Peabody begins installing new downtown street lights

PEABODY-Things are beginning to look a bit brighter in downtown Peabody these days.Over the last two weeks, city employees have been hard at work making several lighting improvements at the request of city councilors.So far, roughly half of the 40 old-fashioned streetlights have been replaced with new lamp heads to provide increased lighting and enhanced pedestrian safety in the evening, said Mayor Michael Bonfanti.The lighting project, as well as many others, came after a strong push by city councilors to make the downtown area safer and more appealing to customers and new business owners.One area of particular concern was traffic. For years, cars have backed up along Lowell, Washington, Main and Center streets, making it nearly impossible to pass through.Speeding has also been an issue with many drivers traveling at speeds high above the designated 25 mph posted limit. From September 2007 to September 2008, the police department reported 853 cars were stopped for traffic violations just in the vicinity of downtown.Last month, Police Lt. Marty Cohan told Councilors that in order to improve conditions, the city would have to increase enforcement and reengineer travel lanes.Director of Community Development Jean Delios suggested to the Council last month the idea of reducing Main Street, an area of downtown she related to “the Indy 500,” from four to two lanes. Bonfanti said last week that the city is awaiting approvals from the state to move forward with the suggested plans.In the meantime, he said the city has improved signage, such as designating delivery zones for commercial trucks to park, as well as signs to increase the visibility of crosswalks. City Hall has also worked with the Police Department to place speed radar signs warning drivers to slow down.According to Delios, the corner of Allens Lane and Washington Street will soon be the location of a new traffic light, as it was described to be a dangerous intersection years back. Existing lanes were repainted to make them more visible to drivers, and separate lanes were created for right and left turns only to improve traffic flow.Delios said bids to install the traffic light came in under bid and she hopes to “fast track” it to completion.