUL RIETH: How are you going to ­­ they 21 either have to go left on Oak; go down to Harper. 22 RICH LENOX: At this time, we have no left 23 turn. But, yes; they can turn on Oak. 24 PAUL RIETH: You are going to end up with a A R L I N G T O N T Y P I N G A N D M A I L I N G
42 1 light somewhere. They have to turn somewhere. How 2 are they going to do that? You’re bringing them 3 closer to the hospital. 4 I agree with the gentleman right there about the 5 emergency vehicles. They have a hard time getting 6 through now with 4 lanes of traffic. 7 JOSEPH FRAWLEY: We can work with the City 8 about trying to convert Converse into a two way. 9 RICH LENOX: I’m not sure if that’s the 10 city. 11 MELVIN DEFRILLA: Is that something as 12 occupants of 67 we have to do on our own? 13 RICH LENOX: It’s a city road, so I guess it 14 would be the city. 15 GIO DELLOSTIO: Who approaches the city? 16 RICH LENOX: I don’t know. 17 MICHAEL BLOUKOS: There will be contact 18 between the DOT and the City at a higher level than 19 us. There will be contact. 20 PAUL TOLLIVER: You have a two way now. 21 Make Converse a two­way. 22 FRANK MCCABE: So, people getting off of 23 I290 are going to have a stop sign; there’s not going 24 to be a traffic light? They are going to have to wait A R L I N G T O N T Y P I N G A N D M A I L I N G
43 1 to take a right? 2 RICH LENOX: Yes. 3 FRANK MCCABE: I don’t think that’s going to 4 work. If there’s not a light there, no one will get 5 through. 6 RICH LENOX: As we go through the 7 projections and current traffic data, if that’s the 8 case, we’ll have to have a traffic light there. 9 FRANK MCCABE: Can they go across to 10 Converse Street? 11 RICH LENOX: We’ll have to look at that 12 phase and maybe that’s a possibility. 13 FRANK MCCABE: I know the plans are 25%, but 14 I think that would be your best bet already. 15 RICH LENOX: From the data we had several 16 years ago, we felt the stop sign would work. 17 PAUL RIETH: The traffic studies ­– was it 18 strictly where the bridge is; did you study Converse 19 Street, Oak Street, all of the surrounding areas? Did 20 you look at the traffic that goes in and out of this 21 immediate area? 22 RICH LENOX: I think in this short corridor 23 and also Lincoln Square ­­ Joe touched on that. 24 That’s something we have to work on. We will be A R L I N G T O N T Y P I N G A N D M A I L I N G
44 1 getting an updated count as we finalize the design. 2 FRANK MCCABE: Can I look at those studies? 3 RICH LENOX: Sure. 4 MICHAEL BLOUKOS: Any more questions, 5 comments, suggestions? 6 LILY DAVIS: I’m a member of the church 7 also. With all this construction ­­ it’s right near 8 our church. How will this affect the structure of our 9 church building? There are three churches on Belmont 10 Street. I’m concerned about the vibration as well as 11 construction vehicles that will have to go down Route 12 9. 13 RICH LENOX: As for proximity to the church 14 and the curb, we are not pushing traffic any closer. 15 LILY DAVIS: What about the traffic flow? 16 RICH LENOX: Certainly construction ­­ 17 LILY DAVIS: People will take detours, but 18 we can’t count on that. You’re still going to have 19 traffic flow come closer to our church. 20 RICH LENOX: With only one lane in each 21 direction, generally there will be less of a flow of 22 traffic. 23 LILY DAVIS: Have you looked at how this 24 increased traffic will affect the structures on A R L I N G T O N T Y P I N G A N D M A I L I N G
45 1 Belmont Street? All of the questions have been about 2 traffic flow. That’s important, but structure of the 3 buildings is just as important. 4 RICH LENOX: As far as construction, there 5 are provisions in the contract for things like 6 vibration and working closer to the structures. 7 LILY DAVIS: I think there should be 8 provisions by MassDOT and the contractor to meet with 9 our church and all those affected on Belmont Street; 10 not just about traffic flow, but construction. 11 MICHAEL BLOUKOS: Fist, we don’t have a 12 contractor yet. We won’t select the contractor until 13 about a year from now, if everything goes on schedule. 14 But before the contractor starts operations; before 15 the actual construction starts, there will be another 16 meeting for pre­construction. He will also let the 17 city know how the operations will be scheduled; how 18 they will proceed; certain specific methods the 19 contractor will use as far it relates to the 20 construction. 21 At this time, we are doing the framework and 22 design of the design of project. The construction 23 comes later on. 24 SONGHENG LI: I understand we don’t know who A R L I N G T O N T Y P I N G A N D M A I L I N G
46 1 the contractor is and that this is just design. I 2 would like some documentation as to what protection 3 methods are in place to make sure our building is 4 protected. It’s a historic building. We are very 5 concerned. We want to make 100% sure this is included 6 in the contract specification. 7 MICHAEL BLOUKOS: Every contractor will have 8 specifications for safety, not only for people, but 9 for the buildings and property. 10 SONGHENG LI: Will we have the ability to 11 review your contract specifications? Will it be 12 published? Will we know who the contractor is? 13 MICHAEL BLOUKOS: The public does not get 14 involved with the selection of the contractor. 15 SONGHENG LI: I’m not concerned with the 16 construction. I want to know what specifications will 17 be included to protect this building. 18 MICHAEL BLOUKOS: You have to understand. 19 We are doing dozens and dozens of projects in every 20 city. We are concerned with safety just as much as 21 you are. The contractor has specifications for the 22 project construction. He will have specific 23 instructions on vibrations, etc. etc. There is 24 language in there. A R L I N G T O N T Y P I N G A N D M A I L I N G
47 1 SONGHENG LI: I just want to make sure we 2 have more communication to make sure we understand. 3 MICHAEL BLOUKOS: I don’t want to sidetrack 4 the discussion during the meeting. We can talk after 5 the meeting about this. 6 SONGHENG LI: I would like to. 7 ZHI QIU XU: The bridge is very close to our 8 building. The east tower was reinforced. We really 9 appreciate that we’d like to see an evaluation of the 10 potential impact on the building during construction. 11 I’d like to ask the designer what is the purpose 12 of taking a piece of our land; why are you using it? 13 We still have no idea. 14 MARIO RUSSO: I spoke with you at least 3 15 times. We sent out a mailing to you from the office 16 here and Boston. Those plans are right of way plans. 17 They have nothing to do with construction or 18 consequences of damages to buildings. That is just 19 for me to sit down with you to go over the project; 20 how we conduct business with you dollar wise. That 21 just stipulates what we are doing. 22 The brown area is temporary. It means we pay 23 people for our people to walk on your property. We 24 just don’t go into people’s property and conduct A R L I N G T O N T Y P I N G A N D M A I L I N G
48 1 anything without compensating you for it. That’s part 2 of the protection under the 14th Amendment of the 3 United State Constitution. 4 I need the opportunity to sit down and go over 5 these things with the deeded owner; the people that 6 are on the deed, so we can talk privately. We don’t 7 talk in public about other people’s property. 8 Those are not construction plans. Those are 9 right of way plans for the purpose of the actual 10 takings or easements. 11 These are not construction plans. I might have 12 mentioned it. If I didn’t, it’s an oversight. I can 13 bring construction plans along with me. These people 14 will tell you that I brought them along with me. I do 15 not get personally get involved with the actual 16 construction aspects. That’s what these engineers are 17 for. I don’t profess to have the expertise in that 18 area. I have it in the area that permits you to be 19 compensated for any damages we cause you. 20 I understand your holding the plans. Those are 21 not construction plans. We can talk after. It’s not 22 a construction aspect. 23 SONGHEN LI: I’m concerned about this. 24 MARIO RUSSO: We don’t send out construction A R L I N G T O N T Y P I N G A N D M A I L I N G
49 1 designs. We don’t get involved. That is just for 2 right of way compensation for the people we are trying 3 to make whole after. It’s like a pie. If you take a 4 chunk, you have to make that pie whole again. That’s 5 what we do. 6 THOMAS EMERICK: When the hearing is over, 7 we can go over the construction plans with you; talk 8 over your concerns with that parcel. We can also talk 9 about impacts to your building. I know you have 10 concerns about the historic nature of the building. 11 We inspect buildings, inspect foundations, report any 12 defects to the properties and monitor it throughout 13 the project. 14 We are not anticipating a lot of vibration, as we 15 are not putting in foundations. We are using the 16 existing abutments. A lot of times we’ll put in new 17 foundations. We are not doing a lot of that work 18 here. Most of the vibration during demolition will be 19 just saw cutting on the existing concrete and some 20 jack hammering. We are not anticipating a lot of 21 really solid vibrations. We can discuss the issues 22 with you. 23 Any concerns you guys have, I wish you would 24 write them down and send them to the department, so we A R L I N G T O N T Y P I N G A N D M A I L I N G
50 1 can make sure we evaluate it during the design phase. 2 Our goal is not to have you guys repair your 3 building when we are done. We make sure everyone is 4 whole. We look at all of those things. 5 We’ll be here after the public hearing closes and 6 we can go through those things. 7 MARIO RUSSO: This isn’t the end of any of 8 these discussions. As I did at the beginning of the 9 meeting, I gave everyone my phone number. I’ve never 10 not called anyone back. 11 LILY DAVIS: We just want to make sure we 12 are aware of meetings. 13 SONGHENG LI: We didn’t receive any notice. 14 MARIO RUSSO: When I made you aware of this 15 meeting, the information had already gone out. I 16 tried to notify people on a personal basis, because I 17 had already met with a lot. I didn’t meet with you, 18 because I wasn’t able to hook up with you at the time. 19 That’s why the mailing was sent to you so you would be 20 privy to what was going on. 21 However, I did meet with the housing authority, 22 and some other people. I have already gone through 23 this information. I have not gone through this with 24 you because you have not given us the opportunity to A R L I N G T O N T Y P I N G A N D M A I L I N G
51 1 sit down with you. 2 After the meeting, we can sit down with you and 3 set something up. 4 SONGHENG LI: Okay. No problem. 5 MARIO RUSSO: This is not the end. 6 MICHAEL BLOUKOS: We advertise the public 7 hearing in local newspapers. This is what we are 8 prescribed to do. We did advertise. But, as a 9 reminder, you are all here tonight because you had a 10 community outreach program. Nate and people from the 11 department have called, invited, e­mailed, called 12 businesses, organizations, colleges, hospitals; 13 everybody involved in this area because we wanted you 14 to know. We have a very extensive list of people we 15 called and invited to discuss this. Mind you, this is 16 the third meeting. 17 We need a Right of Way certificate before we are 18 able to proceed with this project. In spite of that, 19 we are knocking on everyone’s door and Mario is 20 explaining in detail the project and what we expect to 21 accomplish. 22 As I mentioned, even though this is the Public 23 Hearing, that does not mean you are not going to be 24 able to talk to people in groups and discuss things in A R L I N G T O N T Y P I N G A N D M A I L I N G
52 1 more detail. 2 Any further questions? 3 FRAN EARLY, UMASS HOSPITAL: I know you’ve 4 done traffic studies. I don’t think that’s an 5 accurate representation. 6 You’re talking about taking a right hand only off 7 290. Why don’t you go to Oak Avenue at 3:30 and try 8 to take right hand there? There’s a traffic light on 9 Converse Street. You want to take a right, and you’re 10 the third car going eastbound, you can’t make that 11 until the next light signal. 12 I’d like you to go to 67 Belmont Street. Sit in 13 the lobby. See the type of patients. You’re asking 14 them to take left; go up to the intersection at a 4 15 way sign. If you’re coming from Connecticut, it will 16 take them as long as to get here, as it would people 17 on Belmont Street. 18 Just sitting there looking at maps doesn’t give 19 you an accurate picture of what’s going on with that 20 stretch of road. 21 THOMAS EMERICK: We understand that. Part 22 of this presentation is to generate this type of 23 discussion. It is to get input from people who work 24 out here. Most of these turning movements and A R L I N G T O N T Y P I N G A N D M A I L I N G
53 1 proposals were based on actual traffic counts 2 performed during peak hours; off peak hours. That’s 3 what we are basing our information on. 4 It’s a very difficult bridge to replace; a very 5 dense area. So, the purpose of the public hearing is 6 to get these comments in from the businesses it will 7 impact. We understand. Emergency vehicles are 8 priorities. People getting to the doctor is a 9 priority. It’s not things we are not looking at. 10 We came up with a plan and we wanted to present 11 it for feedback and have everybody comment. Based on 12 the comments we’ve had come back, we’ll go back and 13 look at this again to see how we can make it better. 14 It’s 25% design. It’s a preliminary design. We have 15 75%, 100%. There’s four more parts to this design. 16 This is the very early stages of it. 17 Our traffic engineer, Joseph Frawley, has been 18 with us for 10 years. He has dealt with the Belmont 19 Street West project, the Belmont Street East project. 20 He’s been involved in a lot of city projects, and we 21 realize the amount of traffic throughout the city. 22 FRAN EARLY: I should also mention 23 pedestrians. You’re now forcing people to cross in 24 two additional places. A R L I N G T O N T Y P I N G A N D M A I L I N G
54 1 MICHAEL BLOUKOS: I also mentioned there 2 will be police detail during construction. 3 JOE FRAWLEY: This proposal we have here 4 shows at the two locations where we propose to have 5 pedestrian crossing to get from the closed sidewalk to 6 the open sidewalk. We leave the signal in place to 7 observe the pedestrian crossing. We are aware of the 8 issues at the hospital with the pedestrian crossing. 9 We are in the process of planning an opportunity 10 for us to do a safety audit with City, police, fire, 11 and businesses to be able to look at what we can do. 12 A focus is on that pedestrian crossing to make it 13 safer. Those are the types of things we know we need 14 to take a look at. We are aware. 15 THOMAS EMERICK: That road safety audit is a 16 physical walk through the whole project; impacts to 17 the hospitals, etc. We typically walk through with 18 the city, the hospital, impacted people in that 19 corridor. The safety audit it to make sure we make it 20 safer worse. 21 MARK CHAMDA: We have elderly, visually­
22 impaired patients who are coming to us on an urgent 23 basis. Time is of the essence. They may have to get 24 into surgery a.s.a.p. To have them loop all around, A R L I N G T O N T Y P I N G A N D M A I L I N G
55 1 try and cross the street could really be disastrous. 2 NATE CURTIS: Are those people coming in 3 their own vehicles? 4 MARK CHAMDA: Not in ambulances. 5 NATE CURTIS: They’re driving themselves? 6 MARK CHAMDA: Hopefully not. 7 THOMAS EMERICK: This is a very congested 8 area. There’s a lot of traffic with a very limited 9 amount of space we have to rebuild this structure. 10 That’s why we are doing the overage to the south to be 11 able to get us as much traffic flow through there, and 12 maintain as much as we can. We can’t go too much 13 further to the south than what we already have. 14 There are so many impacts; so many users. You 15 have the police department right down the street; fire 16 engines. There are so many different components. We 17 are trying to maximize available space that we have to 18 make it safe for everybody; for all users. 19 Visually impaired people ­– we will make sure 20 they have a place they can physically traverse and 21 have access to their businesses. 22 MARK CHAMDA: I’m fearful it will happen. 23 I’m afraid they’ll say you knew about this traffic 24 problem and because of that, I couldn’t get to surgery A R L I N G T O N T Y P I N G A N D M A I L I N G
56 1 on time. 2 THOMAS EMERICK: I assume you guys all have 3 websites? Maybe, as part of the project, we can get 4 the information out to you to put on your website 5 about the detours, so the customers would know in 6 advance. 7 MARK CHAMDA: It will still be a delay. We 8 are sent patients, referred patients, knowing they are 9 ten minutes away. We then do an assessment, and 10 oftentimes, they go right into surgery. 11 Even if we say, you might want to leave 20 12 minutes early to our ongoing patients, that wouldn’t 13 cover the urgent ones. 14 THOMAS EMERICK: We are going to have to do 15 the same thing with the hospital. It’s still critical 16 need; critical care. We have to make this function. 17 That’s part of the reason for this meeting; to make 18 sure we consider all the issues in our design and try 19 to accommodate all the users. 20 MARK CHAMDA: I just wanted to make sure you 21 knew. Like Dr. McCabe said, we see about 100 patients 22 a day. A lot of them are sent to us urgently. 23 THOMAS EMERICK: Your note is taken. We 24 will do whatever we can on our part so that they have A R L I N G T O N T Y P I N G A N D M A I L I N G
57 1 access to your properties to use the facilities. 2 Just understand that this is a very difficult 3 site that we are trying to repair. 4 PHIL PALMERI: I would suggest that you 5 don’t close this hearing. I want you to extend the 6 meeting to another date to include people from parts 7 of the hospital. We want the opportunity. I e­mailed 8 the City Manager, and he is in agreement with having 9 another meeting with State Representatives to raise 10 the bar a little bit. We want a better opportunity to 11 communicate about this very important issue. 12 It’s nearly impossible to satisfy everyone. But 13 the more people is better, so it doesn’t come back on 14 the people who are putting the plans together. Maybe 15 there could also be a meeting at the hospital; an on­
16 site visit; to talk about this. There could be a 17 hands on discussion about the specifics. 18 It’s important. This is a huge, huge issue. I 19 know you want to have this plan in place and move 20 forward. From my vantage point, communication is most 21 important. 22 I think the businesses in that corridor don’t 23 know the parking will be extinct. People should know 24 about this. We should talk with the public works. A R L I N G T O N T Y P I N G A N D M A I L I N G
58 1 Some people have been isolated. 2 I think communication is critically important. I 3 believe your expertise is unprecedented. More 4 participation from those will be helpful. By 5 extending this meeting to another date will not delay 6 this project. It’s in everyone’s best interest. 7 75% of everything happens in District 2. All of 8 the major projects are in my district, and I’m 9 thrilled. 10 I offer a general suggestion. If you don’t want 11 to do that and you want to close the hearing, you have 12 the ability to do it. I’m reaching out to the other 13 representatives. They are not here and that doesn’t 14 make a lot of sense. They may not have known. With 15 my experience in that past, they would have been all 16 over this and have been here. 17 It’s a general suggestion that makes sense. I 18 think it will help. 19 MICHAEL BLOUKOS: Thank you for your 20 suggestions. 21 Any more comments or questions? 22 FRANK MCCABE: You’re not showing a 23 crosswalk on the onramp to I290. You’re coming across 24 Belmont. A R L I N G T O N T Y P I N G A N D M A I L I N G
59 1 RICH LENOX: It’s just for that phase. 2 FRANK MCCABE: During that phase, how are we 3 going –­ 4 RICH LENOX: There should be a crosswalk 5 there. We should designate that. 6 FRANK MCCABE: Okay. 7 RICH LENOX: It would be better to designate 8 that there. 9 MICKEY SPILLANE: I grew up in Worcester. A 10 lot of our people work in the area. We are all very 11 familiar with it. If we had a bigger place to build 12 this bridge, trust me; this wouldn’t be it. 13 This project impacts three major hospitals, the 14 police station, downtown Worcester, and other 15 immediate facilities and abutters. We knew when this 16 was first being discussed, the issue wouldn’t be 17 building the bridge. It was going to be the impacts 18 to the traffic management. We know that. Some of the 19 things we’ve heard tonight; some of the safety issues 20 by the crosswalk; it’s on our radar. 21 We have some things we’ve heard tonight that we 22 didn’t know about; like at 67 and what goes on there. 23 That’s very helpful information. 24 The District is committed to the councilor and A R L I N G T O N T Y P I N G A N D M A I L I N G
60 1 communication. I think we are on the same page as 2 that goes. We will meet with everybody and anybody 3 that has concerns to get as much information as we 4 can. 5 Public hearings serve one purpose. I think the 6 nitty gritty is that we need to sit down and get more 7 information. We will do that. 8 What I ask is that, anyone who wants to meet with 9 us, give Nate your information before you go, so he 10 can coordinate that for us. That’s one thing we 11 recognized. That’s why we brought Nate’s company on. 12 We knew this wasn’t a typical project. Community 13 outreach is a real important part of this. Give that 14 information to Nate. We will schedule meetings with 15 you, whether they be at your place or wherever is 16 best. We will bring the appropriate personnel. 17 In general, like I said, this is a traffic 18 management nightmare. It’s a difficult location for 19 us to work. The bridge does need to be replaced. We 20 also have a unique situation. We have a housing 21 authority on one of the corners. 22 We have looked into extended work hours. But, 23 one of the issues with that is the residents there ­– 24 how late do they want it. We talked about that. A R L I N G T O N T Y P I N G A N D M A I L I N G
61 1 As far as duration, we’ve asked these guys from 2 Sells. Somebody said one season would be better. We 3 said the same thing to them. That would be our goal, 4 too. Right now, they are giving you a very 5 conservative estimate with two seasons, 24 months. We 6 think it will be shorter than that. I don’t know if 7 we’ll hit one construction season or one year. I’m 8 hoping it will be closer to that than to 24. We are 9 going to write our contract that way; whether it’s 10 with incentives or other particulars to make this 11 duration as short as possible. That is one of the 12 goals we tasked them with. 13 Certainly, the sooner we can get in and get out, 14 the better it is for all parties involved. I know 15 this is a little bit of good discussion, but please be 16 assured we will listen to anybody and everybody that 17 we have to. We will address as many concerns as we 18 can. It doesn’t mean they will all get addressed. We 19 try and find the best solution for all the situations 20 we have to deal with. 21 I do think the input you provided tonight is 22 helpful. Hopefully, we’ll get more of that when we 23 meet with you again or individually with your groups. 24 Please give Nate your information before you go. A R L I N G T O N T Y P I N G A N D M A I L I N G
62 1 You will hear from us. That’s a promise from the 2 District. 3 MICHAEL BLOUKOS: Let me state for the 4 record. We are not receiving any other questions or 5 comments. 6 With this in mind, I would like to close the 7 meeting tonight. That does not mean we will leave the 8 room right away. We will be here to discuss some more 9 of the details and your concerns. 10 I’d like to go back to the original statement I 11 made. When it comes to the purpose of this hearing, I 12 stressed that we are here to collect your opinions, 13 your comments, and your ideas. You certainly provided 14 us with a great deal of items of your specific 15 knowledge because you live here; you work here; you 16 are in this area every day. You gave us useful 17 insight and suggestions. I’d like to say that this is 18 not meant to be a referendum. Clearly, it’s not. We 19 are here to deliver a very important project for the 20 downtown area. We do understand that the design is 21 not perfect and is not easy. There is so much traffic 22 and so many impacts. We will address each and every 23 one that goes with the project; whether it is cost; 24 whether it is right of way; whether it’s pedestrians; A R L I N G T O N T Y P I N G A N D M A I L I N G
63 1 whether it’s movement. We try to incorporate 2 everything into this design and minimize impacts as 3 much as we can. 4 Certainly, during construction, there will be 5 delays. There will be frustration. We try to do the 6 best we can. Again, we are going to incorporate your 7 suggestions. Like, I said, we are here to address 8 your concerns. 9 If, at any point, you think there is another 10 issue you’d like to discuss, by all means, call us; 11 the district. We’re here to help you. We’re here to 12 address. We can schedule meetings. 13 Thank you very much for attending and for 14 providing us with this opportunity to discuss in more 15 detail. I declare this hearing closed. But, we will 16 be here a little bit longer in case you want to 17 discuss more details. 18 PHIL PALMERI: I want to go on the record. 19 I object to the closing of the hearing. I think there 20 could have been far more discussion about this at 21 another point in time. I want you to put that down. 22 MICHAEL BLOUKOS: Of course it will. 23 PHIL PALMERI: I just wanted to make a 24 comment. A R L I N G T O N T Y P I N G A N D M A I L I N G
64 1 WHEREUPON, the proceedings were concluded on 2 Thursday, January 31, @ 7:55 p.m. 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 A R L I N G T O N T Y P I N G A N D M A I L I N G
65 1 A R L I N G T O N T Y P I N G A N D M A I L I N G
66 1 C E R T I F I C A T E 2 3 I, Brenda M. Burns, do hereby certify that the 4 foregoing record is a true and accurate transcription 5 of the proceedings in the above­captioned manner to 6 the best of my skill and ability. 7 8 ALL NAMES NOT PROVIDED WERE SPELLED PHONETICALLY TO 9 THE BEST OF MY ABILITY. 10 11 12 13 14 ___________________________ 15 BRENDA BURNS 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 A R L I N G T O N T Y P I N G A N D M A I L I N G