ATHOL – No Parking signs on Goodale Street will remain under cover until MassDOT shuts down the lower portion of Chestnut Hill Avenue to complete work on the Five Points Project.

Public Works Director Paul Raskevitz said the closure of Goodale will likely begin in about two weeks. The parking moratorium, approved by the Select Board at its meeting on Sept. 22, has already begun on Wilson Avenue, which has No Parking signs as well, though these are uncovered.

Traffic heading from Royalston into Athol on Chestnut Hill Avenue will be detoured to Silver Lake Street/Route 32 via either Goodale Street or Dewey Street to Wilson Avenue.

Parking restrictions along Wilson and Goodale will remain in effect until completion of the Five Points project, anticipated to be sometime in late summer or early fall of 2027. Raskevitz said he had recently spoken with ET&L Construction, the contractor on the project, and was told the closure of the southern end of Chestnut Hill Avenue would take place at the end of November.

Select Board Chair Bill Chiasson has noted that the closure of Chestnut Hill Avenue is going to force a tremendous amount of traffic down Goodale Street, which he referred to as the “official” detour.

“But of course,” he explained at the Sept. 22 meeting, “other people also use Dewey and Wilson Avenue.”

Assistant DPW Director Jeff Thiem said he and Raskevitz had looked at Goodale and determined it would best to prohibit parking along the entire stretch of the road. Chiasson pointed out that, with winter approaching, it seemed advisable to prohibit streetside parking entirely on Goodale “because it’s almost all hill and if anybody is parked out there we could see some sliding accidents in the wintertime.”

Board member Russell Raymond wondered if it was necessary to prohibit parking on both sides of the street.

“From Brattle up to Chestnut Hill, that’s very narrow,” said Thiem. “That doesn’t get used a lot anyway; there’s not a lot parking going on there. But especially in the winter season, from Brattle to Silver Lake Street, that’s very steep for winter maintenance. One of my first winters I went down (Goodale) sideways with a plow truck, so…”

“And if you have people parked on the side of the road,” Chiasson added, “it just makes it that much worse.”

The board voted unanimously at the Sept. 22 meeting to accept the DPW recommendation for a full parking ban on Goodale once the southern end of Chestnut Hill Avenue is closed.

Chiasson went on to suggest that no parking be allowed on Wilson Street between Silver Lake Street and Anzio Road on a permanent basis, meaning the ban would remain in effect even after construction and Five Points had concluded. Several board members, however, felt it would be best to make the ban temporary in order see how well it works. The board also gave that proposal its unanimous support. No action was taken relative to Dewey Street.

At one point, board member Marc Maxwell said some constituents have suggested making the intersection of Brattle and Goodale streets a four-way stop. In response to a question from Chiasson, Thiem said there had been some discussion on the subject but noted it had not yet been taken up by the town’s Traffic Safety Committee. Several residents of Brattle Street had raised the issue with him, said Maxwell, but Chiasson suggested it would be a topic for a later discussion.