Community Corner

Land Use Boards' Perusal of Canton High Track, Field and Parking Lot Project Begins Tonight

Project tweaked after informal meeting, site walk.

Tonight the Canton Inland Wetlands and Watercourses Agency will discuss the turf field, track and parking lot reconstruction planned for Canton High School.

The meeting will be the first time a land-use agency will formally begin reviewing the $3.6 million proposal was approved at a November referendum.

The agency will review many issues but a permit is needed. The project involves changes in the “upland review area,” which is land "within 100 feet of a wetland soil or the center line of a watercourse." 

Find out what's happening in Cantonwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The wetland along Simonds Avenue, to the west side of the school driveway, was one topic of discussion during an informal review process by town boards and commissions. Earlier this week, representatives from Milone & MacBroom, the firm engineering the project, told the Permanent Municipal Building Committee that several adjustments had been made to the project based on the informal input. Some of those included changes to bring activity farther away from the wetland.

The proposed boulevard entrance to the school was tweaked, shifted slightly east and designed with a narrower median, going from 30 to 10 feet. A secondary access on the opposite side of the wetland, was narrowed from 23 to 15 feet and is now designed to provide pedestrian and emergency access. In addition, the parking lot design was adjusted slightly to pull it further away from the back of the wetland, firm representatives said.

Find out what's happening in Cantonwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

“We’ve addressed it on all sides, reducing impacts,” said Kevin C. Fuselier, landscape architect with Milone & MacBroom.

In addition to any comments on the changes, agency members will also peruse a report from the firm and look at such aspects as runoff and drainage from the track and field itself as well as the parking lot.

The meeting is scheduled for Thursday, Jan. 10, 2013 at 7 p.m. at the Library/Community Center. Click here to view the agenda. 


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here