EASTHAMPTON — At its March 5 meeting, after many comments from Easthampton residents and discussion by the councilors, the Easthampton City Council voted to send the proposed traffic direction switch of Daley Field Road back to the Public Safety Committee.
The proposal called for one-way traffic on Daley Field Road to switch directions, now coming in a southerly to easterly direction from Hisgen Avenue to Lownds Avenue. According to John Mason, director of parks and recreation, the switch in direction would be safer as people try to enter and exit Nonotuck Park. There would no longer be cars crossing each other, trying to turn left into the park and left out of the park. Mason also noted that the toll booth at the entrance to the park would be moved 150 to 175 feet into the park to prevent, or at least mitigate, backups on Daley Field Road that can reach into the neighborhood roads.
However, roughly a dozen residents spoke out, asking for more study of the proposal and its effects on the neighborhood and noting concerns about the traffic coming in on nearby Taft Avenue where many people walk and bike on the sides of the road as there is no sidewalk.
Jeff Bagg, a resident of Taft Avenue and Easthampton’s former city planner, said that he worried this new plan would be “merely shifting the impact for minimal gain” and asked for there to be more study of the plan.
Several residents of Lownds Avenue did speak out in favor of the plan, or at least, in favor of moving the toll booth. Karina Schregohst, of Lownds Avenue, noted that drivers often have confusion about where exactly to go for the park and the backup at busy times is quite disruptive to her neighborhood.
Several of the councilors said that they had been prepared to approve the proposal, but after hearing resident concerns, no longer planned to do so.
The council also approved a supplemental appropriation for $106,799 to lease 10 electric vehicles for the Police, Fire and Parks departments. This leasing of vehicles will allow the city to remove some of its oldest and most problematic vehicles from the fleet while also testing out the newer technology and being able to plan for when large costs would arise.
After this appropriation, the lease payments would be factored into the city’s regular budget. Mayor Nicole LaChappelle noted that it’s taking a long time for vehicles to be delivered, so these may not come in before the end of the fiscal year 2025 budget, but the city needs to be prepared in case they do.
LaChappelle said this plan has been discussed for the last three years, initially expected to come from the capital planning budget.
However, since vehicles lose value so quickly, the decision was made to move it into the regular budget.
The council also voted unanimously to support the Fair Charter School Reimbursement Act, a bill co-sponsored by state Rep. and former City Council President Homar Gomez (D-Easthampton), that would balance out the state’s portion of reimbursement for students who attend charter schools.
Easthampton School Committee member Sam Hunter explained that charter schools set their own rates for students who attend, and that number can be burdensome to public school districts who are taking on the full expense of special education students — something that charter schools do not have.
