Letter to the Editor: Center School preferable for Main Street construction staging

by Hopkinton Independent | Mar 10, 2021 | Letter to Editor

(Editor’s note: The following is an open letter to the town manager, Select Board and Parks & Recreation.)

Reasons for using Center School as a staging area for the downtown project:

1. The open field at Center School will only be used by 5-7-year-old campers for 30 days: June 26-August 11. That is a total of 210 hours. The campers often use the Common instead of the field because the Common is cooler and has shade.

2. Storing equipment and supplies along Marathon Way will create a negative perception of our beautiful Common. It will also impact the use of the Common by a variety of groups during the spring, summer and fall.

3. Construction workers will use many of the valuable parking spaces around the Common.

4. The short distance between Center School and Marathon Way will not seriously impact the total length of time of the duration of the downtown project.

5. The construction will probably go from March 18 through the end of November. That will mean 184 days of disruption on Marathon Way. Compare that to 30 days of campers using Center School.

Thank you for considering our request to use Center School instead of Marathon Way for the supplies, equipment and parking for the downtown project. Many of our neighbors feel the same way.

— Rick and Beth Kelly, Hopkinton

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