North Adams Traffic Commission Advising Crosswalk Removal
 The commission is recommending removal of the crosswalk at Monument Square as a potential hazard to children walking to the new Colegrove Park Elementary School. |
NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — The Traffic Commission will be partnering with Massachusetts Safe Routes to School — a state Department of Transportation Program — to develop an advisory plan for the new Colegrove Park Elementary School.
The newly constituted commission first met last month with public safety officials and representatives from Fuss & O'Neill, the engineering firm that did the traffic study for the East Main Street school, to investigate areas of concern around the school. On Monday, they continued that conversation and reviewed several traffic complaints.
Jana Linhart, school outreach coordinator for SRS, said on Monday that the national initiative would be able to help with program planning and provide incentives for schools. The program has partnered with nearly half the elementary schools in Massachusetts to encourage children to bike and walk to school.
Linhart said the district could get a free aerial map through the state Department of Transportation that combined with school data would graph where walkers were likely to come from.
"It will show the best routes," she said.
The information would be developed into a report that the school district could then use to apply for other related grant funding.
"This is something you can definitely use to get more funding," Linhart said, adding that the program would also provide a lot of safety training for so-called "walking school buses," crossing guards, teachers and students, as well as other incentives.
"Bicycle and pedestrian training can be provided," Linhart said. "That's something that we would do, full-out training for students."
MassDOT has also undertaken engineering projects such as new traffic lights and signs, crosswalks, sidewalks and traffic calming devices.
According to the program, nearly half of all students were walking or riding a bicycle to school in 1969; now, only about 13 percent do so. This is causing increased traffic congestion around schools and more air pollution, as well as affecting children's health.
Congestion has become a major issue as more and more parents drop off and pick up their children. Matthew Neville, the school department's director of facilities and a member of the School Building Committee, said controlling traffic was something they were concerned about.
"There are 280 kids at Sullivan School right now and Officer [David] Sacco and [Traffic Clerk] Mary Ann King can tell you it is congested," he said. "At 2 [today], there was 15 cars waiting for the dismissal at 5 of 3."
The proposed configuration for Colegrove would have two parking loops on the East Main side, one for buses and one for parents that would hold about 20 cars.
Neville suggested making East Main Street a one way or banning parking along the street unless it was a parent-pickup during certain hours.
Commissioner Nancy Bullett pointed out that in the 1970s, hundreds of students were attending three schools around the very busy Route 2 and Eagle Street intersection. Buses lined North Church Street in front of Colegrove Park to pick up some of the 1,200 students alone at what was then Drury High School.
Commissioners Steven Rondeau and Amanda Chilson wondered why that couldn't be done again, by directing either bussed or picked-up children to North Church Street to minimize traffic on East Main and make it safer for walkers.
The park, however, was eliminated from the school plans because of costs and safety. The steep concrete steps have been removed completely and a decorative knee-wall will be installed at the top to prevent children from going down the hill.
The commissioners were also concerned about the River, Eagle and Canal intersections that would have to crossed to reach the school.
"We've never discussed kids crossing through River Street and by McDonald's," Bullett said. "We've focused most of our attention on Church Street, not the other way."
Rondeau pointed out that some of those lights did not have "walk" buttons, either.
Linhart said the Safe Routes to School report and map should help the commission and school district identify problem areas.
Commissioners decided that they would recommend eliminating the long crosswalk on the south side of Monument Square and a staggered dismissal for now. Some would also attend a School Building Committee meeting to ensure they were up to speed on the project.
• With three members absent — Sacco, King and a third person yet to be named — the four attending members decided not to vote on officers.
• They did, however, refer the possibility of a right on red from Houghton onto River Street to the City Council. The building on the corner that limited visibility for decades was torn down last year.
• A resident of the Elmwood Avenue, Barbara Allen, submitted a written request asking for parking on one side only because parked cars on the narrow street were making it difficult to enter and exit her property.
Mayor Richard Alcombright said construction at Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts had pushed commuters farther out in search of parking.
"This has been a problem for this resident for quite awhile," he said. "One of the things you might want to consider is no-parking during certain times of the year."
Commissioner Paul Markland, the city's highway foreman, said plowing along the street had also been difficult. "It's been problematic when the school is open during the winter."
He was asked to measure Elmwood Avenue for possible no-parking signs from the corners.
 Commissioner Nancy Bullett asked for signage to get motorists to stop at the Kemp and Bradley corner over concerns a fence is reducing visibility. |
• The commission also referred a request for a reducing the 30 mph speed limit around Brayton School by the Brayton Hill Action Committee to Sacco or King for more information. The area was believed to lie within the school zone, which could allow a speed reduction.
• Bullett expressed concern over a permitted fence on Bradley Street and Kemp Avenue that is obstructing traffic site lines, especially for vehicles entering the park from Kemp. She asked if a stop sign on one or both streets was possible.
Markland suggested a "restricted visibility" or "blind corner proceed with caution" sign. There is a sign on Kemp warning of a dangerous corner that drops the speed limit to 15 mph.
Alcombright said there has been only one complaint and that was about snow removal and children having to walk in the road. He advised waiting to see if any written complaints were received before taking action.
Updated to clarify that Safe Routes to Schools is a Massachusetts Department of Transportation program.
Tags: Colegrove Park, crosswalk, traffic commission,
