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Perkins St. pond access plan still in works

PONDSIDE—The state Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) will hold a follow-up community meeting sometime in May or early June to discuss its plan to improve access to the Jamaica Pond at the intersection of Perkins Street and Francis Parkman Drive, according to spokesperson Bill Hickey.

DCR held a community meeting in summer of 2013, unveiling three concepts to improve the intersection. Attendees seemed to prefer a combination of the three concepts. The plan at the intersection is part of a larger effort to improve access to Jamaica Pond that already saw projects done at Kelly Circle and Eliot Street.

It is unclear why it has taken two years for the plan to progress.

“We got feedback from that original public meeting, which had the three options,” said Hickey in an email to the Gazette. “We have taken that feedback into consideration and at the next public meeting, DCR will present an option that factors in the comments we received. The community will then be able to comment on what is presented.”

He said that the DCR engineering team is meeting with the City to discuss connecting new roadway crossings to the existing park paths upon City land.

The first concept for improvement plan would place a crosswalk on the west side of Perkins Street at the intersection and another crosswalk at the end of Parkman Drive. A traffic light would be installed, along with traffic-calming measures, such as bumping out the curb on the southeastern side of the intersection and fattening the medians on Perkins Street.

The second concept would place a crosswalk and pedestrian signal farther west on Perkins Street near Prince Street. A path would bring people to Parkman Drive, south of the intersection, where another crosswalk and pedestrian signal would be installed.

The third concept would place a crosswalk and pedestrian signal on Perkins Street, east of the entrance to Cabot Estate. A sign warning drivers of pedestrians crossing would be placed farther east on Perkins Street, prior to a curve in the street.

Peter Shanley:
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