Opposing comment by pouliot and holland12/14/23, 9:37 AM City of Northampton Mail - Site Plan Review - 40 Fort Street
https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/?ik=46b15cdcbd&view=pt&search=all&permthid=thread-f:1785224811941930876&simpl=msg-f:1785224811941930876 1/1
Nathan Chung <nchung@northamptonma.gov>
Site Plan Review - 40 Fort Street
1 message
Stephanie Pouliot <spouliot2009@gmail.com>Wed, Dec 13, 2023 at 10:03 PM
To: "nchung@northamptonma.gov" <nchung@northamptonma.gov>
Cc: Michael Holland <mholland469@gmail.com>
Dear Planning Board Members,
We are writing to express our concerns with the proposed construction of a second two-family detached dwelling at 40
Fort Street (Map ID 38B-173) by Good View, LLC. Our home at 33 Fort Street sits directly across Fort Street from the
property where this new dwelling is proposed to be built.
According to the existing proposed Site Plan, there would be an additional four parking spaces added to the property,
doubling the number of vehicles currently allowed to access the property from four to eight. Both 40 Fort Street and our
property are located at the top of the hill leading up from Springfield Road, where the oddly configured (and sometimes
confusing to motorists) intersection of Fort and East Streets is located. As one of the primary roads of in/egress to the
homes and farms on Springfield Road, the conservation lands of Arcadia, and the Oxbow Marina on the Connecticut
River, Fort Street is highly traversed by cars (often towing boats), farm equipment, bicyclists and pedestrians (many with
pets or children in tow). Fort Street is quite narrow, especially when cars are parked on the side of the road which limits
the road to a single lane. Furthermore, cars heading east on Fort Street around the bend in front of our house are often
traveling at high rates of speed, even though they have low visibility as to the cars traveling west up the hill on Fort Street.
Consequently, extreme care must be used when leaving the driveways at both properties due to obscured lines of sight,
fairly high and fast traffic for such a small road, and pedestrians/bicyclists utilizing the roadway in the absence of
sidewalks.
In addition, when the current residents have visitors, their vehicles are often parked in the road opposite our driveway,
narrowing the road further and making it difficult to navigate out of our driveway. Or worse, they occasionally park on the
side of the road but on our property.
Adding four additional resident cars, as well as an unknown number of visitor cars, to 40 Fort Street will
make an already unsafe intersection/section of Fort Street all that more challenging and dangerous to travel.
Lastly, when 40 Fort Street was purchased and large trucks were coming and going, these trucks often drove over our
property causing damage. The idea of construction vehicles both damaging our property (which is inevitable due to the
narrow road) and contributing to the traffic woes on Fort Street feels untenable.
Based on the foregoing, we are opposed to the construction of a second dwelling at 40 Fort Street, and respectfully
request that you reject the current proposed Site Plan submitted by Good View, LLC.
Best,
Stephanie Pouliot
Mike Holland
33 Fort Street