Dedham St. truck exclusion gains traction at meeting

By Mike Berger

Selectmen Chairman Victor Del Vecchio brought up the idea of a truck exclusion on Dedham Street a few weeks ago at a board meeting. The idea picked up some steam at a public information meeting Tuesday night called by selectmen to solicit input on traffic calming ideas from Kirby Drive to Washington Street.

More than 60 residents attended the meeting, which was held in the public hearing room at the Salvation Army building at 25 Shawmut Road. Ironically, just feet away from the building — at the intersection of Shawmut Road and Dedham Street — the state Department of Transportation and MassHighway are planning to install a traffic light to help mitigate traffic from the new Route 95 northbound exit ramp that is being installed on Dedham Street. However, the state project ends before Kirby Drive, and state transportation officials have emphatically told selectmen that it is the town’s responsibility for any roadway improvements beyond that point.

One resident of Shawnlee Road said the traffic problem is so severe that it takes her one hour to get from her home to the East Street exit on Route 128.

Selectmen have hired Gary McNaughton, traffic engineer for McMahon and Associates, to investigate and address some of the town’s core traffic problems. On Tuesday night, McNaughton patiently listened to comments and suggestions in the near 90-minute meeting and said he would call for another public meeting in early December to present a progress report.

McNaughton said all options are still on the table other than one — a traffic light at Kirby Drive — because there are not enough residents living in the area to justify the installation of a light. This was also ruled out by MassHighway when they held a public meeting in late August.

Almost a third of the residents who spoke at Tuesday night’s meeting agreed that truck traffic on Dedham Street was excessive and that trucks traveling at high speeds were contributing to the traffic problems. One Dedham Street resident told of repeated instances of mailboxes being knocked over and lawns being damaged.

Town Administrator Bill Friel said a truck exclusion would require the approval of selectmen and a warrant request to MassHighway along with a concrete and safe traffic alternative for trucks. That alternative might be the new I-95 slip ramps, but as resident Tony Braconi offered, there will be more traffic, increasing the bottleneck from the off ramps. He said state officials told him the ramps are built to handle 2,000 cars per hour with two left-hand lanes and a right-hand lane for traffic heading north on Dedham Street.

Besides the truck exclusion, below are some of the suggestions offered by residents that McNaughton will take into consideration:

* A stop sign and/or traffic island at the Kirby Drive-Dedham Street intersection

* A truck exclusion for Elm Street

* More police enforcement of speed limits for all vehicles on Dedham Street

* More sidewalks along Dedham Street, especially from Kirby Drive to Maplecroft Road

* Exploring the impact of no left turns at the Pleasant-Washington Street light and the left-hand turn exclusion at Green Lodge Street

* A “traffic signal ahead” sign warning motorists exiting south on Elm Street to slow down

* Roadway improvements and brush clearing on Elm Street

* Better synchronization of the Dedham-Washington Street light

Attending the meeting and hearing all of the suggestions were selectmen Del Vecchio and Bob Burr, Town Counsel Paul DeRensis, and Deputy Police Chief Helena Rafferty.

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