West Hollis Street Corridor Improvement Public Meeting - March 20, 2026
West Hollis Street Corridor Improvement Public Meeting - March 20, 2026
This public meeting, hosted by the Mayor and city officials, provided an update on the West Hollis Street corridor improvement project. The project aims to address safety, traffic, and pedestrian concerns along the 2.9-mile stretch from Riverside Street to the Hollis town line. Engineers presented the preferred alternative, a nine-phase phasing plan, and funding challenges. Residents provided extensive input on specific intersections, roundabouts, traffic signals, and shared-use path design.
Project Overview and Preferred Alternative
- The corridor study began in July 2023, with the first public meeting on February 6, 2024. The preferred alternative, selected after public feedback, is a 10-foot-wide shared-use path on the south side (crossing to the north side near the charter school), one vehicle lane in each direction, left-turn lanes where warranted, and pedestrian crossings with rectangular rapid flashing beacons (RRFBs).
- The project estimate is approximately $16 million in 2026 dollars.
Phasing and Funding
- The project is divided into nine phases, each costing $1–3 million. Phase 1 focuses on the MicroSociety Charter School intersection, including a new signal at Gendron Street and the charter school driveway, and a mid-block crossing.
- Phase 2 extends the shared-use path west; Phase 3 proposes a roundabout at Westgate Crossing; Phase 4 continues the path to Trussell Brook; Phase 5 adds a signal at the landfill entrance; Phases 6–8 extend the path further west; Phase 9 addresses the Riverside Street intersection with dedicated left-turn lanes and signal tie-in.
- Funding sources include federal grants, the New Hampshire DOT Local Project Administration program (80% federal/state, 20% local match), and direct city bonding. The city has set aside $200,000 for a local match. A grant application in 2025 was unsuccessful; a new application is planned.
Public Comments & Testimony
- Ralph Bushar (Westgate Village): Opposed a roundabout at Westgate Crossing, stating it would be a "nightmare" and requested a traffic light instead.
- Carl Schadig (10 Cimarron Drive): Expressed concern that a roundabout at Westgate would be too small to be safe; advocated for larger roundabouts based on experience in Europe.
- Chris Siebert (Ledgewood Hills): Questioned how a new signal near the charter school would coordinate with the existing Wellesley/Ledgewood Hills light, and asked for details on funding sources.
- Ed Nusbaum (Ledgewood Hills): Requested immediate repair of three manhole covers near Westgate Village that are not at grade, causing vehicle damage.
- Elaine Nusbaum (Ledgewood): Frustrated with the long merge lane from Riverside and drivers cutting from the left lane; noted the Riverside light stays too long even with no traffic.
- Terry Negron (28 Tanglewood Drive): Asked if the city would coordinate with the town of Hollis on the western phases, as traffic builds from Massachusetts and Hollis.
- Ernie Jetty (Ledgewood): Expressed support for roundabouts, noting they allow smoother traffic flow; hoped adaptive signal technology would improve off-peak operation.
- Dan Kelly (Ledgewood Hills): Asked about short-term paving plans (told pavement from Ledgewood Hills to Riverside is planned for later this year) and whether widening would require eminent domain.
- Joan Champagne (Ledgewood Hills): Asked how the city prioritizes projects when competing for grants, and whether the city has internal competition for funding.
- Don Boray (11 Trunk Brook, Gate City Bike Co-op): Emphasized the need to accommodate electric bikes (up to 20 mph) and tricycles on the shared-use path; suggested seeking corporate donations from Trek and Park Tool.
- Margaret Maloney (Westgate): Could not envision a roundabout working at Westgate Crossing due to cut-through traffic, retirement facility, and rehab center growth.
- Kathy Peterson (Westgate Village, 37 years): Opposed the roundabout, wanted a traffic light; noted school buses with few children, property loss concerns for a neighbor whose driveway already has no room.
- Matt Tancredi (Settlement Way): Asked for cost comparison of roundabout vs. light at Westgate; questioned the city's paving criteria, citing a street that was repaved that was in good condition.
- Andrew Sylvia (Nashua Inklink): Asked whether a tax increment financing (TIF) district had been considered; the Mayor explained it is not a good candidate due to limited development potential.
Key Outcomes
- No formal votes or decisions were taken. The project remains in the concept and funding stage.
- Next steps: The city will continue applying for grants; if a grant is not secured soon, a local bond (requiring a 10-vote majority on the Board of Aldermen after a public hearing) may be considered for Phase 1.
- A paving project from Ledgewood Hills to Riverside is planned for the 2026 construction season.
- City officials will hold another public meeting in a few months to provide further updates.
Meeting Transcript
We have some of our public officials here who I want to introduce you to. President of the Board of Alderman Laurie Welsher is in the back. Thank you, Laurie. Paula Johnson is the first the Alderman from Board 5. Ernie, who we miss. Two different personalities. It's nice having Ernie on the board of Alderman, but here he is, and he retired and Paul was elected. So what we wanted to do tonight is brief you on kind of where we are with the uh with the West Hollow Street corridor. We've had some other meetings. Some of you may have been here before, but this is more or less of an update. And again, get your input or thoughts regarding anything that's presented. Now, in addition to me, we have Dan Hudson, who's the city, he's the city engineer, so he'll be talking through some of the project. Mark Sonders is the deputy city. Of course, you know Lisa Fogo, directly public works. So our underlying purpose here is we realize that the West Hollow Street Corridor, you know, has become, and it's gotten worse over time. Uh a very heavily traveled corridor, kind of a speedway. And we know that it is very difficult for many of the people who live along the corridor. Uh the various neighborhoods that we have, really nice neighborhoods. Often it's a hard, it's hard even getting onto the street. Um, and certainly uh the corridor is not pedestrian friendly and not neighborhood friendly. So we are trying to design and hopefully implement a number of changes that will improve the situation. And the as you will hear from the engineers, the uh project is at least as we've outlined it, is designed is is divided into various phases. Uh you'll hear the details, but the first phase is as we've discussed it. The first phase is near the charter school, the micro society charter school, where we think there's a dangerous situation because many people are coming in and out, uh the parents that uh picking up and leaving off the kids, and many have to make a left turn coming back towards the city, towards you know, downtown, uh heading east. So they have to turn uh across book two lanes or two two directions of travel. Uh so you'll hear what the details are there in terms of what we think would improve that situation. Uh both both from a safety and a kind of a traffic comment point of view. Uh so I'm gonna turn you over to the engineers, but uh Paul wanted to, I think uh say a few words, and um so here's Paul. Thank you, Maya. Appreciate it. I just want to thank everybody for coming tonight. I appreciate it. Um I could tell probably a lot of you get my newsletter, and I appreciate all the support. I just want to say one thing. I'm looking at the map, and I live right by the micro society school, is that's how come I know it's so bad. But the other part is I think you can't do that unless you take a look at Riverside, the way the merging comes in. Because when it merges, there is no lane. They marched from the left to the right, and they're cutting everybody off. And now the school is lining up for pickup in the morning and even drop off, and there's no lane there. So now you've got emerging this way, you got them going this way, and you got cars here. So I think you've got to take a look at whereas number nine comes. I should say this, I'm not an engineer, but I've lived there for 42 years. Um, and that light at um Wellesley, I was part of that. Remember Don Dyer, Alderman Don Dyer? Okay. I know, I know, but that's okay because when they were building Ledgewood Hills, and I wasn't even involved in politics. I said we maybe maybe we should get a light over there because one day West Holler Street is going to become busy. So that's how I started back then, and I think that you have to take a look at Riverside and the micro society school as like one piece because of the way the school was. The school is wonderful, nobody has any problem with it, but the planning board didn't, in my opinion, didn't do their job right when they allowed it to go in to take a look at how the traffic was going to be, and that's all I wanted to say. Thank you very much.
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