First of all, I just want to say that I am fully supportive of the Downtown Project and I appreciate all of the hard work that everyone has put into it. When it’s done, Hopkinton will have a truly unique downtown with its beautiful bike path, sidewalks, trees, etc.

However, I do have a concern about the above-ground utilities. If you look at the current state of the project, you can see that only half of it, from the Town Common to the police station, will have the utilities underground. The other half, from the police station to Wood Street, will remain above ground, as you can see from the new utility poles that were recently installed. This seems unwise to me, since, if those utilities are put underground in the future, the nice sidewalks, curbs, bike route and road will need to be dug up again. Now I know the original plan was to underground the entire project, but the original plan was voted down at an Annual Town Meeting.

So, I do believe that it’s not too late to modify the plan and I would like to suggest two options. The first option is to present an article at the next ATM for the additional money needed, which I would hope that the town citizens support. And the second option would be to not do this section yet.

My hope is that the whole length will be put underground as part of this project. This town has done the right thing in the 26 years that I have been a resident, with new schools (3), police and fire stations, and a library. So let’s do the right thing for this project.

— Dave Paul, Hopkinton

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