P&Z invites public to join Lakeville planning event

LAKEVILLE — Residents and visitors of all ages are invited to an interactive brainstorming session at the Lakeville Town Grove on Saturday, March 18, to address ongoing concerns and help shape and define a vibrant future for the village.

The program, co-sponsored by Salisbury’s Planning and Zoning Commission and Colliers Engineering and Design, will run from 10 a.m. to noon with the intent of gathering input from the public on Colliers’ recommendations for short and long-term strategies to address issues of concern identified by the community.

“The pandemic is stress-changing the patterns of residency and use” in Lakeville, said P&Z chairman Michael Klemens.

He noted that a convergence of several major projects focused on the downtown area, including the proposed Holley Block affordable housing plan and the conversion of the old firehouse into a restaurant, sparked renewed public concerns over traffic, safety and parking.

“These issues have been plaguing the village for some time,” Klemens said.

Last fall, Colliers was tasked by the commission to prepare a study of Lakeville village center on five main topics: pedestrian and bicycle access, circulation and safety; public greenspaces; traffic circulation and safety; and parking and stormwater management.

Over the past four months the engineering team visited the area, reviewed prior studies and plans and convened focus groups to gather information about Lakeville’s history and evolution, access and utilization of businesses, services and amenities, and identified locations that could benefit from enhancements.

According to town officials and representatives of Colliers, the focus groups took a deep dive into the village’s recreational, open space, historic and cultural resources, as well as the challenges of parking, ease of navigating the area on bike, foot or car, availability of greenspaces and the connectivity via sidewalks between various locations.

“As you develop, as we have, you develop parcel by parcel, and what you lose is the opportunity to look at larger scale planning,” said Klemens. “Sometimes the sum is greater than the parts. If we look holistically, we may find better solutions.”

Need for connectivity and signage

“The biggest thing we see is the connectivity in making Lakeville more pedestrian-friendly,” said Deborah Lawlor, Colliers’ principal associate. For example, she said, one analysis pinpointed to the need to fix gaps between sidewalks.

Lawlor even hopped on her own bike and traversed the Rail Trail from the train station area all the way to Salisbury village and then out on to Route 44 “to try to get back” to where she started.

“It was really not something I was able to do easily,” she noted.

More clearly defined parking areas with signage and painted parking spaces would go a long  way towards making the village more user-friendly, said Lawlor. And while the volume of traffic and posted speed limits were  not seen as a major concern, the speed of vehicles was, she said, and that is something that could benefit from enhanced traffic signals.

“The speed limits are okay, but people don’t abide by them,” which begs the question, she said, ‘How do you slow it down?’”

According to the planning study, while the downtown area appears bucolic in nature, the main street in the village is Route 44, a major east-west thoroughfare between New York and New England states that intersects with State Highway 41, which extends from the New York border into Massachusetts.

These two roadways serve as major truck routes in the northwest region of the state.

“In addition to the volume of trucks, the speed of the vehicles on Route 44 is a concern,” the Colliers report notes. “The current configuration of the Route 44 and Route 41 intersection needs to be evaluated for improvements to address safety, speed and turning considerations.”

Vibrant downtown, viable businesses

Lawlor said like many New England towns, the ways people shop, dine, do their banking and seek services has changed over time, a trend that was exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic.

“However, while malls may have lost their luster, vibrant downtowns are becoming more and more desirable.”

Despite suggested improvements, said Lawlor, by no means has the village outgrown its quaintness.

“In fact, I see great potential to take the quaint character of Lakeville and elevate it to attract desirable businesses to serve Lakeville residents as well as the greater Salisbury area.”

In general, said Lawlor, when a year-round residential population grows, businesses become more viable because there is greater predictability of the market.

Although Lakeville is primarily a residential village, noted Klemens, it currently does not have the critical mass of people needed to make it a vibrant, thriving community.

‘It’s like a roadmap’

Salisbury First Selectman Curtis Rand said he is in full support of the planning study, which was financed by the town with federal American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds.

“It’s like a roadmap,” said Rand. “We can gather input, decide on projects and then apply for grants.”

Klemens said he is excited to have public involvement in the planning process and encourages people to take part in the mini-break-out groups where they can provide their views on specific topics.

Youngsters, too, are welcome to comment on their experiences riding bikes around the village or crossing streets, or visiting the recreation area, said the forum planners.

The forum will offer interactive features, like the ability for people to post sticky notes on a map of the village with comments.

“There may be ideas, solutions or other problems we have not yet uncovered. We want people to really think with us for comprehensive, better solutions. We want them to be partners with us,” Klemens explained.

For those unable to attend the public program, an information and response form will be uploaded to www.salisburyct.us prior to the March 18 event. Suggestions and comments are welcome until April 1.