Towns have different attitudes, perspectives on embattled roadway
It’s a residential area. No, it’s a commercial area. It’s a commercial and economic zone. No, it’s a limited-access thoroughfare.
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Chaotic
Framingham’s stretch of the highway, for example, has been eyed by developers for years. Narrow zoning regulations within the town, however, limit that development to small strips of land on either side of the corridor, said Kathleen Bartolini, Framingham’s director of planning and economic development.
“Development along the roadway was always envisioned,” Bartolini said. “Regrettably, we’ve defined this narrow strip on either side of the roadway and said that’s where (development) can go. So we’ve ended up with non-stop development in this confined area.”
The result, Bartolini said, is a chaotic mix of cars trying to turn left into oncoming traffic, impatient drivers running red lights or cutting others off, or worse.
Idyllic
Contrast Framingham’s bustle with Southborough’s almost idyllic stretches of Route 9.
Bordered by the Sudbury Reservoir on the north and the Interstate 495 interchange to the west, Southborough’s Route 9 lacks the kind of heavy development seen in its neighboring towns.
The relative openness of the stretch is partly by design and partly due to infrastructure restrictions, said Vera Kolias, Southborough’s town planner.
“Southborough has no sewer system, it’s all septic,” Kolias explained. “So that has a lot to do with some of the commercial opportunities thatcome into the town. That’s why it maybe looks different to some extent than other stretches in other towns. The zoning isn’t particularly different, but the infrastructure does have a lot to do with it.”
So does the fact that it sits on the shores of the Sudbury Reservoir. Environmental regulations prohibit massive development close to the water, Kolias said.
Still, Southborough is not immune to the kind of traffic snarls that plague the larger communities to its east. Bartolini said she often gets stuck at the intersection of Route 85 and Route 9 in Southborough’s Fayville village.
The conflict over whether Route 9 should be kept relatively open as a main thoroughfare between Boston and Worcester, or developed as a main commercial corridor, is played out not only between the towns it rolls through, but sometimes within them as well.
Confused
Take Shrewsbury. It is the intention of the town to develop the west end of Route 9 closest to Worcester as a mixed-use commercial area, while leaving the eastern portion relatively open, said Eric Denoncourt, civil engineer and planner for Shrewsbury.
“Within Shrewsbury itself, there’s really two sections of Route 9,” Denoncourt said. “From the lake in the west end up to Maple Avenue or Oak Street, there’s a different feel. It’s a slower moving area with more traffic signals. There’s a lot of development potential there. Further along, on the east end, it’s different. There are more Jersey barriers, things move a little faster.”
New zoning proposals in Shrewsbury are intended to further slow things down on Route 9’s western edge, to create a village feel, with crosswalks, sidewalks, and more traffic signals.
Shrewsbury is crossed by two major thoroughfares, Denoncourt said. Route 20 is the main industrial corridor, while Route 9 is seen as the main commercial artery.
Desirable
The town of Westborough has used its strategic and highly desirable location at the intersection of Route 9 and I-495 to dictate development on its own terms.
New developments along the corridor must retain 60 percent of their open space, said Jim Robbins, Westborough’s town planner.
“It doesn’t seem to dissuade (developers),” Robbins said. “They want to be here because of the location.”
Robbins said that while little can be done by the town to make improvements to Route 9 itself, which is under the jurisdiction of MassHighway, the town can, and does, regulate the feeder roads that empty onto Route 9.
