Subcommittee Recommends Single Lane Each Way on Mt. Auburn St. in Watertown

The Town Council's Public Works Committee recommended starting preliminary design for the reconfiguration of Mt. Auburn Street which would change the roadway from four lanes to two, with one travel lane each way.

Public Works Chairwoman Susan Falkoff presented the report at Wednesday's Town Council meeting.

"The [Public Works] Committee voted unanimously to recommend that the DPW proceed with phase 2, ... using option 3, with single through lanes in each direction east of Common Street and dedicated left-turn lanes at key intersections," Falkoff said.

The plan was presented to the public on March 7 and

The design would be paid for with Chapter 90, state funded road improvement dollars, as was laid out in the fiscal 2012 Capital Improvement Program, Falkoff said.

Town Council President Mark Sideris questioned whether an expenditure of money could be approved by a subcommittee, and whether by accepting the report the Town Council would approve the design funds.

Town Attorney Mark Reich said a subcommittee cannot approve funding without the full council's approval, but sometimes departments have the authority to do so by way of the Town Manager.

Falkoff said she would rewrite the report and bring it forward at the next council meeting. After the meeting, she said the project would not be delayed because the Public Works was given authority to spend the money from the Capital Improvement Program.

The Public Works Committee report also included:

• A change in fire sprinkler service charges to help owners of smaller buildings. Instead of a flat rate, the fee will be based on the size of the pipe. The new rate will go into affect Jan. 1, 2012.
• Road work this summer will focus on patching trenches and a $384,000 project to mill and overlay the most potholed streets in Watertown.
• The fine for repaving a driveway without a permit was raised from $50 to $250. Town officials will look at whether an administrative hearing can be held rather than going to district court to enforce the fine. The permit fee is actually to pay for heavy equipment crossing sidewalks, so the fee will be waived for projects done with non-motorized equipment – such as a wheelbarrow.
• Watertown Tree Warden Chris Hayward made a presentation to the Public Works Committee about NStar’s application to prune trees around power lines. A copy of the presentation and the "NStar 3-9-11 Pruning Letter" are on the town’s website www.watertown- ma.com, under Document Center > Community Development & Planning > Tree Warden.