Rocky II?

Image

Those who can remember the waning months of 2021 may recall that we staged a somewhat tongue-in-cheek naming contest for the large boulder that was deposited adjacent to the Post Office parking lot entrance. It happend shortly after the rebuilding of Main Street and the reintroduction of two-way traffic. We speculated that it was a crude attempt to keep cars and drivers from accidentally cutting across the curb as they merged with traffic.

We observed that innumerable interactions with cars (and perhaps plows) seemed to have displaced the boulder several feet. And, our Winning Name, Rocky Balboulder, seemed fitting for such a basaltic bruiser.

Over the winter, the process continued, with Mr. Balboulder migrating even further.

Then, SHOCK, a new boulder appeared where Mr. Balboulder had begun and he himself was moved adjacent to the Bank of America driveway!

We put a call into the DPW inquiring about why or how the town had been so blessed but received no response.

However, we did check street and road construction standards published by the Commonwealth and they strongly discourage placing objects adjacent to the roadway that are more than a few inches high on the assumption that a vehicle might be damaged or even lose control if it struck them.

AASHTO (The American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials) offers similar advice.

But, in Franklin at least, Rocky has a sequel. Hey, W.R., can you come up with another catchy name for this one? Or, maybe we can offer one of the runners up names from October’s contest: Benjamin Boulder,” “Buster,” “The Main Rock,” or “Rock of Rages.”

I'm interested
I disagree with this
This is unverified
Spam
Offensive