Neighborhood concerns dominate traffic meeting

The changing character of the Ponkapoag Civic Association, noise disturbances at the Pleasant Street roundabout, and a citizen proposal for a town-wide traffic study were all on the docket at an action-packed Blue Ribbon Traffic Committee meeting held last Tuesday evening at Canton Town Hall.

Click the image above to view the CCTV broadcast of the meeting.

In a nearly two-hour session that was dedicated almost entirely to the above three issues, committee members waded patiently through a long list of resident complaints and suggestions while offering up a few ideas of their own and pledging to assist wherever possible.

In the first matter involving the Ponkapoag Civic — a private pool and social club located on Greenbriar Road — the committee heard from four direct abutters who testified to growing traffic and parking concerns within the neighborhood.

Specifically, the residents said that members and their guests regularly block the fire hydrant in front of the Civic and ignore the “no parking” restriction on the opposite side of Greenbriar Road, thus creating a safety hazard and restricting access to emergency vehicles. They also complained about vehicles blocking their driveways and mailboxes, about vehicles parking on their lawns, and about a general lack of respect and responsiveness on the part of the Civic’s membership and board.

Longtime resident Joan Dowd said the problems are all relatively new and can be attributed to the growth of the Civic, which now boasts approximately 200 members from all over Canton.

“There was no trouble years ago because the number of members of the Civic were smaller and over the years it got larger and larger and larger,” said Dowd.

Morgan D’Olympia, who lives next door to the club, said the Civic is now “more in line with a commercial enterprise than a neighborhood club,” particularly during the summer months when the pool is in operation.

“If you could imagine a really annoying house party next to your house and that occurs every day for two and half months, that’s kind of what it’s like,” he said.

Larry Ransford, another direct abutter who spoke at the meeting, told the Citizen on Monday that the issues go beyond parking and include excessive noise, littering, and the placement of dumpsters and lighting outside the club. He said he would prefer to see the entire operation, including the service of beer and liquor, scaled back somewhat, and he was planning to address these and other issues at a meeting with the Civic board scheduled for Thursday evening, March 24.

Current Civic President Chris Gillis was also contacted for this story, but attempts to reach him were unsuccessful.

Regarding the traffic and parking concerns, members of the Blue Ribbon Traffic Committee told the residents at last week’s meeting that they would work to get some missing “no parking signs” replaced and would also communicate with the Police Department to ensure that existing parking rules are enforced. At the same time, they made it clear that the Civic was a grandfathered use within that neighborhood and would continue to have a legal right to operate as long as it adhered to the agreements that are already in place.

“We can’t just go to a private entity or a nonprofit and say, ‘Look, you can’t have more than this number of members,’ or ‘You can’t do this or you can’t do that,’” said committee member and Selectman Mark Porter.

As for the second set of concerns pertaining to the Pleasant Street roundabout, the committee took a similarly pragmatic approach Tuesday night as they agreed to investigate a few of the suggestions made by abutter Brian Lieb.

Lieb, who lives on Bolivar Street right at the new roundabout, said the noise level at the intersection has “skyrocketed” since the new configuration was implemented. “Almost daily,” he said, “I see cars or trucks — semis — going the wrong way through the rotary as well as people not knowing what to do and stopping in the middle of the rotary, which will lead to honking and yelling and some significant cursing right across the street from the park.”

Lieb suggested the town install better signage so that motorists know when to yield and when they have the right of way. The committee agreed to pursue this solution, and Porter suggested that it could be accomplished fairly quickly. They also agreed to look into Lieb’s idea for a town ordinance that would ban engine breaking, or “jake braking,” which is used by large diesel-powered trucks and creates a loud noise that many communities have deemed a nuisance.

Following Lieb’s remarks, the committee then heard from Washington Street resident Tony Braconi regarding a townwide traffic study that he has submitted for consideration at the upcoming May town meeting. One of several citizen articles sponsored by Braconi on the 2016 town warrant, this proposal calls for the town to spend roughly $450,000 to conduct a comprehensive review of all town roads that would also look at the impact of major projects such as the Plymouth Rubber redevelopment and the new I-95 off-ramp that is soon to be constructed on Dedham Street.

Unlike the committee’s own town meeting article, which includes a proposed review of the intersection of Washington and Randolph streets, Braconi said his proposal would provide a holistic view of town traffic issues while offering recommendations on how to best approach some of these major changes that are coming to the town.

“It is my personal opinion that traffic studies that have been done in the past have been too focused and more of a tool for accomplishing a particular objective,” said Braconi. “And what I’m interested in is having a fresh set of eyes take a look at all of the traffic issues in the town.”

Braconi noted that DPW Superintendent Mike Trotta made a similar proposal at the 2010 meeting but that it was ultimately rejected by voters. And despite the fact that the Finance Committee recently voted unanimously to indefinitely postpone his article, Braconi said he still believes it is a good idea and pledged to take the article to town meeting floor. Braconi also offered to work jointly with the committee, which thanked him for his presentation and agreed to take it under advisement.

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Posted by Jay Turner on Mar 24 2016. Filed under News, Town Government. Both comments and pings are currently closed.