Why is Park Square an Oval?

No one:

Me: Why is Park SQUARE an OVAL?

I submit for your consideration one of the greatest misnomers in our city’s long and storied history. Who would look at the round park in the middle of our downtown, containing zero straight edges (I counted), and say “yeah, that’s Park Square.”? Is has to be a mistake, right? Maybe not. I think the square is there, hiding in plain sight.

When we think of places named “square” we usually think of a public square, like Madison Square in New York or Copley Square in Boston. The same principle applies here in Pittsfield. Park Square is a public square that contains a park. With Madison Square in New York, “Madison” modifies “square.” It answers the question: “Which square?” Our Park Square answers the same question. “Which square?” “Park Square.” Not that we have too many other squares to be confused with (there are a few that are less well known, such as Court Square and Capitol Square). In a fun coincidence, the buildings that line Bank Row and Park Place (on the other side of the street) and the corners between them form a perfect square. You can see it better in the animation below. It's one of my favorite aspects of Pittsfield's urban design. (If only there wasn't a 7-lane road cutting through it.)

That leads to the next controversy: Is the park inside Park Square actually unnamed? Is it the Park Square Park? Central Park? I'm probably putting too much thought into it. By the way, this theory has zero historic validity, but I've always thought it was a fun thought exercise. Do you support the theory?

🎨 A Special Request! 🎨

Downtown Pittsfield is getting a new mural! As part of the new Let it Shine! Public Art Collaborative under the city's Transformative Development Initiative, the south wall of the Shipton Building is getting a makeover by muralist Silvia López Chavez. You can help play a part in the installation.

August Events and Activities

Word of the the week: Roundabout

Continuing on this issue's theme of misnomers: Roundabouts ≠ Rotaries. Rotaries are outdated designs that are no longer being constructed. Maybe our vocabulary has shifted at this point to where "rotary" and "roundabout" are interchangeable. But if you ask a traffic engineer, they have distinct differences.

Rotaries are often more like highway interchanges: with ramps and exits leading from them. They are much larger, sometimes as wide as a football field. Buildings may have driveways that attach to them. Think of the circles on Cape Cod when travelling along their main highway. Traffic travels through these at speeds of anywhere from 25-35 mph. These take up enormous amounts of land and are prone to more crashes from requiring merging and weaving around traffic already in the circle. They have been phased out of use.

Roundabouts, like those in Pittsfield, Adams, and Great Barrington are small circles that often replace intersections that have traffic signals. They require slow entry speeds of 15-20 mph. Larger roundabouts can have two inside lanes, but rarely require lane changes within the circle. Larger circle sizes in rural areas allow faster travel and larger vehicles to traverse them.

Long vehicles rolling over the inner circle of a roundabout is perfectly normal and done by design. Most of the time, this is only required for semi-trailers. Full-size buses are able to navigate the roundabouts in the Berkshires without going up on the curb. Professionally trained drivers are well-equipped to navigate them.

By this time next year, Pittsfield's next roundabout will be underway near the BMC area, as a redesign for the North Street-First Street-Stoddard Ave intersection. Keep an eye out for construction starting soon.