The City Council on Dec. 21 voted unanimously to accept a $200,000 gift from Smith College to help pay for designing and constructing safety improvements for pedestrians on West and Elm streets near the campus.
The donation was announced that week when Mayor Gina-Louise Sciarra and Smith President Sarah Willie-LeBreton issued a statement pledging a joint effort to make crosswalks safer in that area. Among the immediate steps are removing some parking spaces to improve visibility and increased police patrols to monitor speeding.
The action follows accidents on Dec. 14 and 17 that injured pedestrians in crosswalks on West and Elm streets, the latest of several similar collisions in recent years near the college campus.
The city’s consultant, Fuss & O’Neill engineering firm of Springfield, recently completed a traffic study with additional recommendations, including flashing beacons on West Street, improvements of existing crosswalks and the addition of others.
Department of Public Works Director Donna LaScaleia told the City Council that the city aims to make improvements by spring to crosswalks at Elm Street and College Lane, and on West Street at Green Street, Arnold Avenue and near the college’s physical plant.
Outdoor lighting ordinance
The City Council Committee on Legislative Matters, of which I am a member, and Planning Board each voted unanimously after a public hearing Dec. 11 to recommend approval of an updated ordinance regulating outdoor lighting.
Because the proposed ordinance was mistakenly omitted from the agenda of the Dec. 21 City Council meeting, it will carry over to the new session that begins Jan. 2. The first regular meeting of the City Council next year is scheduled for Jan. 4.
The only difference in the recommendations by the Committee on Legislative Matters and Planning Board is the proposed cap on color, which is measured on the Kelvin scale. Higher numbers are bluer (regarded as “cool” light) and lower numbers are more yellowish, or “warmer.”
The Planning Board recommended a cap of 3000 Kelvin, and the Committee on Legislative Matters recommended 2700 Kelvin. I will continue to support the lower number.
The proposal would replace the existing ordinance that was last updated in 2007. The new ordinance reflects current light-emitting diode (LED) technology and fine-tunes restrictions on glare and other impacts of outdoor lights on neighboring properties and the sky. It also would require that commercial lights be turned off no more than one hour after the close of business.
The latest revised version of the proposed ordinance is available here:
“Back from the Brink” resolution
The City Council on Dec. 21 voted unanimously to approve a resolution that I cosponsored with Ward 2 Councilor Karen Foster calling on the United States to embrace the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons that was approved by 122 nations in July 2017. The treaty makes it illegal under international law to develop, test, produce, manufacture, or otherwise acquire, possess or stockpile nuclear weapons or other nuclear explosive devices.
The United States, however, is among the nations controlling nuclear weapons that have not ratified the treaty.
This resolution mirrors one unanimously endorsed by the City Council on Nov. 16, 2017, calling on the United States to “pull back from the brink” in an effort to prevent nuclear war.
The current resolution calls for diverting some of the estimated $90 billion that the United States will spend on maintaining its nuclear arsenal this year to programs addressing the climate crisis, recovery from the pandemic and other social services.
The resolution is available here:
https://northamptonma.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Item/22449?fileID=186923
New term
The City Council meeting Dec. 21 was the last for President James Nash (Ward 3), Vice President Karen Foster (Ward 2) and at-large councilor Jamila Gore.
They are succeeded by Deborah Pastrich-Klemer (Ward 2), Quaverly Rothenberg (Ward 3) and Jeremy Dubs (Ward 4). Garrick Perry shifts from Ward 4 to at-large councilor.
All officials elected in November were sworn in during an inauguration ceremony at 10 a.m., Tuesday, Jan. 2, at the Northampton Senior Center, 67 Conz St.
The organizational meeting of the City Council, when a new president and vice president will be elected, is scheduled for 4 p.m., Wednesday, Jan. 3, in the City Council chambers, 212 Main St.
Wishing you and your loved ones a healthy and peaceful 2024!
Stan