HomeMy Public PortalAboutCommunity InfrastructurePage 1 of 4
BREWSTER VISION ADVISORY GROUP
SUMMARY PAPER
COMMUNITY INFRASTRUCTURE
OCTOBER 2017
I. Background
Overview
The term community infrastructure is meant to encompass the variety of physical infrastructure
and facilities that the town and other community organizations provide for public purposes.
The June vision workshops showed the considerable value the participants placed in
community infrastructure for recreation, public gatherings, and alternative transport.
Frequently mentioned specific places included the bike trail, the Ladies Library, Drummer Boy
Park, Nickerson State Park, and the Stony Brook Grist Mill. However, the most frequently
mentioned infrastructure issue, by far, was a community center, combined with a new location
for the Council on Aging. Participants expressed interest in having a place for community
gatherings and events and where people of all ages could interact. Bike trails and sidewalks for
recreation and as a means of alternative transport around town were the second most
frequently mentioned infrastructure.
The Vision Committee conducted a supplemental survey with 3rd, 4th and 5th graders at the Eddy
School to determine their priorities. While many of the issues they identified were similar to the
general workshop findings, the need for active recreation sites such as skateboard parks, sports
fields, and swimming pools stood out.
Community infrastructure is, in many ways, a building block that supports many of the other
building blocks, particularly community character, economy, and coastal management (beach
access). This paper will focus on the issues of the community center and bike and pedestrian
ways as the two highest priorities.
Current status
a. Community space
A variety of facilities are currently used for public meetings and gatherings. The main locations
include the Ladies Library (meetings and events), the Brewster Baptist Church (elections and
workshops), the Council on Aging (senior activities), the Eddy School (recreation), the Stony
Page 2 of 4
Brook School (Town meeting). Town Hall is used primarily for official board and committee
meetings. There is no multi-purpose facility which allows a variety of uses and interactions.
Town facilities for active recreation are spread out throughout the town. They include the
Freeman’s Way ball and soccer fields, the Town Hall ball fields, Gage Field (behind the Fire
Station), and the community tennis courts off Underpass Road.
b. Bike and pedestrian ways
The Cape Cod Rail Trail (CCRT) stretches 7 miles from south central Brewster to the northeast
line with Orleans, linking to the entire 22 miles of paved bike/pedestrian trail. The CCRT is one
of the most actively used recreational features in Brewster and serves as a center piece of
Brewster’s “green economy.” In the summer, it also serves as a way for visitors and summer
workers to get around the town.
Recent re-paving projects in Brewster have expanded both biking and pedestrian access around
town. The Rt. 6A repaving in 2016 expanded the sidewalks in the center of town for bicyclists
and pedestrians. There are now 7 miles of sidewalks along Rt. 6A from Nickerson State Park to
Stony Brook Rd.
Also in 2016, the Town completed the re-paving of Underpass and Snow Roads, extending the
sidewalks and creating narrow bike lanes. The Underpass design may serve as a model for
future re-paving of town roads. At a cost of $3 million, this project was completed using part of
the $10 million bond that was approved by Town meeting in 2015. The next priority for road
bond funds is Millstone Road to include re-surfacing and pedestrian and bike improvements,
yet to be specifically defined.
The Town also receives approximately $400,000 annually of Chapter 90 funds for road
improvements. Over $1 million of these funds have been accumulated over several years. The
next target for Chapter 90 funded improvements is Highway 137, including re-surfacing and
accommodating bike and pedestrian traffic.
While there have been recent improvements in bike and pedestrian access around town and
more are planned, access remains problematic, particularly if road design is the primary avenue
for expanding access. The main challenge to expanding bike and pedestrian ways is the narrow
width of Brewster’s roads—both the pavement and the rights-of-way—which do not allow for
easy addition of sidewalks and/or bike lanes. The extent of wetlands along town roads also
constitutes a constraint on expanding road ways to accommodate bike and pedestrian facilities.
On the larger roads, speed limits also dictate design standards: the higher the speed limit, the
greater need for separation (distance or curbing) of vehicles and pedestrians or bicyclists.
Page 3 of 4
Table 1: Summary of Roadway Ownership in Brewster
Ownership Length
gravel
(mi)
Length
paved
(mi)
Total length
(mi)
% of total
Town-owned streets 10 54 64 31%
MassDOT-owned streets NA 16 16 8%
Private/unaccepted streets 42 83 125 61%
Total 52 153 205 100%
Source: Brewster Pavement Management Plan, 2015
A considerable portion of Brewster’s road network is made up of private roads, which creates a
degree of management confusion. The Town generally plows private roads, sweeps private
paved roads, and provides some help with signage. However, creating public access (for a
walking trail or identified bike route) requires getting easements from each landowner, which is
a long and complex procedure.
The fundamental challenge to expanding bike and pedestrian access in town is how to create
connectivity: to link places around town without relying solely on the public road layout.
Recent actions in town
a.Community space
In 2009, the Town proposed to sell Town Hall to the Lighthouse Charter School and move town
administration to the Eddy School and create a community center there. However, planning for
this action was stopped when the State Board of Education refused to allow the conversion of a
school for which state capital loan funds were still being reimbursed. The Town has since
completed reimbursement of state loans and the Eddy School is mentioned as a potential site
for a community center. The Recreation department is currently housed there. More discussion
is needed with the School Committee about consolidating Eddy and Stony Brook Schools before
a solution is found.
The Town’s five year Capital Plan 2018-2023 identifies a feasibility study for a combined Council
on Aging (COA) and community center in 2019 and possible construction in 2021. The recently
completed COA needs assessment, The Future of Aging, indicates that many of the respondents
to the survey and participants in focus groups, which were the basis for the study, preferred a
community center in which COA would be housed.
b.Bike and pedestrian ways
In 2015, the Town completed a Pavement Management Plan which assessed the conditions of
Brewster’s roads and the long term financial liabilities of the road network and recommended
improvements. Based on that assessment, the Town approved a $10 million road bond in 2015.
The bond proceeds funded the repaving and improvements of Underpass Road at a cost of $3
Page 4 of 4
million in 2016-17. The next priority for repaving and bike and pedestrian improvements is
Millstone Road and the remaining funds will be used for general roadway improvements
around town.
The Rt. 6A re-paving and improvements were completed in 2017 and funded entirely the State.
In 2016, the Board of Selectmen approved Biking Brewster: a strategy to enhance biking in
Brewster, prepared by the Bikeways Committee. The strategy identifies alternative biking
routes for transport and recreation, proposes safety improvements, and recommends public
education measures.
The Town also completed a Beach Access strategy, which includes expanding bike and
pedestrian access to town landings as a way to reduce the need for more beachfront parking.
In 2017, Town Meeting approved $100,000 for the installation of warning lights at the four
CCRT crossings in town: Rt. 124, Rt. 137, Underpass Road, and Millstone Road, a
recommendation of the Biking Brewster strategy. The lights will be installed in Spring 2018 and
are intended to enhance safety at the crossings.
The Town’s Natural Resources Department has made a proposal to the State Department of
Conservation and Recreation to create a Rail Trail spur from the current location near the
entrance to Nickerson State Park to the beach between Crosby and Linnell landings to expand
bike and pedestrian access to the beach.
II. Key issues moving forward
How should the Town proceed to examine options for a multi-use community center?
How aggressively should the town promote connectivity off of roadways (for example on Town
land from Underpass Rd to the Stony Brook School to the Eddy School to Rt. 6A near Town Hall,
or along Eversource’s rights-of-way)?
III. Draft Vision Goal
Draft Goal: Maintain and expand town infrastructure in ways that expand opportunities for
community interaction, support the development of a “green” economy, expand recreation
opportunities, and promote public safety.
Purposes:
1.Create a community center to house activities and interaction for people of all ages.
2.Expand the bike and pedestrian trails and paths for recreation and transport throughout the
town.
3. Provide active recreation opportunities and facilities, including for youth.