Letter To The Editor: Safety First-Pine Hill Lane Extension

At the Sherborn Annual Town Meeting on Tuesday, April 26, we will have the opportunity to correct major safety problems that arise because Pine Hill Lane, the only entrance to Pine Hill School, is a dead-end roadway.

Pine Hill School is our elementary school and the largest town building. Over 500 students and adults access this location on a daily basis.

The congestion caused by buses, employees, volunteers, parents and visitors having to leave by the same road they entered has been recognized as a hazard for years by both state and local emergency management and safety officials.

Year after year we have been urged to correct this situation both for the safety of our children and because this building is designated as our emergency shelter.

Recently the state discouraged its use as an emergency inoculation center because it has only one means of access.

Extending Pine Hill Lane to another outlet was considered when the school was built in 1958 for 172 students; cost was a dissuading factor.

Since then, the building itself, the student population, the number of employees, and parent involvement has grown.

Pine Hill Lane has been blocked in the past by unexpected mishaps, creating a situation in which fire and rescue vehicles could not reach the school if they were needed.

The extension of Pine Hill Lane out through the far end of the parking lot to an exit on Eliot Street about 200 yards west of Lake Street would provide a second way to access the school in an emergency and would have other safety benefits: buses and cars would not be exiting from the present Pine Hill Lane at the intersection of 16 and 27, which is one of the most dangerous maneuvers in town, especially during commuter hours.

A “School Zone” at the new exit will slow traffic on Rt. 16 making the Lake Street intersection less dangerous.

Traffic safety on Pine Hill Lane itself will be improved over the present situation in which two-way traffic with parking on one side can be hazardous not only for school traffic but for after school and weekend activities in the building and on the fields. (You by going to You-Tube and searching for “Pine Hill Parking Sherborn”.)

We have the advantage of completed engineering drawings in hand. We have secured a path for the road through the Sherborn Town Forest thanks to the collaboration of several town boards and committees, our State Representative and the general court.

We have below-estimate bid returns in hand - almost unheard of for capital projects- for the voters to consider at Town Meeting.

With the continued rise in the cost of oil, which impacts construction prices, it is unlikely that we will have the opportunity again to make these safety improvements at the prices committed to by the contractors today.

Please come to the Town Meeting on April 26 and support the Advisory Committee’s positive motion on Article 9, Line 1, to extend Pine Hill Lane, and vote yes on Question 2 at the Town Election on May 10.

Thank you,

Frank Hess for the Pine Hill Access Road Committee

Frank Hess

64 South Main St.

Sherborn, MA 01770

508-655-0147

franknancyhess@comcast.net