2/24/2021
Scituate will replace Ponaganset Falls gate at original location
Scituate residents hike along Hemlock Road to view the scenic Ponaganset Falls. Though access to the falls is restricted by the Providence Water Supply Board, residents often park along Hemlock Road to enjoy the view. (Breeze photo by Jacquelyn Moorehead)
SCITUATE – The Scituate Department of Public Works will replace the missing gate at Ponaganset Falls at local taxpayers’ expense.
Councilor Tim McCormick, liaison to the Providence Water Supply Board, said the new gate will cost less than $1,000 to replace.
In December the PWSB had requested $1,300 for half the cost to replace the gate using heavier material, but to move the gate closer to the intersection of Ponaganset Road and Hemlock Road to keep drivers from parking there. The council declined that proposal, the general feeling being that it should remain more open to recreation seekers.
12/16/2020
Indecision on gate near Ponaganset Falls
Access to Ponaganset Falls is restricted from public use by the Providence Water Supply Board, which is looking for the town to pay half for a new gate on Hemlock Road to prevent vehicles and dumping on private property. (Breeze photo by Jacquelyn Moorehead)
SCITUATE – Town Council members and residents can’t seem to agree on whether a gate guarding Hemlock Road leading up to the scenic Ponaganset Falls, which prevents motorists from traveling across a condemned bridge in Foster, needs replacing, moving, or nothing at all.
Councilor Tim McCormick, who is a council liaison to the Providence Water Supply Board, last week introduced an agenda item requesting that the town pay half, or $1,300, to replace the destroyed gate on Hemlock Road.