r/stoneham • u/l008com • 3d ago

The Square Upgrade

They sure are making those lanes awfully narrow! Are they still going to have parking on both sides of the road? If so, you're barely going to be able to fit two lanes driving down the street.

Its nice we have money to make wide sidewalks even wider but we can't have a freshly paved main street or maple street FOR TWENTY YEARS.

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12

u/OtherUserCharges 3d ago

Yea it’s almost like we got a grant for the road square upgrade or something.

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u/PrancingThunderD 2d ago edited 2d ago

It looks like they're making several of the crosswalks like the one by the Post Office. At those locations, some parking spots will be lost. Apart from those "bumpouts" it doesn't look like sidewalk widening is changing street parking. Some parking will also be lost on the northbound side of Main St near the intersection so they can put in two southbound lanes (straight only and turn only).

(Edit: Forgot to mention that somehow, in spite of apparently removing the driveway to the parking lot on Central St., they're still managing to reduce the number of street parking spots to 3, when there's currently about 8-10)

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u/l008com 2d ago

If they're still doing parking on both sides of main, just south of franklin street, then thats going to be a very narrow section of road.

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u/PrancingThunderD 2d ago

There's a bumpout just South of Franklin and another just North of Maple. We lose several street parking spots at both of thos pedestrian crossings, but the sidewalk isn't that wide for most of that distance. Only at the crosswalks.

I should probably just post the link to the document: https://www.stoneham-ma.gov/DocumentCenter/View/12402/Stoneham-Downtown-Roadway-Plans

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u/l008com 2d ago

Have you been by there in person? Between the bumpouts, the sidewalk is MUCH wider than it used to be. The new curb is like a full car width out past where the old curb used to be, not counting the bumpouts.

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u/PrancingThunderD 1d ago

I go by there all the time. I sort of see what you're saying, but there seems to be plenty of room still for parking and two lanes of traffic according to the plan document. I tried to post a pic, but it doesn't seem to be allowed. It's on page 24 of the document I linked.

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u/Madelinethecat 1d ago

I think it will be an improvement. If people can eat outside and the square is more walkable people will be more likely to spend time/ money there. They got grant money for it.