By MAUREEN DOHERTY
LYNNFIELD — Newly erected traffic control signs on Walnut Street and four nearby side streets are now enforceable by police after amendments to the town’s Traffic Regulations, Rules and Orders were adopted by the selectmen last week.
Selectmen Chairman Dave Nelson and Selectmen Phil Crawford and Tom Terranova voted unanimously to adopt the changes at the board’s August 28 meeting in response to impassioned pleas made by residents of the neighborhoods most negatively impacted by lost drivers in search of the correct route to MarketStreet Lynnfield.
After those meetings were held in July with both town and state highway officials, selective enforcement by the town’s Police Department visibly increased, particularly with regard to keeping oversized trucks off the stretch of Walnut Street from Salem Street to Saugus which is used as a cut-through to Rte. 1.
The State Police Truck Team also maintained a presence in the area checking for truck violations over the summer.
Nelson pointed out that the faded lane markings, arrows and crosswalks along Walnut Street and Salem Street up to MarketStreet have since been re-painted to improve visibility for motorists.
No U Turns
By amending “Article IV-B – Prohibited Turns” in the town’s traffic regulations, No U Turns are no longer allowed on Alexandra Road, Country Club Drive, Bluejay Road, Sparhawk Drive and Walnut Street.
Do Not Enter
Additional restrictions were also deemed necessary on Sparhawk Drive to prohibit traffic from entering Sparhawk Drive via Walnut Street from either the easterly or westerly direction Monday through Friday from 6 to 9 a.m. and 3 to 6 p.m.
This amendment to the town’s traffic regulations falls under both “Article IV-B – Prohibited Turns” and “Article IV-C – Do Not Enter.”
Under Article IV-C it specifies: “No person operating a vehicle shall enter the streets listed below to proceed in the indicated direction from the indicated intersecting street at the indicated times. Official traffic signs shall be erected and maintained on the streets where entry is restricted facing the traffic which would enter in the restricted direction.”
The current fine for violations of either local regulation is $25. Town Administrator Bill Gustus said it would be up to the board to decide whether to revisit the current fee structure in the town’s traffic regulations by proposing a motion for consideration by the voters at Town Meeting.
Gustus recommended that the board vote in favor of the proposed amendments. “We put the signs up already to get people trained that they’re there, but the Police Department has not been able to enforce them yet because the Board of Selectmen has not promulgated these ‘No U Turn’ and ‘Do Not Enter’ signs,” he said.
Terranova said he had spoken to “three of the more boisterous people” about this issue who commented that the signs have had “very little impact” because turns were being made in front of the patrol officers, which seemed to indicate that it was “known there was no enforcement capability. Now they will be enforceable and tickets will be issued,” he said.
“I know there was a lot of enforcement on tractor trailers,” Crawford added, because he often saw the selective enforcement officer stationed at Sparhawk Drive on his way to work. “That’s why they go to Bluejay and take the U-turn there,” he said.
Terranova said the board may need to consider whether to add a traffic enforcement officer to the Police Department. He suggested that they “drill down into the budget ” to determine “how will it affect our budget to handle these special situations.”
Al DiNardo of 199 Essex St., Saugus, told the board that he has owned a landscaping company that has done work in the Bluejay Road neighborhood since those homes built in ’80s and he has noticed the police officers stationed on Walnut Street.
DiNardo said he was recently pulled over in his 1-ton dump truck. Although he did not get a ticket because he was working in the area, he believes the “original intent” of the truck restriction to keep the very large trucks off Walnut Street “is spilling over to smaller companies like myself, those that service that area are being impacted.” He wondered if it would be more appropriate to regulate it according to gross vehicle weight.
He said these service vehicles are not using Walnut Street as a cut-through to Rte. 1. “We are servicing your neighborhoods; 6000 lbs. is not a lot for any vehicle,” DiNardo said.
Town Administrator Bill Gustus said in the town’s traffic regulations there is a 2.5 ton limit on trucks traveling on Essex Street, but Walnut Street specifies “no trucks at all” on the Lynnfield side.
“They’re going to be stopped but will not get ticketed if they can show a manifest,” Gustus said.
DiNardo said the signage in Saugus says either “no heavy trucking” or restricts them to 2.5 tons or less. He said these smaller companies are being forced to either travel on Rte. 1 South during the morning rush or risk getting pulled over by the State Truck Team that could take an hour and cost several hundred dollars in fines.
Gustus said the restrictions started in Saugus “but it caused problems for people in trucks entering from Lynnfield. Where do they go? How do they turn around? It was just a nightmare so Saugus approached Lynnfield prior to my time here and ask Lynnfield to adopt a similar regulation.”
Terranova commented, “The people in that area have made it very clear they are not interested in trucks traveling down Walnut Street.”
