SALISBURY — Longawaited plans to move the former train station building in Lakeville are advancing, First Selectman Curtis Rand told the Salisbury Board of Selectmen at its regular meeting Monday, May 4.
With the project out to bid, contractors are now reviewing materials, Rand said.
The plan is to move the entire building back about 16 feet from its current location on Ethan Allen Street in Lakeville. The unmarked pavement narrows by the station, which has caused problems like panel trucks clipping the roof. Rand also said the building’s brick foundation has been covered up by years of repaving the street.
The street, which is home to three restaurants and a laundromat, continues to the Grove and also intersects with Holley Street toward Route 44.
Just west of the train station is Salisbury’s newest electric vehicle charger, installed last week on town property. The rate is 43 cents per kilowatt hour.
A new EV charging station in Lakeville. Patrick L. Sullivan
Rand also reported that Duke Besozzi of New England Naval Timbers in Cornwall delivered 10 six-inch white oak trees to the Grove on Monday, May 4 for planting. Besozzi’s company supplies timber for use in restorations and replicas of wooden sailing ships. White oak is highly water-resistant and sought after for such uses.
Katie Begley is Salisbury’s new resident trooper, and was scheduled to be introduced at the meeting. Something came up, however, and she wasn’t able to attend.
Rand said he was hopeful that the trooper would stick around. “We’ve had three in one year,” he said.
The discussion redirected to speeding. Kiefer said she often receives comments from residents about the issue, and joked that she considered standing out on Route 44 holding a hair dryer like a radar gun to try to slow drivers down.
Rand said he recently noticed a 20 mile per hour speed limit on a state road in Cornwall. He said when he suggested the same speed limit to the state Department of Transportation, he was told it couldn’t be done.
The selectmen agreed to keep the pressure on the DOT, with an emphasis on median islands on Route 44 heading west out of Lakeville.
