New ‘Slow Children’ signs to be installed on Saugus street

SAUGUS – New street signs will be coming to Eustis Street in Saugus after the Board of Selectmen voted unanimously to add “Slow Children” signs to the dead-end road.”We voted to put the slow signs and we accepted and adopted the engineering report,” said selectmen Chairman Scott Crabtree.Residents on Eustis Street have long complained about heavy trucks using the street as an access to a construction site in Revere that sits at the end of Eustis Street.View an interactive map of the Eustis Street neighborhood here.View Larger MapA recent zoning change in Revere changed the 28-acre area known as Caddy Farm from residential to commercial highway. The Caddy Farm area sits to the east of Route 1 in north Revere, behind the old Weylu’s restaurant. There’s currently no access to the property from Route 1, but there are access points to the site from Laurel Street and Eustis Street in Saugus and off Franklin Street in Revere.In a letter to the Board of Selectmen, Saugus Police Lt. Anthony LoPresti said “there are no objections from the Police Department at this time.” LoPresti requested that the Department of Public Works contact him to determine where best to place the signs.But for Eustis Street resident Bobby Camuso, the new signs are just the first steps in a “long process.”Camuso said he wants to see the trucks banned from using his street.”It’s a sign, people are going to have to obey it,” said Camuso. “I’m glad (the selectmen) are taking the time to look into this. But you can see the cracks forming in the street. I’m not trying to be an engineer or anything, but that crack has never been here.”Camuso said he and his wife are thinking about moving to avoid the constant flow of construction vehicles and other traffic with the potential for a large commercial development being built on Caddy Farm,”We’re not going to see the project here,” said Camuso. “We’re just going to see the traffic.”Crabtree said the board will discuss submitting a request to the state Department of Transportation to limit heavy trucking on the road.”We voted to get clarification from Town Counsel about submission from the state to limit heavy trucking on the street, which will be taken up at the next meeting,” said Crabtree. “The concern is what kind of an impact developing a site of that size will have on the roadway, the neighbors and the infrastructure. That’s the issue we’re looking at is them using it as an access road to develop a major property like that.”One issue that could prevent a trucking ban is finding a different entrance into the site.According to a written legal opinion from Town Counsel John Vasapolli, the Board of Selectmen can vote to restrict trucking, but MassDOT would need a “suitable alternative route” before approving the vote.The board will take up the trucking issue at its next meeting on Tuesday.Matt Tempesta may be reached at [email protected].