At its Oct. 5 meeting, town manager Robert Houseman provided updates on a Crosby Street restoration project, which closed the road to motor vehicles on June 18, 2025. The Selectboard also voted to authorize Houseman to begin recruitment for the recently proposed deputy town manager position. The deputy will assist the town manager with “administering, coordinating and overseeing town government,” according to the position description.
In June 2025, the College began installing an underground distribution piping vault under Crosby Street, which will house critical connection points for pipes that carry water across campus as part of the College’s ongoing transition from steam to a hot water-based heating and cooling system.
The water-filled pipes will “harness the earth’s ambient temperature to heat and cool the College,” according to Dartmouth News. The connection point under Crosby Street was chosen to preserve the elm tree on the corner of East Wheelock Street and Crosby Street.
The street closure is “causing traffic to back up for a longer time” in evenings, limited street parking and emergency evacuation route options and impacting middle and high school bus routes, Houseman wrote in an email statement to The Dartmouth after the meeting.
Houseman told the Selectboard that the College’s restoration project, beginning on Dec. 4, will add lighting and crosswalk improvements to Crosby Street to improve pedestrian and bike safety as the street reopens to traffic, Houseman said. The College and the town have “worked diligently” together on the restoration, as the College is conducting construction on town property.
The plan also includes a path along the south side of East Wheelock Street that is compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act, new streetlights at the intersection of East Wheelock and Crosby Street and “bump-outs” extending the sidewalk closer to the roadway on the south side of the East Wheelock and Crosby intersection, which will “shorten the crossing distance” for pedestrians.
Additional lighting improvements such as sensors and blinking lights will “put pedestrians in a more visible position for approaching vehicles,” Houseman said at the meeting.
“I think that the overall improvements address the safety of all users,” he said.
Houseman selected the final plan from three options developed by the town and the College largely due to its construction timeline. East Wheelock Street will not be closed at any point during the project, according to Houseman.
The other two options both included raising the intersection to the sidewalk, requiring six to eight weeks of street closure during the summer “to pour a concrete pad,” Houseman told the Selectboard.
A raised intersection could only be built in summer temperature through full daytime street closures, he said, posing a “significant traffic disruption” if both East Wheelock and Crosby Street were simultaneously closed.
Selectboard member Jennie Chamberlain said at the meeting that although the planned lights and crosswalk improvements are “nice” improvements, she was “disappointed” that Houseman was “trading long-term safety for temporary convenience.” Raised intersections can encourage slower speeds and lower the risk of motor vehicle collisions with pedestrians, according to a report by the National Association of City Transportation Officials.
Houseman described the project as a “win-win” for both the town and the College, benefiting community members who “will be users of this corridor for years to come.”
In a follow-up interview with The Dartmouth, Selectboard chair Carey Callaghan ’83 thanked town members for their patience during the ongoing construction and Crosby Street closure “inconvenience.”
“We’re going to end up with not only facilitating Dartmouth’s steam-to-water conversion, which has a host of environmental benefits, but also end up with a better, safer streetscape,” Callaghan said. “It will be better across the board.”
Selectboard vice chair Joanna Whitcomb said at the meeting that the Selectboard “certainly hear[s] a lot about visibility” from residents and asked whether the lighting improvements on Crosby Street could serve as a “pilot” for a later town upgrade.
Houseman responded affirmatively, explaining that new streetlights will be “downcast, dark sky, energy-efficient LED,” directing lighting coverage to “ensure that the sidewalks … and the crosswalks” are properly lit.
The Selectboard also voted unanimously to authorize Houseman to “move forward with recruitment” for the deputy town manager position, which was first proposed at the Selectboard’s August 2026 retreat. The position will provide additional support for municipal projects and potentially serve as a successor for Houseman.
At the meeting, Selectboard agreed to expand the responsibilities of the deputy town manager position to include “developing and coordinating” town communications, including collaboration with other departments to “prepare and review website content.”
Houseman said the “first issue” of the hiring process is determining how to fund the deputy town manager. He proposed two options: “tapp[ing] vacancies” to cover the cost, or applying to fund the position through the Bressett Fund, a town fund that is intended to “support public benefit initiatives” that are not capital projects, according to the town website. Callaghan directed Houseman to pursue both options.
Houseman said he is less concerned about funding the position and “more concerned about getting it advertised sooner rather than later.” Waiting longer to recruit someone for the position will lead to “less mentoring,” Houseman said.
The Selectboard meets every other Monday at 7 p.m. in Hanover Town Hall at 41 South Main Street. Meetings are open to the public.
