No Longer Stuck Somewhere In Time

I was driving down Route 131 last week and it hit me: this berg ain't standing still.

I know it's easy to say we are stuck in a time warp, but if one looks at what is being accomplished, and will be accomplished over the next couple of years, it looks like we are coming out of our shell.

First of all, the rehab of the town hall and Center School will be done in June of this year. Already the gleaming white pillars, trim, and windows on the town hall make the building look almost new. The Center School is coming along, too, and will look awesome in a couple of months.

The Burgess School re-construction is on the agenda, and the construction new waste water treatment facility has been announced by a new sign at the intersection of route 131, and New Boston Road extension, both projects are going to be very 21st century.

But it is Route 131 that is going to be the center of attention over the next twenty four months. From the intersection of Route 131 and Route 20 right to the town line with Southbridge the road way will be not only repaved, but totally torn up, dug down, refilled, with new storm drains, and this part is so cool, a new sidewalk stretching the entire way to the Southbridge line! Imagine, people actually walking along Main Street for more than 50 feet, and with a remote destination in mind, too!! Amazing.

Amazing changes are coming. A side benefit of our town taking care of itself like this is that others will see it for what it is, too. Business owners that want to relocate to someplace else will consider Sturbridge when they see us investing in our future. People looking for a new community to live in that offers more of the things they want for themselves, and their family will check us out in earnest.

A town that is improving itself, and careful not to loose it's character, becomes especially coveted.

Yes, there will be a some tough days in Trafficville ahead, but in the end, it will be so worth it. You know what would be really neat, a place along Route 131 to sit , relax, maybe have a cup of coffee, a sandwich, and watch the goings on. Hmm. I don't know, maybe a picnic table on the Common would be really something.