SWAMPSCOTT — A panel of town leaders conducted an informational session on pedestrian and traffic safety on Tuesday night related to the new elementary school scheduled to open this fall on Whitman Road.
The group consisted of Town Administrator Sean Fitzgerald, Police Chief Ruben Quesada, Director of Community and Economic Development Marzie Galazka, Fire Chief Graham Archer, Department of Public Works Director Gino Cresta, School Resource Officer Brian Wilson, and Director of Facilities Max Kasper. Greenman-Pedersen, the construction engineering company developing the new school, was represented by Survey Crew Chief Zachary Wassmouth.
The session began with a presentation from the panel that provided new information on parking, bussing, and more.
The town plans to stagger the school’s start and dismissal times with the nearby middle school with the hopes of minimizing traffic congestion. The services of NRT Bus Inc. will provide four buses for transportation. According to the town, the new school’s parking lot will contain 84 parking spaces. The middle school’s side parking lot will be fully dedicated for the new school’s staff. On school days, parking on nearby streets such as Orchard Road, Laurel Road, and Forest Avenue Extension will be permitted for residents only between 7 and 9 a.m., and 1 and 3:30 p.m.
The plan includes having crossing guards stationed at “critical locations” before and after school, as well as a temporarily increased police presence once the school opens.
Once the presentation concluded, attending residents who live in the school’s vicinity were given the opportunity to voice their opinions on the town’s update based on their own experiences.
Resident Catherine Quinn inquired about substitute crossing guards, to which Wilson responded by saying that the town is working on hiring part-time replacements who can fill in during short-notice situations.
“It’s a hiring issue, not a money issue,” Wilson said. “It’s getting bodies.”
Quinn used a personal anecdote from her childhood in Ireland, when she was the victim of a traffic accident.
“I was the pedestrian in a two-car crash. I was left for dead,” Quinn said. “There’s a face for this, I was one of those children. It was very serious.”
Resident Betsy Burns said that the process of constructing the new school would disrupt the residential characteristics of the neighborhood and asked the town to minimize the “carnage.”
“I know safety is an issue, but it seems like it’s overwhelming, what’s going on in terms of safety for this,” Burns said. “As we expected, because it’s not an appropriate place to have a school.”
In the aftermath of the meeting, Fitzgerald expressed appreciation to the neighbors of the school, and admitted it has been a disruptive project. He described Tuesday’s meeting as productive and plans on holding similar ones in the future.
“It’s the town’s largest construction project to date,” Fitzgerald said.
The school will open its doors to students on Aug. 28.
