Monday, October 4, 2010

Goal: Pedestrian Transportation Plan for Hopkinton

The MAPC Pedestrian Transportation Plan provides useful information for communities like Hopkinton interested in improving pedestrian connectivity.

Saturday, September 11, 2010

Golden Pond on agenda Monday night

Amongst other topics on the Hopkinton Planning Board agenda for Monday, September 13, is Golden Pond site plan public hearing.

Friday, September 3, 2010

Parking key factor in Library expansion

As the Hopkinton Public Library looks to expand, parking has emerged as a key factor in identifying a new site. To qualify for state funding, any proposed site must meet the state mandated number of parking spaces.

Which location would you choose for the library expansion?

Current location? - Work with the town to provide a multi-level parking garage across the streetbehind Town Hall to meet library parking requirements, and expand the existing building onto library owned property on Church Street.



    • Center School? - If the town votes to fund a new multi-million dollar school and Center School closes, and is no longer used as a school, convert Center School into a community center that includes a new library. Convert the playground and field behind Center School into a parking lot for a new library.

    • Wherever it fits? - Buy any lot of suitable size to accommodate building, in the downtown, or anywhere in town.

  • Want what you got?- Some say we should learn to like what we have, a historic space in the center of town that is small but works for those who use it.

    The mansions at 25 and 35 Main Street? - Work with current owners of these historic properties to explore purchasng the buildings for the library, and use the space behind the
    mansions (the site of the once proposed Hopkinton Village Center) to accommodate the parking.

    What ideas do you have for the library? Whatever your thoughts, mark your calendar for next Tuesday, September 9th, to learn more.

    Public Forum on Library Expansion, Tuesday September 9th, 2010:

    What are the library plans? What are your thoughts? Find out at a public forum next Tuesday, September 7th, 2010, at the Hopkinton Fire Station second floor meeting room.


    Friday, August 27, 2010

    McMansion era over?


    In a survey referenced in this article, 30% say their ideal home size is less than 2,000 square feet, and less than 10% say their ideal home size is greater than 3,200 square feet.

    Wednesday, May 26, 2010

    Steps toward downtown revitalization - Conway School report for Hopkinton


    Hopkinton now has a documented plan for downtown revitalization, incorporating ideas for economic development, walkability and street scape improvements, traffic calming measures, stormwater management, strategies for creating shared community spaces.

    The plan was developed by students from the Conway Graduate School of Landscape Design, who led public input sessions and completed the plan as part of a professional planning curriculum at the school, under the direction of faculty advisors and Hopkinton's Downtown Revitalization Committee.

    The professional quality document was created for less than $7,000, with funds contributed by Hopkinton Parks and Recreation Department, the Hopkinton Chamber of Commerce and local businesses. It will serve as an important reference point as the town moves to the next phase in downtown revitalization: 2010 town meeting approved $400,000 for development of a detailed design plan, which will advance Hopkinton toward state and federal grants to fund infrastructure improvements for the downtown.


    Thursday, March 18, 2010

    Hopkinton to Participate in NStar Smart Grid Initiative

    The Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities (DPU) today announced it has approved the first of four smart grid pilot projects submitted for its review last yearunder the Green Communities Act.This approval gives the green light to NSTAR's proposal to deploy in-home smart grid technologies to approximately 2,800 residential customers in Newton, Hopkinton and Jamaica Plain.

    Friday, February 26, 2010

    W.Main Street between Lumber Street and Wood Street

    Running is a great way to become familiar with your town or any place you visit. When I travel, I wake up early to go running, and the morning jog orients me to the new surroundings.

    When I run here at home, I often end up checking out properties that are on the agenda of upcoming planning board meetings, or just noticing architecture, sidewalks, traffic, crosswalks and other things related to planning.

    For example, over the past few years, every time I run from the center of town headed west down West Main Street, I notice how great the sidewalks are, but how they suddenly discontinue without explanation, only to pick up again further down. Specifically:

    • Heading West on West Main Street, down the hill between Wood Street and Whalen Road, there is a modest but practical paved pedestrian path on both sides of the road, right up until Whalen Road, a residential neighborhood.
    • After Whalen Road, continuing west on the South side of West Main Street, the sidewalk is discontinued from Whalen Road all the way to the small office building past Berry Acres.
    • After Whalen Road, continuing west on the North side of West Main Street, the paved pedestrian path continues a little further but then also discontinues and picks up again only past the Golden Pond facility
    • Moreover, for most of the section of West Main Street where the sidewalk or paved pedestrian path is missing, the road shoulder is also narrow and deteriorated, so getting from the place where the sidewalk ends to where it picks up again a quarter mile later is pretty treacherous; you wouldn't want your children walking it.

    Since both Ice House Pond on the North, and Berry Acres on the South, include trails for walking, it has always struck me as odd that the sidewalk does not continue to the point where the walking trails begin. From a planning point of view, completing the missing pieces of sidewalk would offer several benefits:

    • The residents of Whalen Road and West Main Street would have a way to walk from their residences to Berry Acres, to Ice House Pond, to each others' homes, or to the 77 W.Main shopping center;
    • The businesses and their clientele along West Main Street could get from the sidewalk in front of the business to the sidewalk beyond;
    • Pedestrians walking from anywhere in town on the sidewalks could actually access by foot the pedestrian uses at both Ice House Pond and Berry Acres;
    • Walkers, runners and cyclists along the Main and West Main corridor would have a safer time (the paved paths and sidewalks between town center and Whalen Road set an expectation which is left unfulfilled between Whalen and the sidewalk's continuation after Berry Acres and Golden Pond).

    The Town Master Plan calls for pedestrian connectivity all the way along West Main Street, so the missing sidewalk sections do not appear to be from lack of planning. In fact, after inquiring about this, I found out that long ago, before the DPW was DPW, making W.Main Street accessible for pedestrians was a priority and that's how we got at least the portion of pedestrian path that exists today.

    I know I'll continue to notice this whenever I run down West Main Street, and I'll continue to advance pedestrian safety issues on the Planning Board. Wouldn't it be great too if runners, walkers, residents, and businesses in the area - and all of us - could make completion of that pedestrian connection a priority, fulfilling our master plan and connecting the various uses along West Main?

    Thursday, February 4, 2010

    Hidden suburban castle draws attention of UK zoning officials

    This is amusing, but has overtones relevant to property owners and zoning officials everywhere, even Hopkinton, MA:

    UK man's castle won't be his home, court says

    "Fidler, who has had disagreements with planning authorities before, anticipated that his request for permission to build the castle would be denied, so he tried to take advantage of a rule that allows a structure to be legalized if it has been lived in for four years."


    Friday, January 29, 2010

    This Saturday 10-noon at High School caf: downtown planning

    Stop by the high school cafeteria this Saturday, January 30, 2010 from 10-12.

    Forum to get your input on pragmatic design improvements for Hopkinton's downtown

    The Downtown Revitalization Committee (DRC), with the assistance of the team from the Conway School of Design, will be conducting a public forum at the Middle School Lecture Room on Thursday, January 28th at 7 PM. The purpose of the forum is to gather input from town committees, boards, and departments on issues, concerns, and ideas, which will assist in the development of a practical design plan for the downtown area. Topics will include pedestrian flow, safety, infrastructure improvements, and current and future uses of our downtown.

    The town and local business and property owners have hired the Conway School of Landscape Design to formulate a practical design plan for the downtown taking into consideration current and future needs. The Conway School of Landscape Design is a graduate school, located in western Massachusetts that is renowned for practical landscape designs that are ecologically and socially sustainable. Some of their past projects have included a Revitalization Guide for Centennial Business Park in Peabody, Massachusetts, and a study of Gardner Hamlet in New York to help that community establish a downtown area.

    As an early step in the process of reviewing our downtown, the Conway School of Design Team is looking for input. Meetings are being held to encourage participation from downtown business and property owners, downtown residents, people who work in town, as well residents who use the downtown as a community gathering place. Town boards, committees and departments have given particular attention to details of change in town, and your input is therefore of critical importance to the Conway team.

    In addition to the Thursday meetings the Downtown Revitalization Committee is holding a public forum on Saturday, January 30, 2010 from 10-12 at the High School cafeteria to solicit thoughts from residents.

    For more information please contact Peter LaGoy at 508.435.5937 or Tim Kilduff 508.509.3484. Also feel free to send your input via email to: Peter_LaGoy@msn.com.

    Saturday, January 9, 2010

    Downtown planning project starting

    Kicked off downtown planning project with Planning Board discussion on Monday. Kicking off the project with Conway Graduate School of Landscape Design next week with initial scoping meeting with Town Manager, and plan public input sessions and interviews.

    I'm hoping our engagement with the Conway School will give Hopkinton ideas for
    • improving pedestrian safety
    • knowledge of process costs and funding for burying utility lines
    • planning for traffic impacts of future growth
    • future uses of town and non-profit owned buildings in the downtown
    • maintaining and enhancing the downtown's role as a hub of business, civic and community activity
    What do you hope to get from the Hopkinton downtown planning efforts?