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September 25, 2024
Meeting Held in Person at 500 East Street
Public Safety Building Community Room
Present: Michael Feck, Chair; Sharron Friedman, Clerk; Joseph Cerretani; Ralph Penney;
Mark Corsillo; Michael McClanahan and James Turnbull, Associate
Sarah Raposa, Director of Planning & Development
Priscilla McGill, Administrative Secretary
Absent: Beth Aslmnan-Collins and Sreelatha Allam, Associate
Michael Feck, Chair called the meeting to order.
This was a public meeting to discuss the Transit Oriented Development (TOD) Parkway.
Presenters for the session were:
Mansfield: Sarah Raposa, Director of Planning and Development and Josh Reinke, DPW
Director
Jamie Pisano, Chief Highway Engineer, VHB
Ms. Raposa began the meeting by stating that the meeting's purpose was to review the March
public session's conunents and questions and present the conceptual changes to the plan for the
Transit Oriented Development (TOD) Parkway. She noted that after the presentation, they
would open the floor to questions or comments from the Planning Board and the audience.
Ms. Raposa reviewed the site history noting the TOD was born in 2005 with the Hathaway
Patterson site and continued through 2014 when the Mansfield Station Revitalization Overlay
District (MSROD) zoning was passed.
Planning Board Meeting Minutes 9/25/24 Page 1 of4
The history continued with the formation of the Strategic Development Committee, Master
Planning Process, MBTA Communities legislation, Route 106 corridor improvements, updated
MSROD & public outreach, and the MSROD expansion.
Mr. Pisan recapped the March 20t" public session regarding the presentation of existing
conditions, conceptual parkway layout, stakeholder coordination, development agreement, and
finding opportunities. He presented the Parkway I" Draft design (presented at the March 20`"
session) noting that there will be a new intersection at Route 106 and Chauncy Street, a new
signalized railroad crossing, a proposed roundabout at the intersection of North Main Street and
County Streets, new roadway access to a proposed parking garage, and accommodations for
GATRA service, pedestrians, and bicyclists. The proposal also included Neighborhood access at
Howe Street and River Sheet, neighborhood exit (out only) at Draper Avenue, green space
between the parkway and the neighborhood, and at Highland Avenue right in and right out
honing.
Mr. Pisano said the Planning Board had submitted a continent letter following the March 20`n
meeting. He summarized their comments and explained how each item could be addressed. The
comment topics included the travel lane width including reduced speed measures, shared use
path, and the elimination of on -street parking on the parkway. Additional continents addressed
the potential reduction of lanes on the Parkway at Chauncy Sheet, an alternative layout for the
Howe Street connection, Howe Street extension to the Parkway, preventing commuter traffic
fi•om entering the neighborhood, and costs related to the proposed layout for bedrock removal.
The Planning Board letter had continents related to items outside of the project: wetlands near
the railroad (historic dumping ground), proposed gates at the railroad crossing, fixture
improvements to Chauncy Sheet and North Main Street, and improvements to pedestrian access
to North Main Street and the downtown area.
Mr. Reinke spoke about the DPW process for selecting roads for reconstruction. The DPW hires
a consultant to review Town roads, which are scaled for improvement needs. The DPW
management plan is refreshed every five years and then used to select which roads require
improvements. The road repairs are independent of the TOD Parkway project. Concerning the
parkway project, the Highland Street portion is in worse condition than the North Main Street
and County Street portions. He said it would make sense to incorporate new sidewalks into the
Highland Street area. The addition of sidewalks in this area could potentially lead to the Town
asking landowners for land donations to incorporate the new sidewalks. The Town will continue
to seek Chapter 90 finding for this project, as they have in the past. The State awarded the
Town a small grant to pay for the design and construction of a bridge over County Street. It is
currently in the design phase. There is consideration to adding a sidewalk from the Foxboro
town line to the parkway, but there is no conmutment at this time. In consideration of the World
Planning Board Meeting Minutes 9/25/24 Page 2 of 4
Cup, there have been very early discussions with the State for funding a possible bike path
connection to the stadium. They will also be seeking input fi•om Foxboro.
Mr. Pisan then asked the attending Planning Board members, Select Board members, and the
public for their questions and comments, which related to:
• Connections of the parkway, traveling in/out, signage, access to the neighborhood, and
the proposed trajectory of the parkway
• Complaints of e-bikes currently being used on the Rail Trail where signs state "no
motorized vehicles are allowed"
• The addition of charging stations for e-bikes
• From Ms. Raposa, the official introduction of the parking garage as an element of the
project:
o Proposed four levels with 570 vehicle spaces and 28 bicycle rack spaces
o Seeking funding through MassWorks
o Phased construction
o Engaging a sub -consultant
o Traffic impact studies when new developments are proposed
o How to handle temporary parking during construction
• Land swaps and disposition including the Select Board process and Mass General Law
regulations
• The implementation of Development agreements
• Advance the parkway design to 100% in the next few months
• Acceptance of the parkway as a Town road
• Pavement management plan for surrounding roads before roadway construction
• Working with the State to intersect the parkway with Route 106 construction
• Mediation of potential traffic queuing at peak train times
• The generation of electricity (possibly solar) for vehicle and e-bike charging stations and
tine potential generation of revenue from the garage
• Tree requirements along the walking path and parkway
• Truck traffic at North Main Street and Route 106 intersection should be addressed
• Questions for the shared use path at the parkway:
o On which side should it be allowed?
o Should walking and biking paths be separate?
o Should a speed limit be implemented for e-bikes?
• Parking garage should be financially self -sustained, not funded through the Town
• Responsibility for maintenance of the garage and parking fees
Planning Board Meeting Minutes 9/25/24 Page 3 of 4
• Concerns about funding the parkway and tax increases
o Existing funding (The Town has been awarded grant funding)
o Seeking additional Grant funding
• Mitigation for vehicles potentially blocking railroad crossing and concern if shared path
crosses the railway
o CSX owns the railway, not MBTA
• Concerns that directional signage will be ignored
o Suggestion that the shared path should be on the neighborhood side
o Suggestion that the roadway be pulled away from the neighborhood
o Design needs more work
• Pedestrian crossings need to be addressed, currently too dangerous
• Neighbors of the proposed parkway were concerned about train noise
The questions and comments session ended and the meeting ended.
Motion to adjourn at 9:25 pm (Corsillo/Turnbull)
Seven (7) in favor, Zero (0) opposed, Zero (0) abstained PASSES
The date of the Next Planning Board Ifeeling is October 9, 2024 at 7: 00 p. in.
Sharon Friedman, Cleric Date of Approval
Documents Presented at the Meeting
VHB PowerPoint presentation dated 9/25/24
Planning Board Meeting Minutes 9/25/24 Page 4 of 4