FRAMINGHAM – Money for improving McGrath Square in Saxonville has been included in a draft of the Mayor’s Fiscal Year 2027 capital improvement plan.
“This is great news for driver and pedestrian safety in Saxonville,” District 2 City Councilor Brandon Ward posted on Facebook.
If that funding ends up in the final capital budget and is approved by the City Council, work on the intersection could begin next year (FY 2027 starts on July 1, 2026).
There was no mention of how much money this involves (the draft isn’t yet public).
McGrath Square is one of the most dangerous intersections in Framingham north of Rte 9/Rte 30/the Mass Pike, according to state Department of Transportation crash data. The intersection has had significantly more reported accidents since January 2020 than intersections at Nobscot (Water/Edmands/Edgell) or Central & Edgell, both of which have been redone with outside funding.
McGrath Square is the dark blue circle with 61 at the top right corner of the map. You can click the image below to see a larger version.
(Not on the map: Edgell and Central with 36 at a similar zoom level. The clustering changes as you move the map.)
The original McGrath Square project design will likely be changed after a recent proposal by the owner of Saxonville Mills to include property at the corner of Concord and Danforth streets. I think the idea is to raze that building to allow straight traffic flow from Central to Danforth Street. Now, cars have to turn right onto Concord and then make a quick left onto Danforth. (The backup of traffic onto Central when cars try to make a left onto Danforth from Central is one of that intersection’s many problems.)
It’s my understanding from a campaign discussion Councilor Ward held before the election, that mill owner Charlotte Finley Maynard has purchased that 1639 Concord St. property at the corner of Danforth (or at least has the right to?) and would be willing to exchange it for city-owned property adjacent to the mill (the old fire station and/or pumping station, I believe) with appropriate additional payments depending on property assessments.
Ward said he wants to make sure this wouldn’t delay the project further.
“The city solicitor has written a very extensive outline of how that process could work so we’re ready to get started,” Mayor Charlie Sisitsky responded. (That’s also a signal that the mayor expects the project to go ahead.)
“Once the 1639 Concord Street property has been acquired by the City, DPW and the project’s engineering firm will be able to put together an updated design for final review by the community in Spring 2026,” Ward posted on Facebook.
Below is a video snippet from yesterday’s City Council meeting when Councilor Ward discussed the McGrath Square project. It’s less than a minute and a half, and I included captions. (Sorry the video and audio are slightly out of sync; that’s what happens when I can’t download the original video and have to do workarounds)
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