Safety and Traffic
Building out the Town Center will irreversibly alter the Rural Character of Westford.
It's a safety issue:
The Westford town center, located on Route 128, a major state thoroughfare, is not a safe location for new town development. The proposed wastewater system will foster development in the town center. A good example of the safety issue is seen in the conceptual rendering of the proposed 1705 project showing residents on the front porch with steps leading directly onto Route 128.
Residents in new Housing with front steps leading directly onto Route 128 in the Planning Commissions' 1705 conceptual rendering. Reality: families and bikes in close proximity to high volume truck and car traffic!
Safety: The reality of traffic along the major state thruway Route 128. This is not a neighborhood streetscape!
Why hasn't the Planning Commission developed a plan for understanding and managing traffic pattern changes caused by both the build-out of the Westford Town Center and growth in northern communities?
North/South Commuter Flow thru Westford
High Traffic Volume
High Traffic Speed
Illegal Truck Traffic
Map Key
Route 128: mauve
Woods Hollow: green
Milton Westford
to Old Stage: blue
Huntly: red
Cambridge: purple
Below is the Westford Town Common Conceptual Master Plan. The planned parking and raised curbs at the 90% bend in Route 128 to "calm" traffic will further exacerbate this "pinch-point" in Route 128 pushing additional unwanted commuter traffic to our country gravel roads.
Final-ProductTownCommonConceptualPlan (2).docx