Select Board Approves Pole Petitions, Hears Route 2 Safety Study Update

Select Board · Meeting of July 27, 2026

Williamstown Select Board advances $500,000 Main Street corridor safety study and approves four National Grid pole petitions. At its July 27 meeting, the board heard a detailed briefing from Amanda Bazinet, project manager at VHB, on the town's Community One-Stop-funded Complete Streets study of Route 2 from Cold Spring Road to Water Street — a corridor where existing sidewalks fail ADA standards and the Main Street and Water Street intersection ranks as a top regional bicycle crash cluster. Community Development Director Andrew Groff noted that construction funding will likely require placement on the regional Transportation Improvement Program, with 2032 the earliest realistic window, and that Williams College is in discussions about contributing to design costs.

The board voted unanimously on all four National Grid petitions, including ten new mid-span poles on storm-prone Potter Road, conditioning one approval on placing pole P150 as close as possible to existing pole P2 at the request of resident Ellen Blay of 735 Potter Road. The board also approved a one-day beer license for Bright Ideas Brewing at the August 15 Blues and Roots Festival, adopted the September primary election warrant, and renewed its planning services inter-municipal agreement with Lanesboro. Member Stephanie Boyd led a discussion on restarting the town manager evaluation process, last completed in April 2024, with Chair Peter Beck agreeing to draft a simplified set of reflective questions for the August 24 meeting.

In the full story:

• Who Was There
• Organizations And Documents Referenced
• The complete report — 3,695 words

Source: the Select Board meeting of July 27, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.