MassDOT Sets Public Heating For Safe Route To School Project

HARWICH – It has been five years in the works, but the Massachusetts Department of Transportation will be in town on Wednesday, June 12 to hold a public hearing on the proposed Safe Routes To School Project designs for upgrades and improvements to sidewalks and shared-use paths around Harwich Elementary School leading into Harwich Center.

In spring 2019 school officials filed an application for the Safe Routes To School Program, and it was one of 14 projects accepted by MassDOT.

The scope of work is to implement sidewalk and shared-use path improvements and upgrades for pedestrians and bicyclists in the area immediately adjacent and contiguous to the Harwich Elementary School, located on South Street, continuing to Harwich Center.

The project as currently proposed runs along South Street in a northerly direction from School House Drive, then along Main Street in an easterly direction to Main Street-Sisson Road intersection, and southerly along Sisson Road to Forest Street.

The proposed scope of work also includes the construction of 15 accessible curb ramps with crosswalks to meet Americans with Disabilities Act standards, limited signage improvements, and landscaping limited to loam and seed for areas disturbed by construction.

The goal, according to MassDOT, is to increase the number of students walking and biking to and from school by improving the safety and usability of the existing facilities. An earlier project description included a connection to the Cape Cod Rail Trail via Island Pond Road.

In all, the project will cover 3,710 feet. Sidewalks will be five feet wide with a six-inch granite curb. The current estimated federal cost is $2,417,460. The project is funded through the Transportation Improvement Program established by the Cape Cod Metropolitan Planning Organization. The construction phase of the project is scheduled for fall 2025.

The public hearing is scheduled for Wednesday, June 12 at 6 p.m. in the multipurpose room at the community center on Oak Street.