As Acton Center cell efforts proceed, focus shifts west

Will the next stop in Acton’s quest for better cell coverage be the Harvey Wheeler Community Center?

Or will a cell tower rise over Rideout Park?

Town officials are considering both as they weigh ways to boost West Acton service. As residents bemoan dropped calls and dead zones, Deputy Town Manager Megan Zammuto says other projects are also moving forward.

“Acton Center is the worst,” local Julia Krupp told The Acton Bridge last week when asked about the current cell landscape. “West Acton is a little bit better, but not good.”

Relief could come downtown as soon as next year. Plans for West Acton are in earlier stages. 

Acton Center projects

• At a Select Board meeting last week, Zammuto said officials were working on a lease with Verizon to place a transmitter at the Umbrella Arts Center. Verizon will still need to get permits before it powers up its equipment. In an email, Zammuto cautioned that “there are a lot of factors” that can speed up or delay the project. If Verizon gets permits by next spring, however, crews could start construction in the summer and power up before the end of the year.
• Zammuto said town leaders are also “regularly in touch” with a company planning a cell tower at the old Acton Landfill on Walden Street. The town reached a lease agreement with Wireless Edge Towers this year. Like the Umbrella plan, the project requires permits, and Zammuto said company staffers were working to line up subleases with carriers to place equipment on the tower.
• AT&T won approval for two low-powered transmitters with a limited coverage area on Sudbury Road this summer. Zammuto said the carrier is working on permitting and expects to start construction next year.

West Acton coverage

Zammuto said officials reviewed the clock tower at the Harvey Wheeler Community Center as one cell candidate west of Route 2. At first glance, she told The Bridge, space in the tower “seemed sufficient.” The site would be a tighter fit for ground-mounted equipment that has to be accessible 24/7 for maintenance or repair. Zammuto said historic district rules could also come into play. 

So, the town is eyeing Rideout. 

The area bustled with activity one recent afternoon. Strolling through the park, Krupp said she often worries about dropped calls when she drives into Acton. 

“Everybody knows if you go through Acton, you have to warn somebody,” she said. 

Town resident Charlotte Doyle worries a tower would detract from the park, but she said it might be more palatable if placed along the treeline near the MBTA tracks. 

Zammuto said officials are assessing the area around the Rideout flagpole near the public bathrooms and pavilion. 

Acton-Carlisle Youth Soccer President Seth van der Swaagh said CCYS “would welcome a cell tower.” Back in Acton Center, he said, another dead zone looms over the fields at Emerson Park.

“Player safety, ability to text parents, ability to call an ambulance if needed, are all real concerns,” he told The Bridge via email.

Early stages

Zammuto said Harvey Wheeler isn’t off the table. “At this stage, we are trying to identify what locations are available,” she said.

If the town seeks Rideout proposals, carriers would suggest details such as the tower height. Town bylaws limit heights outside wooded areas to 120 feet. 

Other zoning rules have limited tower construction, and the Planning Board plans to consider changes for next year’s Town Meeting. But, Zammuto told the Select Board, “We’re not waiting on updated zoning to move forward.” 

In the meantime, Doyle put in a plug for one carrier that some residents say is already much more reliable in Acton than the others. 

“Switch to T-Mobile,” she said.