Themes begin to emerge in Mattapoisett Master Plan talks

Aug 29, 2020

MATTAPOISETT — As residents shared their opinions in a second brainstorming session for the new Master Plan, regional planners listened and  immediately identified transportation and communication as themes across both sessions. 

The goal is for planners from the Southeastern Regional Planning and Economic Development District to come up with six to ten themes from the wide-ranging conversations. 

Organizers will then come up with a handful of goals for each chapter of the plan based on what residents want, and give the town strategies to complete those goals over the next ten years. 

Though residents brought up enough familiar topics on Aug. 29 for planners to begin putting together some of those themes, they also contributed to the discussion by asking some of the key questions 

Across both sessions, residents wanted to see more communication. 

“Communication is harder than it should be,” said one participant, Kevin Spratt. 

He thought that the cable access network should be a bit better, but the town should also look for non-electronic ways to communicate, like using the library as a central hub. 

Don Flemming had an issue with the town website. 

Grant King, one of the project leads from SRPEDD said that the burden for communicating can’t all fall on the town, and sometimes volunteers can help with communication. 

In speaking of communication and different views, the group thought it would be valuable to take into account the views of seasonal residents and young people. 

In some cases, resources may be more useful for one group than another. Susan Giguere said that she would not use the bike path, but would encourage her family to do so, for example. 

Mary Dermody spends most of the year in Mattapoisett and lives seasonally in Wareham. She said she noticed other seasonal residents can be very invested in Mattapoisett. 

Another theme between the two sessions was transportation and safety while walking or biking. 

Participants David McIntire and Nathan Ketchel both brought up crossing Route 6 as a difficult and often unsafe task. 

Ketchel said outside of the village there are only two or three places to cross Route 6, and if someone were to bike from Fairhaven they have to ride almost a mile to use a crosswalk. 

He also pointed out the lack of safe pedestrian access off North Street, north of Interstate 195, on Mattapoisett Neck Road and Brandt Island Road. 

In fact, he said “It’s kind of rare to find a sidewalk unless in the village or on Route 6,” even though higher speed limits on those roads make them unsafe.  

Marilou Newell said it is common to see cars going over the speed limit along Water Street and on Main Street. She believes there is not adequate signage and there are more cars that move faster.

Residents also raised questions that did not have immediate answers, but may spark discussion at more specific sessions in the future. 

Dermody asked whether the town should consider more historic signage if it might attract tourists, or whether it should keep to itself and stay quiet. 

As the town grows, Fleming wants residents to consider which population will be growing and whether the town should become a retirement community or work to attract more young people. 

Planning Board member Mary Crain thought that in order to answer “what do we want to preserve in open land?” the town should first determine “What needs preserving?” 

Giguere wondered if residents might be able to form a cooperative and negotiate for lower flood insurance rates to make the insurance more accessible for all.