7/31/2019 DPW Responds to Petition on North Street Reconstruction 05-24-2012

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CITY OF NORTHAMPTON, MASSACHUSETTS

DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC WORKS125 Locust Street

Northampton, MA 01060

413-587-1570Fax 413-587-1576

Edward S. Huntley, P.E.Director

To: Mayor David J. Narkewicz

From: Edward S. Huntley, P.E., DirectorJames R. Laurila, P.E., City Engineer

Date: May 24, 2012

Re: North Street Neighbors Letter of May 20, 2012

At your request, the following is the DPW's response to the North Street Neighbors letter of May 20,2012 that was delivered to the Mayor's Office on May 21st.

1. Letter: The lack of due process.

Due process was followed.

It is unclear that there was a requirement to provide for the neighborhood to analyze and commenton the final design plans. There were two public informational meetings held (June 10, 2010 andMarch 6, 2012) at the Bridge Street School for this project where the design plans were presentedand discussed with the public. There was also an online traffic calming survey made available tothe public for three weeks (October 1, 2010 and October 22, 2010) that was coordinated between aprevious City Councilor and the DPW Traffic Engineer. Input from the public has been encouragedand received by the DPW, and the Engineers have done their best to respond to overallneighborhood concerns and include constructive suggestions wherever possible.

2. Letter: The lack of a well-defined parking ordinance for the full length of North Street.

This assertion is not accurate.

a. The plans call for removing non-compliant (illegal) parking in front of the DA Sullivanbuilding. We described our plan to Mr. Sullivan over the phone, and he did not object. Hedeclined an offer to meet in the field to discuss the final design. No other business parking isbeing removed.

b. The final design calls for less, not more, on-street parking. Approximately 14 on-street parkingspaces are proposed for removal (pending City Ordinance approval), primarily to ensurepedestrian safety at all existing and new crosswalks. David Newton requested removal of two

7/31/2019 DPW Responds to Petition on North Street Reconstruction 05-24-2012

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parking spaces on each side of his busy commercial driveway entrance (#211) to ensure drivervisibility. As per his request, the DPW is proposing one parking space be eliminated on eachside of this driveway.

c. In addition to the many other measures that are part of the design, on-street parking promotestraffic calming.

3. Letter: The absence of any rationale for determining which segments of North Street willreceive upgraded materials in pavement and curbing.

The question does not clearly state what upgrades are being referred to.

a. All segments of North Street are receiving upgrades in utilities, pavement and curbing. Inresponse to public input, full depth reconstruction will occur for the entire length of the project.

b. Existing granite curb on the Market Street end of the project is being removed and reset, andnew granite is proposed along this segment where it is currently cast concrete. Concretesidewalk is proposed along this stretch of granite curb and is seen as an affordable extension ofthe existing concrete sidewalk on Market Street, the area closest to the center of town.

c. All intersecting curb radii are proposed to be new or reset granite. This is an upgradethroughout the project. These curbs take the most abuse from plows and traffic.

d. All driveways are proposed to have granite curb corners. Only some have them now. This is anupgrade for consistency throughout the neighborhood.

e. Bituminous curb is an economic decision. The low bidder costs for curbing are $6/LF forbituminous and $32/LF for granite, more than five times (5X) the expense. 3,300 LF of bit curbis required. If this were changed to granite it would be an additional $85,800.

4. The lack of an explanation for the DPWs decision to create parallel sidewalks on NorthStreet.

It is not clear that there was a consensus at the public meeting for upgraded sidewalks rather thanmore sidewalks. Numerous people spoke in favor of sidewalks on both sides of the street, includingseveral follow-up emails supporting additional sidewalks.

a. The Northampton Transportation Plan supports the construction of sidewalks on both sides ofthe roadway for safety and to encourage pedestrian activity.

b. There is approximately 3,600 LF of existing sidewalk, and the plan calls for approximately1,400 LF additionally for a total of 5,000 LF. This is approximately a 40% increase.

c. Bituminous sidewalk bid price is $70,000 for 400 ton. This converts to $16.92/LF. Concretesidewalk was bid at $34/SY or $18.89/LF. Surprisingly, the bid price for concrete sidewalk isreasonably competitive with bituminous. About 3,600 LF of bituminous sidewalk is proposed.

Upgrading to concrete would be premium of about $7,000.d. Further analysis of the bid prices from the Contractor indicates that concrete sidewalk

($18.89/LF) with granite curbing ($32.00/LF) would cost $50.89/LF. In comparison,bituminous sidewalk ($16.92/LF) with bituminous curbing ($6.00/LF) would cost $22.92/LF.Using the 2012 bid prices, Bituminous Sidewalk/Bituminous Curbing is 45% of the cost forConcrete Sidewalk/Granite Curbing.

If this sidewalk/curbing upgrade were incorporated to the North Street Construction Project, thecost differential of $27.97/LF for Concrete Sidewalk/Granite Curbing for approximately 3,000FT would cost an additional $83,910.