DALTON, Mass. — The Traffic Commission will be sending the Select Board a letter with recommendations on ways to improve voting at the Senior Center. 

 

During its meeting on Wednesday, Traffic Commission Chair William Drosehn informed everyone that the Select Board has requested they draft a letter about how voting at the Senior Center has been going thus far. 

 

Last August, the Select Board voted to relocate the town's polling station to the Senior Center to improve accessibility for voters with mobility impairments. 

 

There have been two elections at the new location so far: the primary and local elections. Based on their observations of these elections, the commission's main recommendations were to have employees park farther away, improve signage, and consider getting a shuttle to the Senior Center. 

 

The primary elections were "pretty orderly" and had a fair number of people. However, the 12 to 15 people working the polls and the people who work at the Senior Center took up almost 25 percent of the parking, Drosehn said.

 

One possibility is to have the employees park along the edge of the road or in the grass field. 

 

Fire Chief Christian Tobin said parking on the edge of the road is fine and commented that the grass field is nice, but the more cars that go on it, the more ruts and mud will form. 

 

Tobin recommended having a shuttle service in which voters park at different locations around town, such as the American Legion and First Congregational Church, and the shuttle brings them to and from the voting station. 

 

Drosehn said he was amazed at how well voting at the Senior Center went. On the day of the town election, it was pouring rain, and people were trying to park close to avoid the rain. The way they were coming in was like a well-organized dance, he said. 

 

Voters formed a line that didn't get out into the road and waited so they could be close enough to the door and not get soaking wet, he said.

 

"I think judging by what I've seen that parking lot because of the way the parking is … it's diagonal parking, not straight. So it seems like that works nice and smooth for everybody," Drosehn said. 

 

He said the big problem with having voting at the Community Recreation Association was that it was difficult to get in and out of the parking lot and that may be why a lot of people didn't vote. 

 

The turnout at the last two elections was better than average, Drosehn said. It is unclear if it is because of the type of election or if it was because voting took place that the Senior Center. 

 

Commissioner Adelard Nadeau said the commission needs to discuss traffic flow in that area during elections. The streets are narrow and not designed for that amount of traffic, he said. The real test will be during the November general election. 

 

This is when a shuttle service would come in handy, Tobin said, there would be no worry about the weather and blocking the center with a line of cars. 

 

Commissioners also recommended the need for more signage the day of and leading up to elections. 

 

Tobin recommended the town utilize the solar-operated signs to say when elections are taking place and where. They work 24/7, and eyes are drawn to them because people are used to seeing them for road direction.