Use this search box to find articles that have run in our newspapers over the last several years.
Date: 1/9/2024
NORTHAMPTON — The city of Northampton has received over $512,000 in Fair Share Amendment funds from the state to help them complete various road improvements in the upcoming months.
“This supplement in Chapter 90 funding, which can only be used for approved local roadway projects, will help fund the already planned significant paving and sidewalk projects we discussed with the council at their Dec. 5 [2023] meeting,”
Mayor Gina-Louise Sciarra said, in a statement to Reminder Publishing, “We have 160 miles of roadway that need continual maintenance, so additional Chapter 90 funding is always welcome. There are far more needs than we have funding for annually.”
The projects Sciarra listed during that council meeting include painting shared lane markings and upgrading crosswalk markings and signs at the Bridge Road roundabout; upgrading curb ramps on Spring Street from Meadow Street to Lavalley Lane and reconstructing the sidewalk on the west side; and reconstructing the sidewalk between Bridge Road and Locust Street while constructing curb ramps at Pilgrim Drive and Dickinson Street.
The city also aims to repair the sidewalk on North Maple from Bridge Road to High Street, and reconstruct the sidewalk on Chestnut Street from Bridge Road to High Street, while upgrading curb ramps at Bridge Road and High Street, and painting crosswalks and stop bars on High Street.
Additionally, the city plans to do sidewalk resurfacing on North Main Street from Park Street to Bridge Road and repave the bike path from Stop and Shop to Look Park.
Sciarra said that the repaving of the bike path is crucial because work has not been done on that path in three-plus decades.
“We are addressing that and while doing that we’ll address drainage issues at Adare Place that have been a problem for quite a while,” Sciarra added.
On Dec. 21, the council voted on an order that authorizes borrowing $2 million for these paving projects. The Chapter 90 funding will supplement this borrowing, and according to Donna LaScaleia, the DPW director, the hope is for these projects to be finished by early summer.
Despite her appreication for the Chapter 90 funding, Sciarra lamented the fact that this funding cannot go toward schools.
“My hope and the hope of many who supported the Fair Share Amendment was that it would be a way that Northampton would finally see some additional state aid for our public schools, as our Chapter 70 funding has remained stagnant for over 20 years,” Sciarra said in a statement. “It is disheartening that it is not being directed to K-12 education which is desperately needed.”
According to the state website, the Healey-Driscoll Administration delivered a total of a $100 million in Fair Share funding to help support local infrastructure across the state.
The release states that communities may use this Fair Share revenue for construction, preservation, and improvement projects that create or extend the life of capital facilities. This includes costs for highway projects and pedestrian and bicycle facilities. Eligible projects include installing sidewalks, bicycle lanes, new pavement, sidewalks, retaining walks, crossing signals and other transportation infrastructure features.