West Springfield’s Main Street, where new sidewalks, bump-outs and raised crosswalks will be implemented to increase safety.
Photo Credit: Town of West Springfield
WEST SPRINGFIELD — West Springfield residents gathered at Town Hall for a road safety public forum, led by Mayor William Reichelt on Jan. 12.
The forum’s purpose was to give residents the opportunity to share ideas, concerns and suggestions on road safety throughout the town.
Reichelt held a similar presentation in 2023 and said he has since had a number of conversations internally with the DPW Director Trevor Wood and Town Engineer Connor Knightly about further traffic safety.
“I want to have more of these opportunities to talk briefly, and then hear from you, kind of, if what we’re doing is what you like, or if you want us to go in a different direction,” Reichelt said.
There were over 3,000 traffic citations and 261 parking tickets issued last year, but Reichelt said speeding in the town still hasn’t been fixed. He said people are slowing down in areas with police cruisers, but they want to build the roads to where that isn’t required.
Reichelt said $6 million has been put into traffic calming projects in the past two years, such as the Elm Street roundabout completion in 2024, which makes traffic flow consistent and the street safer to cross. He said the biggest project for the coming year is the Main Street reconstruction, which includes bump outs and raised sidewalks.
Current planned projects for 2026 include a sidewalk extension from Morgan Road to Kelly Drive, a Bear Hole railroad bridge replacement, raised crosswalks on Main Street, Dewey Street, Morgan Road and possibly Morton Street, and speed humps on Lancaster Street and other streets identified by the Town Council. The forum also introduced a peanut roundabout at Amostown Road and Piper Road, a roundabout that is built in the shape of an in-shell peanut.
Reichelt said projects under design include a sidewalk extension and traffic calming on City View Avenue, intersection redesign at Park Avenue, River Street and South Boulevard and sidewalk extensions from Birnie Avenue to Prospect Hill Conservation Area. Piper Road corridor improvements include raised crosswalks, bump-outs and intersection upgrades. There will also be a complete redesign for the remainder of Elm Street.
Many residents took the time to give their concerns as well for the majority of the forum, such as Roland Desrochers of Bridle Path Road. His main issue was with the lack of attention towards speeding on Dewey Street. He said the bumps on Dewey Street need to be high enough to truly slow people down or make the street closed to commercial vehicles.
“I would suggest any of you, try it, go out there and walk in the morning on the sidewalk,” Desrochers said. “You still wonder whether or not you’re gonna get blown away by traffic because people on that street, they go at least 45, if not 50 or more.”
Scott Raymond of Chester Street said that the speed bumps have made a huge difference, slowing drivers down from going as fast as 80 miles per hour. Raymond also said that the sidewalks are horrible and are impossible to keep clean in the winter.
“It’s all dips,” Raymond said. “The last thing I need is somebody coming down from somewhere else to go to the little store, and slipping and falling because it’s ice and there’s nothing I can do about it.”
John Avgoustakis of Pease Road said that he really appreciates the sidewalks and that they’ve increased safety tremendously for his family. He said, however, that he would like to see speed bumps on the hill section of Pease Road to ensure safety when entering and exiting their property. He also said that his daughter needs to cross the road to get on her school bus and he is concerned about crossing over the busy road.
Looking ahead, Reichelt said the long term goal is a “fully connected community” with safe walking routes for everyone. This includes a state-led redesign of Route 20, working west to east and future roundabouts at Sibley Avenue, Rogers Avenue, Lancaster Avenue and Kings Highway. He said the previous road diet work on Route 20 was a resounding success and slowed traffic in the entire corridor.
