New Transportation and Parking Commission formed in Amherst

AMHERST — A new panel that will oversee requests from residents on matters related to traffic calming, road paving and parking — streamlining an often convoluted and time-consuming process for the public — will soon be formed.

Modeled after a panel in Northampton, the Town Council recently gave the go-ahead to establish the Transportation and Parking Commission, concluding a two-year discussion about how to delegate some authority for oversight of the public ways, and the process for how changes are made to roads and sidewalks.

The commission’s purpose is to “promote a safe, equitable, accessible and environmentally sustainable multi-modal transportation system that supports people and goods traveling safely, conveniently and efficiently throughout the town and connecting with other communities.”

At a meeting in November, District 4 Councilor Jennifer Taub, a member of the Town Services and Outreach Committee that has been reviewing the proposal, explained the reasoning for having the new commission.

“Residents want a place where they can go and be responded to and to not have it be a bureaucracy,” Taub said.

District 3 Councilor George Ryan, who serves as vice chairman of the subcommittee, said the idea is to have a process that is easy for the public to understand.

But Ryan said he doesn’t anticipate decisions made by the new commission to catch the Town Council off guard, observing that there would be much discussion before a project, such as the mini roundabouts installed on Heatherstone Road, would happen.

The idea of the commission was first proposed by Town Manager Paul Bockelman to reduce time-consuming work done by the Town Council that can lead to uncertainty for residents and applicants.

Along with the commission the Town Council also established a new “Policy Regarding the Control and Regulation of the Public Ways.”

The commission will have two councilors, designees by the police chief, Department of Public Works superintendent and Planning and Economic Development director, a representative of the Commission for Persons with Disabilities and three at-large residents.

This becomes a successor to the Transportation Advisory Committee, which has been mostly defunct in recent months. That committee could only offer opinions and recommendations on road and sidewalk matters.

Over the years, Amherst has had other panels acting in advisory capacity, such as the Public Transportation, Bicycle and Pedestrian Committee, the Downtown Parking Working Group and the Public Works Committee. Those were merged into the Transportation Advisory Committee in 2016.

A memo from the Town Services and Outreach Committee, provided to the Town Council in May, indicates that citizen capital requests that go to the Joint Capital Planning Committee, for possible inclusion on the town’s capital improvement program, could be reviewed by the new commission.

That memo also notes that service requests should receive prompt acknowledgment, with a referral or response if they are not related to matters within the commission’s charge.

“Northampton provides a good model for a system that tracks requests, is easy to use, and visible to the public,” that memo states.

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