SWAMPSCOTT — The Police Department recently made an announcement that, starting on Friday, Redington Street will officially revert back to its original two-way traffic pattern.
Vehicles traveling down Humphrey Street will once again be able to turn on Redington Street. The update comes after a two-year period of construction while the new Swampscott Elementary School was being built on 10 Whitman Road.
The new elementary school, which opened its doors back in August, was built with the intention of accommodating every Swampscott elementary school.
Officer Kevin Reen noted things began to get cumbersome when the Stanley School closed down and students were moved to Blaney Elementary. “We had double the number of occupants in school, double the parents, everything became harder.”
To combat the challenges of construction in a busy area, Reen noted how the town made the decision to make the road a one-way to change the flow without major disruption. Reen highlighted how the police department worked with the Select Board to come to this decision.
The department collaborated with the Department of Public Works (DPW) and Town Administrator to handle the logistics of the project in a way that created minimal disturbance to the community.
Reen added how the process of reverting the road back to its two-way pattern could not be done overnight. The bump-outs on the edge of the sidewalks on either side of the road have been pushed back to accommodate more room for drivers. The goal, Reen said, is to create a safer crossing-zone for pedestrians to go from Humphrey Street over to Redington Street.
“It’s a big thing, this type of project influences the way people travel, it affects how they go to and from their homes,” Reen said. “This is a good step to getting things back to normal.”
