Work continues unabated under late spring skies. Jay the Mason continues to work his magic at the corner of Main & River. I stood at the top of the brick & mortar platform he is constructing there and envisioned an artist’s work being displayed on an easel, or a solo cellist performing Bach or Vivaldi for passers-by on a warm summer evening. A small concrete display area has been installed behind the brick retaining wall at the corner of North & River as well. I envision this as a place for a sculpture, or overflowing flower pots that can be replaced by variety, depending on the season. There is so much opportunity once this project is finished, to utilize these little spaces in-between. Like a song, it’s the spaces in between that often matter more than the whole. Streetscape projects are at least as much for form as for function, thank goodness.
Curbing is now complete along River down to Bridge and also continues to be installed on The Green. Granite curbing works wonders for older, weary mill-town streets, and it’s doing exactly that for Collinsville. It’s a refresh long overdue, while still maintaining the lovely historic nature of the place. Granite is one of the oldest building materials and well worth the extra effort to install.

If I may, I’d like to take a moment to remember David Leff. I spoke to David many times over the course of the project, I think he was very pleased with its progress. I definitely know he was happy about the granite curbing installed on The Green.  I will miss his wave and his smile and our chats whenever he saw me walking by his home.

I was so impressed that Canton had a poet-laureate (David) when I came to work here! An anonymous writer tacked up a poem on the Town Hall bulletin board on Market Street as a tribute to David.  Please take a moment to read it. It’s a lovely poem for a lovely guy.

I have a special request: Please keep in mind that construction workers are in the roadway during this project. Safety is always paramount.  Please spread the word for drivers to slow down when passing through the work area. Parking spaces in the immediate work zone may not be available depending on the type of construction taking place. There may be occasional delays while equipment & traffic moves through the area.

As with any major construction project, schedules are subject to change due to material availability, weather, etc.

Businesses in the area will remain open and accessible during construction. Main Street will remain open during construction.

Here is a drop-box link to the project plan-set: https://app.box.com/s/q8h69zr9zbrxh4ab7xyrcecsxa6qmdhc

Please contact Glenn Cusano, Project Administrator, Town of Canton at 860-693-2855 or Jerry Dionne Project Manager, Martin-Laviero Contractors Inc. at 860-209-5400 with any questions.