Square won't take big rigs

Big rigs trying to maneuver their way north and south through downtown Watertown need not travel through Public Square.

City Engineer Kurt W. Hauk told the City Council on Monday that the radius for some of the turns in the revamped downtown do not accommodate semis with a trailer longer than 33 feet.

"I'm amazed they would approve a design that would allow that," Mr. Hauk said of the state's acceptance of the plans with the tight turning radiuses.

Tractor-trailers accessing Public Square from Mill or Washington streets or rigs trying to make the 180-degree turn around the center traffic island will find a tighter-than-normal squeeze. That's because the state Department of Transportation approved the Public Square redesign knowing that those turns were made for semis with trailers no longer than 33 feet.

Villager Construction, Fairport, has already installed the granite curbs for the traffic islands, some of which have angled faces to allow for vehicle tires to rub against them.

Mr. Hauk said the problem came to light when the owner of Lennox Homes, 555 State St., approached the city about having to navigate through Public Square with oversized mobile homes.

"Anything larger than a WB-40 is going to have a hard time making it around those turns," Mr. Hauk said. "North and south is a real problem, not east and west."

A "WB-40" is a truck with a 33-foot trailer, the engineer said.

All of the turning radiuses in Public Square will accommodate that particular vehicle. City buses are about 30 feet long, City Manger Mary M. Corriveau said.

The $7.1 million reconstruction project was designed by Clough, Harbor & Associates. Implemented in the design are pedestrian "bump outs" that slow vehicles and allow pedestrians to view oncoming traffic.

Those features also leave little room for error for larger trucks.

Mr. Hauk said that when the city agreed to reconstruct Public Square, left-hand turns from Mill Street to State Street and Washington Street to Arsenal Street were incorporated to keep semis out of Public Square. Oversized trucks trying to make right-hand turns from Mill and Washington streets will find those turns a tall task.

City lawmakers will consider implementing a "truck route" that gives drivers with oversized loads room to travel without getting them far off their route.

"The signage for that needs to be in place as early as possible," Councilman Joseph M. Butler Jr. said.

Other council members said they've seen large semis make the tight turns throughout Public Square without incident. Mr. Hauk agreed that it can be done, but said the turns were not designed for their safe passage.

Public Square is still months from being complete, but the City Council already is asking how the project can be redesigned. Lawmakers will ask Clough, Harbor & Associates for an estimate on redesigning the corner near Mill Street following a request by a business owner.

Carl E. Farone, owner of Mr. Sub, 109 Mill St., has asked that an exit from his business to Public Square be reinstalled. The business had two exits, one of which was eliminated because of the reconstruction.

Plans for the redesign have been available for more than three years, but Mr. Farone said he was informed recently that the Public Square exit from his business would be removed. Earlier this month, he hired a lawyer to persuade the city to reinstall the entrance.

Lawmakers said they are willing to see how much it will cost an engineer to redesign a portion of Public Square to give Mr. Farone the entrance back.

The cost for the redesign and the subsequent price tag to implement the design will determine what happens, Mayor Jeffrey E. Graham said.

Mr. Farone said Monday that he has no interest in the city creating a "slip" that would allow large trucks to unload supplies for his business from the J.B. Wise parking lot.

"I've been using it for 32 years," he said. "I want my exit back."