Worcester street project becomes caught up in election-year politics

WORCESTER — People driving along the city this summer are probably dealing with several road projects, something that residents have generally come to accept.

But street work was in the spotlight in the lead up to the City Council meeting Tuesday, as announced changes to a plan for one particular street became the source of a neighborhood controversy and a sticking point in a competitive City Council race.

Members of the neighborhood were informed only after resurfacing work had begun that the city plans to add a bicycle lane and reduce Mill Street from two lanes to one.

With election season well underway, District 5 council candidate José Rivera submitted a petition asking the Standing Committee on Traffic and Parking to hold a public hearing on the planned reconfigurations to Mill Street.

Rivera also requested that any work beyond the current milling and resurfacing of Mill Street not proceed until a recommendation was delivered by the standing committee or the Department of Public Works and Parks.

In statements on social media, Rivera said he believed the changes were worthwhile, but he wished for more transparency.

"The work scheduled to be done on Mill Street includes measures that will undoubtedly make this dangerous road safer for everyone," Rivera said in a statement. "The issue at hand is one of transparency and trust. This project should have been fully vetted when first presented, or at the very least, soon after."

Rivera told the City Council that he was not originally told about a bicycle lane when he spoke with Public Works and Parks Commissioner Jay Fink. He was later informed that plans had changed.

He also alleged the issue showed that incumbent District 5 City Councilor Etel Haxhiaj was too focused on issues outside of the district.

Incumbent district councilor responds

During Tuesday's meeting, Haxhiaj said that while she supports the changes to Mill Street and opposes any halt to work, she had already called for a public meeting on the changes to the street-calming project, and that the meeting is being scheduled.

Haxhiaj also got Fink to confirm that she did not receive any advance knowledge of changes to the Mill Street plan outside of a notice residents received.

State Rep. David LeBoeuf, D-Worcester, who represents Mill Street and has been a supporter of Haxhiaj, wrote about the project on Twitter Tuesday to challenge what he referred to as "misinformation" for political purposes.

LeBoeuf said the redesign is being funded with federal funds the region's congressional delegation procured. He said road surface and speeding have been issues raised by Mill Street residents.

City Manager Eric D. Batista said the current work on Mill Street is a maintenance project that is part of the city's regular streets program, not a redesign.

The city manager added the redesign project does not include sidewalks, because funding has not yet been earmarked for that.

Rivera's order, specifically the request that additional work not proceed until department or committee approval, received pushback from members of the public who spoke at the council meeting. Several said they are current or former residents of Mill Street, or street-safety advocates who know the street to be one where drivers speed.

Several commenters claimed road-calming measures have long been discussed by Mill Street residents and that the City Council unanimously approved such intentions with the "complete street" policy of 2017.

One commenter said Rivera appeared to have come "late" to discussions about Mill Street.

Rivera denied he was trying to stop the work and said he has heard opposition to the project while knocking doors.

"I'm here just to give the residents a public hearing," Rivera said. "If anything, all the voices you hear opposing my petition proves that a public meeting needs to be heard."

City Councilor-at-Large Donna Colorio motioned for a vote for public meetings to be held on all major road reconfigurations.

The City Council unanimously voted to suspend consideration of Rivera's petition and to approve Colorio's motion.

What other street projects are underway

The city provided a list of streets under contract for repaving or resurfacing. According to a city spokesperson, it is typical for work to pause once the weather turns and construction season ends. Unfinished work typically resumes in spring.

• Ayrshire Road from Coburn Avenue to Lake Avenue

• Barry Road from Salisbury Street to Dick Drive

• Bauer Street from Main Street to Farmington Street

• Bauer Street West from Farmington Street to Ludlow Street

• Bay State Road from Thorndyke Road to Devens Road

• Belmont Street from Lincoln Street to Interstate 290

• Benedict Road from Plantation Street to Ancona Road

• Brandon Road from Clark Street to Quinapoxet Lane

• Brookshire Road from 10 Brookshire Road to Oak Hill Road

• Buckley Road from 20 Buckley Road to 37 Buckley Road

• Burncoat Street from Lorion Avenue to Ascadilla Road

• Burncoat Street from East Mountain Street to Randolph Road

• Burncoat Street from Blue Hill Road to Mary Ann Drive

• Calumet Avenue from Clark Street to Monomoy Street

• Caprera Road from Adams Street to Granby Road

• Catalpa Street from Catalpa Circle to Bishop Street

• Chester Street from Russell Calvin Drive to Holden line

• Chesterfield Road from Beaconsfield Road to Pleasant Street

• Darrow Street from Apthorp Street to end

• Derby Street from Dearborn Street to end

• Dewey Street from West Oberlin Street to Charlotte Street

• Dorothy Avenue from Burncoat Street to Granville Avenue

• Drury Lane from Massachusetts Avenue to Rutland Terrace

• Eagle Road from Grove Street to end

• East Kendall Street from Eastern Avenue to Rodney Street

• Edgeworth Street from Byron Street to Milton Street

• Edwidge Street from Pleasant Street to north end

• Ellis Drive from Salisbury Street to Southwood Road

• Ethan Allen Street from Murray Avenue to Jaques Avenue

• Fielding Street from Clegg Street to west end

• Fifth Avenue from Millbury Street to Gediminas Street

• Forestdale Road from Lincoln Street to Windsor Street

• Fraternal Avenue from King Philip Road to Wilkinson Street

• Freeland Terrace from Freeland Street to Lowell Court

• All of Germain Street

• Gilman Street from Lincoln Street to New Street

• Green Hill Parkway from Officer Manny Familia Way to Channing Street

• Grove Street from Holden Street to Forest Street

• Hadwen Lane from Pleasant Street to Morningside Road

• Hadwen Road from Westview Road to Chandler Street

• Hadwen Road from Chandler Street to June Street

• Hamill Road from May Street to Chandler Street

• Hastings Avenue from Tower Street to Proctor Street

• Hermitage Lane from Channing Street to Green Hill Park

• Holden Street from Dogwood Road to Brattle Street

• Hope Avenue from Webster Street to Southbridge Street

• Houghton Street from Crowningshield Road To Derby Street

• All of Ivanhoe Road

• Katahdin Street from Cumberland Street to end

• Kendall Street from Goldsberry Street to east end

• Kenwood Avenue from Ashburnham Road to end

• All of Longfellow Road

• Lund Street from Esther Street to Louise Street

• Main Street from Leicester town line to Curtis Parkway

• Marmion Avenue from Wilkinson Street to end of public road

• Massasoit Road from Indiana Street to Benson Street

• Matteo Street from Burncoat Street to Santoro Road

• May Street from Mapletree Lane to June Street

• Melville Street from Lincoln Street to end

• Midland Street from Elmwood Street to Intervale Street

• Mill Street from Chandler Street to Park Avenue

• Minthorne Street from Lovell Street to Circuit Avenue North

• Moore Avenue from Pleasant Street to end

• Moreland Street from Park Avenue to Salisbury Street

• Nelson Park Drive from Nelson Place to end

• Newton Avenue North from Amherst Street to Salisbury Street

• Northridge Street from May Street to south end

• Nottingham Road from Forest Street to Laconia Road

• Old Lincoln Street from Lincoln Street from Lincoln Street

• Paine Street from Melville Street to Harlow Street

• Park Avenue from Salisbury Street to Highland Street

• Pasadena Parkway from Tacoma Street to Lincoln Street

• Piehl Avenue from Holden Street to end

• Pinecrest Drive from Westborough Street to end

• Pitt Street from Cambridge Street to end

• Quinapoxet Lane from Ascadilla Road to Rowena Street

• Reed Street from Courtland Street to Walworth Street

• Rock Avenue from Melville Street to end

• Rockport Road from Duxbury Road to Shattuck Street

• Romola Road from Hapgood Road to Kanes Crossing

• Salisbury Street from Newton Avenue North to Flagg Street

• Sandra Drive from Ida Road to northwest end

• Stafford Street from Heard Street to Leicester town line

• Standish Street from Grafton Street to Hamilton Street

• Stone Street from Ward Street to Perry Avenue

• Sunrise Avenue from Sunrise Avenue extension to Ararat Street

• Trinity Avenue from Lincoln Street from 214 feet southeast of Colby Avenue

• Vernon Street from Upsala Street to 200 feet south of Winthrop Street

• Vernon Terrace from Vernon Street to end

• Vinson Street from west end to east end

• Vinton Street from Lincoln Street to end

• Volkmar Road from Croydon Street to West Boylston Street

• Walworth Street from Courtland Street to May Street

• Winslow Street from Pleasant Street to Austin Street

According to the state Department of Transportation's project database, 15 projects are in the construction phase in Worcester:

• Bridge preservation on Interstate 290 over Lincoln Street, Colby Avenue and Plantation Street.

• Bridge preservation on Interstate 190 over Providence and Worcester Railroad.

• Bridge maintenance on Interstate 290 over the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority and CSX Transportation hub.

• Resurfacing on Interstate 290.

• Guide and traffic sign replacement on Interstate 190 between Worcester and Leominster.

• Structural steel cleaning and painting on Interstate 290 between Worcester, Boylston and Northborough.

• Stormwater improvements on Interstate 290 and state Route 122A.

• Stormwater retrofits on state Routes 2, 2A, 146 and 122 between Worcester, Shirley and Uxbridge.

• Streetscape improvements on Harding Street.

• Main Street Business District streetscape improvements.

• Bikeway construction on Blackstone River Bikeway by McGrath Boulevard over Madison Street.

• Interstate 190 maintenance between Worcester and West Boylston.

• Streetscape improvements at Main Street and Maywood Street.

• Signal and intersection improvements at Holden Street, Drummond Avenue and Shore Drive.

• Resurfacing on State Route 122 from the span between Washington Square and Rice Square.

This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: Worcester street project becomes caught up in election year politics