LONGMEADOW — The “L Project,” a Massachusetts Department of Transportation road redesign project estimated to take up to seven years, has moved into a new phase. Despite its goal of making portions of Longmeadow Street and several of the roadways around it safer and more efficient for vehicles, bicyclists and pedestrians, not everyone is happy about the project.
Planning for the project was initiated by MassDOT in 2017. Residents voted to approve the town’s match for the state funding over a series of four town meetings. The number of easements and their square footage was approved by a two-thirds vote at the May 2022 Town Meeting. In December 2024, property owners were notified of the easement takings on their property and the amount of their compensation.
The newest phase of the L Project, scheduled for May 2025, includes the widening of Converse Street to include a turn lane. To achieve this, a portion of the frontage on four properties will be taken as permanent easements. There will also be temporary easements on 72 parcels to allow road crews access during the construction process and a period afterward, Town Manager Lyn Simmons said.
A few residents spoke about the easements during the meeting’s public comment period. Resident Mary Beth Guthy was upset about the “seizure” of a portion of her front yard. Had she known the project would happen, she would not have purchased her property in 2020, she said. She also said she was not provided with a copy of the appraisal report.
Another resident likewise objected to not receiving a report of the “fair and just calculation” for her property easement’s value. She said she was informed that the town counsel recommended withholding the release of the information until it was recorded by the Registry of Deeds.
Select Board member Dan Zwirko said that many of the residents who have spoken to him about the easements are upset about the lack of communication from the town. He asked Town Engineer Tim Keane to explain the process. Keane said that in 2021, when the project design was 25% complete, there was a virtual meeting to solicit public input. He did note that the design then was substantially similar to the completed design. He has also heard from some residents throughout the remainder of the design process.
Keane said he had been in error when he shared an appraisal report with one of the property owners with a permanent easement, before speaking with the town counsel and receiving guidance.
Simmons said the easements were calculated by an independent appraiser. She emphasized that the town has “very little” input into the process, as it is a MassDOT project with clearly set rules. Select Board member Andrew Lam described it as a “standardized” process.
Easements have been taken in prior project phases. Keane said that there was one instance in which a property owner paid for their own appraisal which found a different value. The town “met them halfway,” he said.
Addressing the property owners whose land was subject to the easements, Lam said, “I just want you to know that we all — everyone in town — for what it’s worth, appreciates you for basically allowing this project to help all of us.”
The easement takings were approved with a total of $525,000 paid to property owners, with the permanent easements making up the majority of those funds. Zwirko was the only Select Board member to vote against it. Later, he told Reminder Publishing that, while he supports the L Project, he said remaining questions about the process and was “not comfortable” with the town having provided an appraisal report to one individual but not the other three.
