The Town of Mattapoisett might only be receiving funding for a road reconstruction project in 2020, but it will have all its ducks in a row before that time comes.

The town was notified that it is in line for a Transportation Improvement Plan Grant, from the Massachusetts Department of Transportation, in June. The funding will provide for reconstruction of Main Street, Water Street, Beacon Street, and parts of Wareham Road.

At an August 10 meeting meant specifically for residents of Water Street, Town Administrator Mike Gagne, along with VHP Engineering project manager Jamie Pisano, asked for input from residents on what they wanted to see on their road.

Pens drew as fast as words flew. Pisano had provided a long, scroll-like rendering of Water Street, on which he encouraged residents to draw in what they wanted to see on their street.

One common concern? Keep the trees! While residents were in agreement that cars generally speed down Water Street, most didn't want two sidewalks. The majority of residents were interested in a sidewalk on the ocean side of the road. As they explained it, putting in a sidewalk on the far side of the ocean meant taking people's yards and cutting down trees which line the road. However, consensus was reached that there is enough room on the north side of the road to put in a sidewalk without taking yards or removing trees.

"We can definitely take that into consideration," Gagne said. "After the [Main Street] meeting, I left with six pages of notes. This is your road, and your project. Tell us what you want."

The speeding affected more than the sidewalks and trees. A large portion of the meeting's attendees had walked on foot to Center School, where the meeting was held. They listed 'walkability' as a primary concern in the road reconstruction project, pointing out that re-doing the roads might make it even easier for people to speed.

One resident considered making part of Water Street a one way road, if only seasonally, but Gagne warned that doing so would be harder than it appeared. "Then you'd have to find a way around, and it would just back up traffic, and that wouldn't go well," he said.

At a June meeting introducing the overall project, Gagne explained that the total cost of reconstruction would be between $3-5 million.

Part of the cost is due to new stormwater and drainage requirements. "There is drainage work that needs to be done," he explained. "Under current stormwater management, we have to design systems to purify water before it is discharged into Mattapoisett Harbor, so for a good portion of local repaving jobs on Barstow and Cannon, we need to do the discharge work."

The next few years of the project are concerned with getting initial feedback from residents, forming a conceptual design, and getting permits; actual road construction won't begin until 2021.