Traffic Committee examines Luce School traffic woes

Town Engineer Jay Mello told the Traffic Committee Monday night that he has a possible solution for the Luce Elementary School traffic problems, but he will need support from the School Committee and cooperation from school staff, parents and students to implement his plan.

Mello, who is new to the town, has been meeting with School Business Administrator Barry Nectow since March to get a fresh perspective on the traffic problem involving school vehicular traffic. The problem does not impact school buses, which use the Pleasant Street side to drop off and pick up students.

Mello proposed two organized lanes — an outer lane that could be used by teachers, staff and parents who want to park at the school, and an inner lane that could be used for student drop-off but one with a clearly defined door for students to enter.

Mello, frank in his assessment, said that from what he observed, parents “do what they want” during drop-off and pick-up and in some ways described the scene as chaotic. He said with proper education to parents and cooperation from administrators and staff, a much better traffic plan could be implemented.

Traffic Committee member Matt Isaacs suggested the plan is similar to one implemented at the Galvin and Hansen and one resident suggested that the School Committee adopt a similar plan for all schools.

When told of Mello’s suggestion, Nectow said he would await Mello’s reports and recommendations before offering a comment. Nectow is due to retire from the School Department on July 1.

New Traffic Committee Chair and Select Board member Tom Theodore questioned why more children are not using the bus and require parental transport. When suggested it was because of COVID-19 or the cost of bus passes, Theodore suggested maybe the town and or School Committee could start to encourage more parents to send their children to school by bus, perhaps with more town support.

In other news from Monday’s meeting:

* Theodore will look into the Avalon Mitigation Account and see if there is any money left to install a traffic light at York and Randolph streets. Committee member Kathy McCormack said she thought the developers of the Avalon apartment complex (since renamed Prynne Hills) installed an electrical box at the intersection when the project was constructed …

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Posted by Mike Berger on Jun 18 2021. Filed under News, Town Government. Both comments and pings are currently closed.