Here are some things for Longmeadow residents to consider before voting on Article 6 at the Nov. 12 Special Town Meeting:
- The Middle School Building Committee’s decision to locate a new combined school at the current Williams Middle School site was made without accurate or reliable information on traffic congestion, traffic delay, air quality and public safety impacts.
- An initial traffic study completed in May 2024 was incomplete, used incorrect assumptions and inaccurate traffic projections. A follow-up study scheduled for early September was postponed until after the committee made its site selection decision; and has still not been completed.
- Current Williams Middle School traffic causes significant congestion, delay and safety problems at several key intersections.
- A combined school would double school enrollment and more than double traffic entering, leaving and parking at the school. For example, morning school traffic would increase from about 200 to 400-450 vehicles in good weather. During bad weather, there could be as many 550 trips.
- The Building Committee recognizes that increased traffic is a problem, but downplays the substantial negative impacts, believing that traffic problems can somehow be mitigated using modern day solutions and providing more room for vehicles on school property.
- While some mitigation may be possible, it is important to understand that mitigation measures may only provide limited relief, and are not a cure for extreme problems like doubling traffic at already congested intersections.
- Common mitigation measures (such as installing traffic signals and turning lanes, assigning police to control traffic or adding school buses) are expensive and cannot be funded as part of the cost of the new school. More drastic measures may be unpopular with parents, teachers and staff.
- There are also negative consequences from mitigation measures. Examples: poor air quality from additional vehicles idling on school property, difficulties for first responders struggling to get through traffic congestion on Williams Street, removal of shade trees, less space for athletic fields, and the need to strictly enforce traffic and parking rules.
- The Middle School Building Committee has done a good job reminding us that major improvements are needed at our middle schools. and that improvements take years to complete and will cost taxpayers in excess of $155 million.
- With such a large investment of time, effort and money, we need to be sure that we are solving problems, not creating new ones or making existing problems substantially worse.
A combined middle school on the Williams Middle School site does not meet this test. Additional traffic congestion, delay, air quality and safety problems will affect parents, teachers and students, but also the quality of life for town residents and for visitors traveling to other schools, shops, businesses, medical facilities and other Longmeadow destinations.
We have shown that we can do better with other recent high-cost investments such as the high school, Adult Center and DPW garage.
In an effort to find a better middle school solution, I will be voting “no” on Article 6.
Thomas R. Narrigan
Longmeadow
