Traffic Com. looking into sidewalk on Randolph St.

With the redesign of the Randolph-Washington Street intersection now complete and the Pleasant-Sherman-Angela Street intersection now in the design phase with construction funds authorized, the town’s Traffic Committee began mapping out plans Monday night for its next project — a new sidewalk on portions of Randolph Street leading to Blue Hills Regional Technical School and Massasoit Community College.

This project, estimated at a cost of over $600,000, may be contingent on receipt of a $400,000 state grant, as well as contributions from Blue Hills and Massasoit, in-house design work from the Canton DPW and new Town Engineer Jay Mello, and assistance from Norfolk County on surveying work. Mello will refine the project and report firmer costs at a future meeting.

Traffic Committee Chair Mark Porter said at Monday night’s virtual meeting that he has received many letters from the two schools regarding safety measures and he and others are aware of more students walking from the Prynne Hills (Avalon) apartment complex on the Canton-Randolph line.

The project will not appear on the 2021 town meeting warrant as there is not enough time to coordinate with all of the parties involved, and Porter said new capital projects may be in doubt this coming fiscal year because of COVID-19 implications.

The other major project still under discussion are measures to curb speeding in the Bailey-Messinger-Dunbar Street area.

Town Planner Laura Smead announced she was able to get some grant money to purchase rubber speed tables and signage for the area, especially around the Messinger Street Playground. Smead and Mello agreed that springtime of 2021 is the right time to install the speed tables and also get resident input on where they should be placed.

Despite posted speed limit signs and increased police enforcement, some residents are still saying that motorists and specifically delivery trucks are “flying down the street.” Still, many residents expressed their gratitude to the Traffic Committee for paying attention to their concerns and getting the rubber speed tables.

On the completion of the Randolph-Washington intersection and new traffic light, Porter told the Citizen that all of the feedback he has heard to date has been positive. “I am thrilled that the intersection is done and operational and while we’ll be mindful if future tweaks to the light need to be made, everything seems to be working well now,” he said. “We now turn our attention to Pleasant/Sherman/Angela Street.”

In other news, the committee is looking into a stop sign request at Algonquin and Osage roads and is working on establishing criteria for requests for flashing crosswalks. Porter said he still needs a few more residents to serve on the committee, specifically from precincts 1, 4, 5 and 6. The next quarterly Traffic Committee meeting is scheduled for Monday, March 15, at 7 p.m.

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Posted by Mike Berger on Dec 18 2020. Filed under News, Town Government. Both comments and pings are currently closed.