The December Infrastructure Committee meeting was largely devoted to the Cape Cod Canal Transportation Study, following our report to the CCTC board on proposed rail service to the Cape .
According to one Infrastructure Committee member who attended the Mass DOT’s third public meeting on traffic study, there are eight places where there’s trouble, which will grow to 14 by 2040. Traffic flow problems coming on Cape have been remedied, but leaving the Cape remains a problem. All proposed solutions are still in the working draft stage and include short to long term plans – from improving signage to replacing bridges. A written draft is expected in June, 2017.
According to information given at the meeting, the bridges are already 35 years out of date. The Army Corps of Engineers, which owns the land on either side of the canal, checks bridges weekly and is prepared to restrict traffic – including truck traffic – if there are problems.
The Infrastructure Committee noted the need for a contingency plan in the event that truck traffic is restricted and will invite someone to an upcoming meeting so we can learn more.
Read more about the proposed bridge alternatives in the Cape Cod Times
We also heard from Open Cape, which now both owns and operates the network. They’ve transitioned all current clients and have signed up new clients. With the addition of Janek Chrzanowski, Chief Technology Officer and Dan Collins, Operations Manager, they reported that they are reining in costs and putting together information to aid towns in connecting houses and businesses with a mix of wired and wireless. By bridging the information gap, they hope to connect more organizations to fiber, including the balance of the Cape’s high schools.
Read more at https://opencape.org/.