GB's Lake Mansfield Taskforce Wants Your Voice and Feedback

The Lake Mansfield Task Force plan for a recreational pathway and other lake area improvements is coming to fruition.

The 25 percent design concept can be viewed by going here. Anyone who reviews the plans is encouraged to complete a survey.

The Selectboard, in June 2019, voted to close Lake Mansfield Road to vehicle traffic between the boat launch and the beach area due to erosion and poor road condition alongside the lake. As a temporary measure, the Selectboard reduced this portion of the road to one lane, which is how it will remain until the full closure can be implemented.

Get our free mobile app

In 2020, Annual Town Meeting voters affirmed that decision and approved funds for engineering and designs for a vehicle-free, recreational thoroughfare on the shoreline section of Lake Mansfield Road. Vehicle access in this section will be allowed only for resident and pool club driveways and emergency vehicles.

The plans call for stabilizing the buffer zone around the lake to reduce stormwater, transforming the lakeside road into a multi-use recreational path, redesigning the parking lot and improving beach areas. Benches will be installed and fishing access improved. The open portion of the road north of the beach will be repaired to reduce flooding and stormwater runoff.

Town residents are invited to review the initial designs and take a walk along the road, where signs will be placed to indicate design changes.

Once design plans are complete, the task force will seek grants and other funds to the improvements.

Great Barrington Assistant Town Manager and Director of Planning, Chris Rembold made the following statement:

We hope everyone will take a look at the designs and help us work out the details. In the meantime, the existing one-way road scenario will remain for the next year or two, or until we can get enough funding to construct the improvements.

He said the town will have a better estimate of overall improvement costs by late this year.

The 10 Smallest Towns in Berkshire County (by population)

12 Movies Filmed in the Berkshires

KEEP READING: Here are the best places to retire in America

CHECK IT OUT: See the 100 most popular brands in America

KEEP READING: See the richest person in every state

See the Must-Drive Roads in Every State

LOOK: Here Are 30 Foods That Are Poisonous to Dogs

To prepare yourself for a potential incident, always keep your vet's phone number handy, along with an after-hours clinic you can call in an emergency. The ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center also has a hotline you can call at (888) 426-4435 for advice.

Even with all of these resources, however, the best cure for food poisoning is preventing it in the first place. To give you an idea of what human foods can be dangerous, Stacker has put together a slideshow of 30 common foods to avoid. Take a look to see if there are any that surprise you.