DISC Plan Ready for Submission to MassDOT

After years of planning and meeting Hopkinton's downtown improvements are taking a step forward this month.

On Thursday Hopkinton residents will have one last chance to provide feedback on the downtown improvements before a plan is sent to the Massachusetts Department of transportation.  "The purpose of the meeting is to provide an update to the public and to gather additional input for DISC and the [Board of Selectmen] prior to formal submission to MassDOT.  With town meeting deadlines on the horizon, this will help to inform and shape the decisions that will be made as to how the Town will proceed with the various elements and the overall Project," Town Engineer Dave Daltorio said in a press release. The changes have been in discussions for more than a year, and resident feedback has already scaled down the size of the project. At the …

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Downtown Group Pushes Toward 25 Percent Design

At the June 21 Downtown Initiative Steering Committee meeting the members focused on what needs to be done to ensure the road changes through Hopkinton stay on schedule.

In just a few short months BETA Group is expecting to preset their 25 percent design to the Massachusetts Department of Transportation. Last night the Downtown Initiative Steering Committee, joined by its newest member Brian Herr, tackled some of the serious questions that have been holding the project back. Most notably were the discussions around the two key intersections and the issue of downtown parking. First up was the Cedar Street / Grove Street intersection. This intersection will be redone as part of the host community agreement between the town of Hopkinton and Legacy Farms. DISC had BETA draw up their view of the intersection so it can be compared with the Legacy Farms plan. The plan uses the entire right of way that the town …

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Sean O'Donnell

9:26 am on Friday, June 22, 2012

C, you make some very good points. They discussed the westbound traffic from Main on to Wood Street last night; the reason they stop there is because cars were going too fast and it was causing a safety hazard. The reason to get the traffic off Elm Street, according to DISC, is that it is a residential road. Some members especially wanted to get truck traffic back to the numbered routes because …   more ›

Patch Facts

5 Things: Price Chopper Opens, Martin Scorsese on the Common

Our weekday morning column, 5 Things You Need to Know, provides you with information that can help you plan your day and give you some fodder for water cooler conversations.

1. Price Chopper Opens Today: If you didn’t get a chance to check out Price Chopper last night you will get a chance to at 8:30 this morning when the store opens for business. In the mean time, check out gallery from the store preview last night. 2. Enjoy Hugo on the Common: Hopkinton residents can swing by the Town Common tonight to see the 2011 Martin Scorsese film Hugo. According to IMDB the animated family movie is set in 1930’s Paris. 3. DISC to Meet Tonight: After a town meeting where two of the proposals from the Downtown Initiative Steering Committee were voted down, the board will be meeting tonight. The meeting is set for 7 p.m. in Town Hall. 4. Town Hall Jobs Filled: At the June 19 Board of Selectmen Meeting Town Manager Norman …

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Patch Facts

5 Things You Need to Know Today: May 11

Volunteer to help with the Junior Prom or support the Hopkinton Boosters.

Our weekday morning column, 5 Things You Need to Know, provides you with information that can help you plan your day and give you some fodder for water cooler conversations. 1. Junior Prom is just around the corner and parent volunteers have been hard at work planning a safe and fun evening for our juniors.  The food committee has been working on getting corporate donations, but we could use some help with some items. Email judy.lankford@verizon.net with your donation. 2. If you have a student athlete that has outgrown their old uniforms and equipment take a trip down to the High School tomorrow between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. to drop off the athletic gear to be resold in the upcoming Hillers Boosters Equipment Swap Sale. The sale will take …

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Second DISC Article Voted Down at Town Meeting

At night number two of Hopkinton’s 2012 annual town meeting voters approved nearly all of the articles presented before them.

For the second night in a row Hopkinton voters gathered in the Middle School Auditorium. Hopes were high that it would be the last night of the meeting, but that wouldn’t end up being the case. The longest discussion of the night revolved around an article that generated from the Downtown Initiative Steering Committee plans to improve the overall downtown experience. Tonight the DISC article was designed to allow for an engineering study and design for the undergrounding of utilities from Wood Street to Ash Street. The article revolved around two motions. The first would have allowed the town to petition the state’s general court for permission to use taxpayer dollars to fund a private project. This motion was required because the town …

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Vote Against Downtown Parking Ends First Night of TM

At last night's town meeting voters told government leaders how the feel about issues including the budget, downtown parking and town savings accounts.

Voters at gathered at Hopkinton Middle School last night for the town's 2012 Annual Town Meeting. With a long list of warrant articles to get through , 58 in total, residents made it almost halfway by getting through 24 of the articles when the magic hour of 11 p.m. came and the meeting was adjourned for the night. In perhaps to of the most impactful votes of the night, the town approved a budget of $34 million for the schools and a budget of $30 million for the rest of the town. There were nearly 200 voting members present at the meeting, less than five percent of the town's voting residents, and the voters are on pace to raise the total taxes paid by homeowners more than 2 percent. Of the 24 articles voted on, 21 received un-amended …

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DowntownFam

12:11 pm on Wednesday, May 9, 2012

Jack, It is not that I oppose change. Rather I will not support plans that have not evaluated other possible solutions. The DISC never investigated other possibilities and did not have a proper plan to mitigate the negative impacts on the surrounding residents. Furthermore, if you view the property in question it is clear that with the runoff issues, slope, removal of trees, etc. this is a very …   more ›

DISC Talks Parking Spaces, Wood Street Intersection

At last night’s Downtown Initiative Steering Committee Meeting the board voted to recommend an on street parking plan and spoke about a purchase of 2 West Main St.

Last night the Downtown Initiative Steering Committee had what may be their last meeting before the March 29 meeting with the Board of Selectmen. Town Engineer Dave Daltorio presented information gathered at the public forums in February and the board broke down each issue and what solution could be made for it. Top on that list was the concern that so many parking spaces would be lost. On the stretch of Main Street from Wood Street to Ash Street there are currently 101 parking spaces. The initial proposal cut that number nearly in half. Through looking at all of the town's needs, the BETA Group was able to come up with a plan that allows for all the necessary improvements (pedestrian safety, driver safety and a bike lane) while maintain …

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Sean O'Donnell

4:13 pm on Thursday, March 1, 2012

I don't think the issue is that it's dangerous so much as it's not possible. Because there is no left turn signal coming from 495 and making the turn to Wood Street traffic gets backed up behind trucks and cars waiting for a break. Also because of the angle, larger trucks can't make the turn in one attempt without hitting the curb, this means they need to do a back and forth turn to get around …   more ›

Letter To The Editor

Letter: Downtown Initiative Creates Dangerous Intersection

Hopkinton resident and business owner Jackie Potenzone worries that changes to the Wood Street intersection may create problems for local traffic.

According to Webster’s Dictionary the definition of DEMOCRACY is: a government in which supreme power is held by the people. Once again this will be so true in the town of Hopkinton when the residents will be asked to vote on the changes to our downtown area. This is a generational plan to change the downtown. This plan was created by the Beta Group and presented by the Downtown Initiative Steering Committee. The plan makes major changes to the road way from Wood Street to Ash Street and also includes undergrounding of the utilities from Wood Street to Ash Street. The conceptual redesign of the Wood Street and West Main Street has major changes to the intersection near my family's home. This conceptual redesign of the intersection will …

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Sean O'Donnell

2:32 pm on Tuesday, February 21, 2012

Just to remind everyone, Patch policy asks that you use your real name when commenting on articles. You all bring up great points though, I think this is a discussion that needs to be fleshed out further.   more ›

POLL: Do you Support the Main Street Redesign?

After months of discussion town leaders say they are still not ready to submit a plan to the Massachusetts Department of Transportation.

At the first of two public forums to discuss the Downtown Initiative Steering Committee’s plan to redo Main Street, people with varying opinions of the idea asked questions of town leaders. The beginning of the discussion revolved around the loss of parking that the proposed plan would have on Main Street. Specifically a representative from Phipps Insurance Agency was worried about the loss of the five parking spots in front of the business. Director of the Hopkinton DPW John Westerling fielded many of these concerns. Westerling said nothing in the plan is finalized yet and the town is working with the BETA Group consultants to solve this specific issue. “Rest assured that we share the community’s concerns with keeping parking on Main …

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