HARDWICK – A report on a September 2024 AARP Community Walk Audit along Wolcott Street from the fire station to the blinking light at the three-way intersection with Main Street presented to the select board in October, identified several areas of concern and one priority area for attention.

from AARP Community Walk Audit
Overall, the report noted, “The safe walkability of Wolcott Street is poor from the Hardwick Fire Station to the three-way Intersection. The overall appeal of the area as a place to walk is fair.”
The lack of a defined sidewalk in front of the fire station, Rite Way Sports and Northeast Service Station were identified as safety issues, along with the narrow sidewalk that doesn’t allow two people to walk side-by-side, or to pass, especially for pedestrians with a wheelchair or other mobility device. Varying slopes and changing elevations were also noted as safety issues..

from AARP Community Walk Audit
Improvements that could be implemented or studied included sidewalk repairs, a storm water review, installation of better drainage, better speed sign installation and access management on the street.
The section between Elm Street and Main Street should be studied and improved as soon as fiscally possible, noted the audit.
Issues were identified at the three-way intersection at the top of Wolcott Street, where it meets South Main Street. The area does not have a crosswalk that enables pedestrians to cross from the Village Restaurant parking area to where shops and restaurants are located across Main Street.
Wear patterns in the grass next to the public parking indicate people are not traveling to the existing crosswalk but are walking around the fence and up the grassy bank to cross the street. Pedestrians coming from the west on the Wolcott Street sidewalk must know to cross before the intersection and walk through the Village Diner parking lot, or proceed past the intersection and walk down South Main Street to the crossing at the Hardwick Elementary School, the study states.

from AARP Community Walk Audit
Extremely high vehicular and truck traffic identified the entire area as a safety concern with areas of additional concern being a lack of raised indicators to help identify crosswalks to those with vision impairment, a drop of over two feet from the sidewalk to the roadway between Elm Street and Main Street, the lack of a sidewalk at the Lamoille River side of the Cottage Street bridge and the lack of a bicycle lanes or indicators on the road identifying the likelihood of bicycle traffic to drivers. The latter was identified as a particular concern given increased bicycle traffic resulting from recent completion of the Lamoille Valley Rail Trail (LVRT).
The report identified an unofficial LVRT loop that is emerging as a new bike path. Bikers are departing from the LVRT, traveling downhill on North Main Street, visiting downtown Hardwick, and then biking down Wolcott Street to reconnect with the LVRT near Caja Madera and the Yellow Barn. Any review of potential Wolcott Street improvements should include an examination of the Lamoille River side for bicycle safety, the audit suggested.
Paul Fixx is editor of The Hardwick Gazette and lives in Hardwick.