SAUGUS — Residents are expressing their dissatisfaction with what they say has become an increasingly chaotic traffic scene at the town’s new middle-high school, with an overwhelming number of students and parents parking near residential homes, blocking driveways and causing a commotion during dismissal times.
Highland Avenue resident Donna Orsini described the situation as “unbearable,” and said she’s even gone as far as contacting the Saugus Police Department for help.
“My husband and I have had to adjust our work schedules because it’s virtually impossible for us to leave our driveway from 7:30 to 8 a.m., and it’s virtually impossible for us to return between 1:30 and 2:30 p.m.,” Orsini said. “Cars block all the residents’ driveways surrounding us, so if an emergency vehicle tried to enter my property, they’d be unable to.
“I have a disabled individual under my care, and I’ve contacted the police, and the police don’t want to be bothered.”
During a Board of Selectmen meeting also attended by Superintendent of Schools Dr. David DeRuosi and Police Chief Michael Ricciardelli Tuesday, Orsini and several residents of Highland and Orchard avenues requested officials find a solution to ease the influx of cars the area has seen since the middle-high school first welcomed students inside last month.
“I work the overnight shift, so I’m coming home in the morning, and I’m literally sitting on the on-ramp from Route 1 to Main Street from 7:20 in the morning until I hit my house, which is a little after 7:45, 7:50,” said Lou Moran, an Apple Street resident who lives on the corner of Orchard Avenue. “I’m sitting in traffic when it should take me five minutes to get home.”
Moran said he frequently sees students dropped off for school in the middle of highway traffic by parents worried about them being late for class.
“It’s a big issue of safety. Someone’s going to get hit,” he said.
Board of Selectmen Chair Anthony Cogliano said he and the other selectmen have been to the school at dismissal time to witness the chaos firsthand, adding that he intended for Tuesday’s meeting with residents to serve as a forum that would help the board come up with solutions.
“The board’s goal tonight is to come up with a remedy to this situation, and we will go over that with all of you,” Cogliano told residents. “It’s got to work for everybody, or we’re not going to do it.”
During a separate interview with The Item, Selectman Michael Serino suggested staggered start times and more signage in the area might help the problem, noting that some electronic signage in the area appears to be broken.
“There are two ways to exit (the campus), one way through Pierce Memorial Drive, and one through Route 1, where they do have a blinking light that I noticed isn’t working,” Serino said. “I drove by today and there are wires hanging from it, so I don’t even think it’s hooked up.”
More signage was opposed by some residents who questioned how the signs would be enforced.
School Committee Chair Thomas Whittredge said he believes the issue needs time to work itself out, noting that the new building has only been in operation for a few weeks — in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has posed unique restrictions on the district.
“We only have two buses operating right now. We’re down four other buses, and with COVID we can’t have early drop off because we can’t have anyone in the building (early),” he said.
Whittredge added that roughly 40 more parking spots will become available once the construction company tasked with finishing the building moves its equipment.
Because the school year ends in mid-June, Cogliano said any solutions devised by the board will not be implemented until students return to class in September.
“I have several friends who live on that street in and around Highland Avenue (and) Orchard Avenue, and it’s a mess … We are the traffic commissioners, and we will solve this problem,” Cogliano said. “We’ll straighten out the mess. That I can promise you.”
Orchard Street resident Carol Morrissey, who echoed Orsini’s concerns that student cars parked on both sides of residential streets currently leave little room for emergency vehicles, said she simply wants the town to take resident concerns into consideration.
“We want to be good neighbors to the school, but we also want the school to be good neighbors to us,” she said.
Discussions about parking and traffic at the middle-high school will continue during a special Board of Selectmen meeting scheduled to take place virtually on May 19 at 7 p.m.
Elyse Carmosino can be reached at [email protected].
