SAUGUS — Last month, the Board of Selectmen voted to change the hours during which Highland Avenue and Pearce Memorial Drive are considered one-way streets. Now, one resident has raised concerns about the matter.
Ted LaSala approached the microphone during the last Selectmen’s meeting as part of public comment. He questioned the change and also noted how Highland, where he lives, can sometimes be dangerous.
“My first question is, why were the times of the do-not-enter changed? What was the reasoning behind it?” LaSala asked the board.
Board of Selectmen Chair Debra Panetta explained that during public comment, the board was not supposed to have a back-and-forth discussion with whomever was speaking. She said the Board could speak on it after his comment.
Panetta did mention that “The principal of the high school, as well as other members of the middle-school-high-school community, said that it was difficult for people when they’re leaving and they’re coming back and forth. The five o’clock range was too late. Three o’clock seemed to make more sense.” She also noted two public hearings were held, one for Highland Avenue and one for Pearce Memorial Drive.
LaSala understood and continued to explain his concerns to the Board.
“Are you aware of why Highland Ave. was a one-way all those years? Well, back around 1980, there was a young child run over and killed by a school bus. Now, is there a possibility of that happening again?” he said.
LaSala felt the decision would open up Highland Avenue as a pass-through from Main Street and traffic would get worse.
“Ninety-five percent of the people do not stop at that stop sign in front of the school. I got all kinds of stories, but I don’t want to take up your time. Lack of traffic enforcement — all due respect to the Lieutenant, there is absolutely none,” he said.
Having been retired for six years, LaSala said he has never seen a citation written. He said people are constantly going through the stop sign and the do-not-enter. “I even told the chief that at 1:30 every afternoon there’s 10 cars that come out of that parking lot and rip down Highland Ave. Kids coming from the stadium … he’s never done anything about that,” he said.
LaSala also shared his frustration with parking enforcement, saying he only sees change when he calls the chief.
He said the kids at the school were not the problem. “They’re wonderful. I’ve never had a single problem with them. I even had one young lady help me up my stairs because I was having a tough time,” he said.
To finish his comment, LaSala shared an example of a truck going through the do-not-enter. He was backing out of his driveway and clipped the truck’s bumper as it came down. He said a few days later, he was bringing the accident report to the station, going down Pearce Memorial, and a landscaping truck was coming down the wrong way. “I panicked and I ended up hitting two cars,” he said.
He continued that the police said they couldn’t do much since they couldn’t identify the driver.
Panetta mentioned the lieutenant had been at the hearings for the street time changes and said there was enforcement. However, she also said she thinks that after listening to LaSala speak, the lieutenant would be bringing the message back to the police department.
“It was important that you came tonight so that we could hear the concerns, and like I said, Lt. Connors, as well as the town manager, heard the concerns, and we’re going to ask if there could be some additional enforcement down in that area,” she said.
