The Guilford Safe Streets Task Force (SSTF) is scheduled to hold a virtual public forum on Tuesday, Nov. 16 to present the draft report of the safety consultant and to garner feedback from residents on what they would like to see for Guilford’s streets. The SSTF has been working for several years to create ideas and proposals for residents to consider, though task force stress that no decisions have been made as to any plan as of yet, and that public input is critical to this project’s success.

Task Force Chair Sam Gerritz said the mission of the SSTF is to provide a clear and transparent set of options for residents to discuss and consider.

“I think what was happening before was that people just felt they weren’t being heard and they were being asked to say ‘Yes’ or ‘No’ to just one already-decided option. We found they wanted to be part of that process that decides what is going to be voted on,” said Gerritz. “We want people to know that we need their feedback and that their feedback will be incorporated into any final recommendations.”

According to Gerritz, the SSTF’s main focus is to balance the unique character of Guilford and its roads, safety of all users, and the costs associated with any municipal project.

The task force is meeting Nov. 16 at 7 p.m. and at that virtual meeting, the draft report of the consulting firm will be presenting their draft recommendations. Once that occurs, according to Gerritz, residents can then discuss, debate, and decide what if any of the recommendations the want to prioritize or move forward with.

The draft recommendations will be presented by the consulting team, the Schmidt Design Group. This draft document will be available at least a week before the meeting via the SSTF site www.guilfordsafestreets.org so that residents will have a chance to review it.

According to Gerritz, the hope is that a final plan can be presented to the to the Board of Selectman in the first quarter of 2022.

“This is by no means an action plan. There is no implementation of this. This meeting is just what the consultants, in their expert opinion, are presenting what they see and how we can improve the safety of our streets. But the actions we take will be done in public,” said Gerritz. “That’s why we want this public meeting. My analogy is that, if building a sidewalk is the wedding day, this meeting is the first date. This is not a final option, and is truly just the first step.”

To provide feedback and to obtain the link for the virtual forum, visit www.guilfordsafestreets.org, where the draft report will be available for residents to review approximately one week before the Nov. 16 meeting.