2013-10-09CITY OF BEVERLY
PUBLIC MEETING MINUTES
BOARD OR COMMISSION
SUBCOMMITTEE:
DATE:
LOCATION:
MEMBERS PRESENT:
OTHERS PRESENT:
MEMBERS ABSENT:
RECORDER:
Parking and Traffic Commission
October 9, 2013
Site visit to neighborhood adjacent to Henry's Market
Tina Cassidy, John Somes, Bill Fiore, Rich Hutchinson,
Russ Rollins
Ward 5 Councilor Don Martin, area residents
Rich Benevento, Bill Bent
Tina Cassidy
The site visit is called to order at approximately 4:00 p.m. Residents of Princeton Ave.,
Nursery St., Beacon St., Clifton Ave., Ellsworth Ave. and Bass River Rd. are present to
accompany the Commission and provide first hand information and observations regarding
traffic and safety conditions in their neighborhood.
The site visit begins at the intersection of Ellsworth and McKay and proceeds up Ellsworth
to Tremont, down Tremont to Clifton, down Clifton to McKay and to the intersection of
McKay St. and County Way.
Throughout the site visit, the following issues /concerns are observed or mentioned:
• A telephone pole obscures the "Do Not Enter 4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m." sign at the end
of Ellsworth Ave.; visibility should be improved either by relocating /reorienting the
sign or augmenting it with a second sign on a separate pole.
• The speed of traffic is a general concern, especially from the curve on McKay Street
eastward to the traffic signal at the intersection and on Tremont Street.
• Traffic volume is a general concern.
• The timing of the signals at the intersection should be reviewed for further
adjustment - recent timing adjustments noticeably improved the flow of traffic but
more improvement may be possible with additional changes.
• A tree limb currently obstructs the "No Right Turn" sign at Ellsworth and Scott
Street.
• Adherence to stop signs, particularly at the four -way stop intersections, is a
problem.
• There is difficulty exiting Tremont Street onto Cabot Street, particularly left turns in
the morning when two lanes of southbound traffic queue up at the signals on Cabot
Street.
Revised Final Parking & Traffic Commission site visit minutes October 9, 2013
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• The Tremont Street location used as a school bus pick -up /drop -off point is far less
than ideal; there are no sidewalks on that side of the street and the location is
adjacent to overgrown bushes and plantings.
• At the intersection of County Way and Princeton Ave. there are concerns about the
traffic volume after 5:00 p.m. and the speed of traffic on Princeton as a "cut through"
to Raymond Farms.
• The intersection of Yale Blvd. /Bass River Rd /Ellsworth Ave. should be reconfigured
if possible so that the stop lines on both Yale and Bass River are closer to Ellsworth
Ave. in order to provide better sight distances and visibility of motorists.
• Three signs on McKay Street (likely erected as part of State's Route 1A project years
ago) are faded to the point of illegibility. All three signs are located on McKay Street
between the traffic signals and Ellsworth Avenue; one is on the southerly side of the
roadway and two are on the northerly side.
• Can the City install an additional crosswalk in the vicinity of the intersection of
McKay and County Way to accommodate school children and other pedestrians?
The closest existing crosswalks are quite a distance apart, and distant from this
point.
• Motorists turning from Clifton Ave. onto McKay Street - and motorists turning from
McKay Street onto Clifton Ave. - often do not make 45o turns into the respective
roadway. Instead, motorists often enter at more of an arc or angle which causes
many near misses.
• Should the City consider installing a "channelization" island at the intersection of
County Way and McKay Streets, in order to (a) direct southbound County Way
traffic onto McKay Street and (b) provide a better and more visible location for
northbound County Way motorists to stop prior to entering McKay Street.
• Enforcement of the prohibition on left hand turns from Cabot Street to Dodge Street
should be increased.
Cassidy states that she will prepare a set of draft minutes of this afternoon's site visit and
will share them in "draft form" with Councilor Martin when they are completed. Martin
should feel free to distribute them to interested area residents, as long as they understand
the minutes will only be a "draft" and are subject to amendment /change once Commission
members have a chance to review them for accuracy. She cannot recall the exact date of the
next Parking and Traffic Commission meeting but will provide that information to Martin so
he can pass it along. The matter will be on the Commission's next meeting agenda and
Cassidy encourages residents to attend.
There being no other business for the Commission to conduct, the site visit concludes at
approximately 5:20 p.m.
Revised Final Parking & Traffic Commission site visit minutes October 9, 2013
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