Link back to Traffic Committee Meeting Minutes
Police Chief Taylor A.B. Mills, Chairman
Sgt. David Horte, Representative for Chief Mills
Lt. John Haley, Representative for Chief Mark Duff
Harry Sylvester, DPW
Paul K. Healey, Planning Board
Philip Resca
Leslie Kehoe
TO: Board of Selectmen
FROM: Chief Taylor Mills
RE: Minutes of May 26, 2010 – Traffic Committee Meeting
DATE: May 27, 2010
PRESENT: Mark Duff, Chief Hingham Fire Department
John Haley, Lieutenant, Hingham Fire Department
David Horte, Sergeant, Hingham Police Department
Harry Sylvester, Hingham DPW
Paul K. Healey, Hingham Planning Board
Leslie Kehoe
Philip Resca
Sgt. Horte called the meeting to order at 7:05 PM.
A motion was made by Harry Sylvester to accept the minutes of the previous meeting.
Leslie Kehoe seconded this with all in favor.
I BARE COVE PARK DRIVE
Patricia Coyle, Treasurer of Bare Cove Park Committee, revisited the issue
of speed limit signs being installed on Bare Cove Park Drive. This request
was originally made last May. At that time, the Committee suggested that the matter
be revisited this spring after the Carlson Field had been in operation.
It was noted that traffic has increased on the road due to field users as well as
by people going to Bare Cove Park. As a result of these dynamics, the Committee
unanimously agreed to recommend the installation of two 20 MPH speed limit signs to be located near the field. It should be noted that these recommended speed signs cannot
be enforced by Hingham Police Department. Harry Sylvester stated that he would have
the signs placed promptly.
II MAIN STREET/CUSHING STREET/SOUTH PLEASANT STREET
Based upon the recommendation by the Board of Selectmen at Town Meeting, the Traffic Committee has been given the task of analyzing the situation at the Main/Cushing/S. Pleasant St. intersection in regards to making a recommendation regarding the need for a traffic light. The fact that the queue waiting to turn left from Cushing Street onto Main Street has increased is a main concern of residents. Chief Duff observed that the success of the traffic light at Main and High Streets has convinced many that this would be the solution for the Main/Cushing/S. Pleasant Street intersection as well. Discussion ensued as Harry Sylvester stated that further study was needed as meeting the criteria of the state warrants would be a strong consideration for the installation of a traffic light.
Paul Healey stated that any proper report needed to be submitted to the Board of Selectmen would require substantial involvement by a traffic engineer. Prior to that however, research needs to be done by Sgt. Horte and reviewed by the Traffic Committee. Sgt. Horte will use a traffic counter to determine what the number of cars are that pass on each of the three streets (Main, Cushing and S. Pleasant St.), as well as analyzing the traffic volume, speed, peak volume and traffic flow to surrounding streets. Research will also be done on the accident history of the intersection from 2005 to current along with the number of cars queuing on Cushing Street to turn left onto Main Street at peak hours. This information will be compiled by Sgt. Horte and presented to the Traffic Committee for review at a later date. Residents who have asked to be notified of all meetings for the remainder of the year will be informed as well.
Residents of Main, Cushing and S. Pleasant Streets were in attendance at tonight’s meeting and expressed their concerns. Jon Davis of South Pleasant Street stated that
the decision to install a traffic light will be dictated by facts and the Board of Selectmen needs to give the Traffic Committee the tools to undertake a truly comprehensive study. Mr. Davis mentioned that the Committee should contact Dick Cook who may be interested in volunteering to do the study. He also stated that the Traffic Committee
has the obligation to investigate the situation and that safety is paramount.
The fact that this is an issue of convenience for many was also mentioned. The current
wait time could end up being the same as the wait time if a traffic light is installed. This
issue needs to be factored into the equation as well.
Main Street resident Jeff Emerson suggested that the pedestrian lights at Constitution Fire
Station in South Hingham be placed on a timed light cycle to create breaks in traffic at
the peak rush hours of 4:00-7:00 pm. Monday-Friday. It was suggested that something
similar to this is done in the area of Wollaston Beach to control the flow of traffic during the summer months. Phil Resca suggested contacting the Quincy Police to obtain
information on this matter. Paul Healey offered to contact Katy Lacy to get a contact
name as well. The results will be reported at the next meeting. A suggestion was made by Paul Healey that left turns from Main Street to Cushing Street could be prohibited
as an option to improve traffic flow at the intersection.
Sgt. Horte presented a yearly comparison of high accident locations report which shows
that the Main/Cushing/S. Pleasant St. intersection is 13th on the list with no accidents
reported there in 2009. It was pointed out that the recent year’s statistics could be
affected by the fact that there had been construction on Rte. 228 managed by police detail officers.
Sgt. Horte updated the committee regarding the status of issues from past meetings:
Parking reserved for Sewer Dept. at Station Street – Jim Dow was contacted about this and said that at this time the Sewer Department needs only three spaces instead of the current six.
Sgt. Horte presented a list of crash statistics from Cold Corner to Leavitt Street as requested by Committee members in response to concerns of Declan Boland from the previous meeting.
Lt. John Haley made a motion to adjourn the meeting which Leslie Kehoe seconded.
The meeting was adjourned at 8:25 PM.
Respectfully Submitted,
Jan Jacobson
Administrative Assistant
Hingham Police Department