Saugus residents still seeking 4-way stop

SAUGUS-The residents from the Elmwood and Adams avenues area are not giving up their quest for a four-way stop sign, despite the fact the Board of Selectmen already voted it down.Half a dozen residents came to the board’s Tuesday meeting and once again implored Selectmen to approve a four-way stop sign for the area.Kenneth Doherty of 16 Elmwood Ave. admitted he had nothing new to add to the situation, which is a requirement to be reheard by the board once an issue has been dismissed, but he wasn’t giving up.Doherty and his neighbors requested that a four-way stop sign be installed to discourage speeders in the area and to protect their property. Several accidents in the area have resulted in property damage, including vehicles that have hit homes.The board voted against installing the stop sign last month on the advice of Traffic Control Officer Stephen Sweezey.Sweezey argued against posting the signs because he said the intersection did not meet the criteria for a four-way stop and he didn’t feel it would help the situation. He stood by that recommendation Tuesday.”I agree with the residents that it’s a problem of people disobeying the rules of speeding,” he said. “You want to correct that with a sign. If it were that simple people wouldn’t park in handicap spaces, they would stop at all stop signs and they wouldn’t speed.”Sweezey did support installing guardrails or cement posts near the intersection to protect residents’ property. Town Manager Andrew Bisignani agreed during the last meeting that guardrails could be installed relatively quickly. But most neighbors said the guardrails would be a waste of time.Robert Marciano of 22 Elmwood Ave. said he wished someone from the board would visit the area so they could see exactly what is happening.”The last accident down there hit my house and almost ran over my wife,” he said. “And guardrails are not going to help. We need a four-way stop.”Janet Doherty said what the intersection really needed was a traffic light, but she would settle for a four-way stop sign. She said she has suffered property damage and, as a taxpayer, feels it’s not fair that her problems should go unheeded.Sweezey said he recommended guardrails for precisely that reason, to protect Doherty’s and other residents’ property.”You asked us to protect your property,” he said. “I offered a solution, guardrails and (posts), but you don’t want it.”Sweezey said the real solution is manpower – to have an officer in the area on a regular basis – but that is not possible since budget cuts have left the department short-handed.Selectman Stephen Horlick said he had visited the area several times and while he agreed with Sweezey that the stop signs were not the answer, he would visit again if it made the residents feel better.”The way I see it is even if you have the stop signs, people will still speed,” he said. “It’s an enforcement problem, but I’m willing to look at it again if you want.”