HADLEY — A dike that protects Hadley’s historic village center from the Connecticut River has long been a popular place for people to walk their dogs, for artists to set up their easels and for people to enjoy views of the river.
Nearly a dozen years after the owner of a historic home on West Street next to the dike asked town officials to close off a makeshift parking area at the northern edge of the historic Town Common, the Department of Public Works has made several changes to where visitors park. The owner and several neighbors had maintained that the lot, near a sharp corner of the road, posed a safety issue.
Over the past several days, town workers have placed large rocks along West Street at North Lane to block access for vehicles via a dirt pull-off near a fire hydrant.
At the same time, the DPW has built a more formal parking area a few hundred feet to the east at what is known as the Alexandra Dawson Conservation Area. There, rocks line the perimeter of a graded gravel lot that can accommodate a number of vehicles.
Select Board Chairman Christian Stanley said DPW Director Christopher Okafor was given the go-ahead to complete the work this spring.
It marks the first significant change in many years to how visitors are able to access the site.
In 2007, the last time adjustments were proposed, the Select Board opted against removing the informal parking area, despite a request from Jordi Herold, who had recently renovated the Cook’s Tavern home at 1 West St. That historic home, the closest to the parking area for the dike, was once used by travelers who board a ferry to cross the river.
Among concerns at that time were that if the parking were restricted, visitors might attempt to park on the common instead.
Scott Merzbach can be reached at smerzbach@gazettenet.com.