Published: 01/02/2008 State says 'no' to traffic light at Central St. By Lynne Hendricks Correspondent
ROWLEY - There will be no relief for dangerous traffic conditions at Rowley's Central Street-Route 1 intersection, according to police Chief Kevin Barry. Barry received a letter last week from the Mass Highway Department denying his request that temporary traffic lights be installed at the intersection, which he argued had become necessary to handle increased traffic flow from the closing of the Route 1A Parker River bridge. "It doesn't fit their standards of requiring a traffic light," Barry said. The state standards are not met at this intersection, he said, because there have been no accidents there since traffic was redirected from Route 1A in September. "Knock on wood," Barry said. "We haven't had any major accidents there, but people are pretty stressed out using it." The state also challenged that Central Street wasn't an official detour for the Route 1A bridge project and that the state is attempting to direct traffic down Haverhill Street. Barry appreciates that big rigs and trucks are using the official detour, which would only have made matters worse at the Central Street intersection if they weren't, but he said it's obvious that anyone who knows the area is traveling Central to avoid congestion further south. And Route 1, Barry said, has been transformed by the many closure and detour signs, adding to a sense of confusion and marking all roads leading from 1A as potential access, or "detour" roads. "There are so many (1A closure) signs on Route 1, you'd think it was Route 1A," Barry said. There's a modest hope that the state has taken some of Barry's concerns seriously, however. While several electronic signs posted along Route 1 were recently removed for the winter, Barry asked that electronic signs at this intersection remain throughout the 1A bridge construction. That request was granted. The state also traveled to the site two weeks ago to perform a traffic survey to assess Barry's request to temporarily lower the speed limit from 45 to 35 miles per hour for the northbound and southbound lanes. There were two vans on site throughout the day, with lines spread across the road to measure average speed and traffic volume. Barry hopes the data collected will support the granting of his request, but he isn't very optimistic. "How they figure it," he said, "is to measure the speed of the vehicles using the road. If people are going through there at that speed, and there are no accidents, they will deny (the request)."
On the whole, Barry said he's disappointed in the state's response. "The survey probably cost them as much as a traffic light would have cost," he said. District Highway Director Patricia A. Leavenworth, who oversees MHD projects in Rowley, was not available for comment.
ma police, boston ma police, massachusetts police, massachusetts police, mass state police, mass police, ma, mass, massachusetts, massachusetts, massachutes, massachusetts law, massachusetts polece, police, officer, police officer, cops, police gear, law enforcement, police duty gear, state police, sheriff, law, police supply, police agency directory, police agency, police department, traffic officer, police dept, state trooper, dispatcher, massachusetts county sheriff, massachusetts sheriff, massachusetts department of corrections, ma doc, doc, dept of corrections, police information, civil service, ma civil service, massachusetts crime, police training, police academy, ma police academy, massachusetts officers, masscop, masscops, mpa, bpa, ibpoa, police association, massachusetts police news, massachusetts crime news, mass most wanted, police career information, police patrol, police administration, police books, crime scene training, police discussion, crime discussions, cops
About MassCops, the home for Massachusetts law enforcement.
The Massachusetts Law Enforcement Network opened in 1998 and is now a part of the New England Police Network The site is a pro-police discussion forum intended for sworn police officers and civilian law enforcement officials as well as those interested in pursuing a career in law enforcement here in Massachusetts.
The goal of The Massachusetts Law Enforcement Network is to provide an informal network of law enforcement officials here in Massachusetts for educational and informational purposes.
The forum covers many topics such as Police Related News Articles, Agency & Profession Discussions, Police Training as well as Law Enforcement Career Information.
The Massachusetts Law Enforcement Network and The New England Police Network (NEPN) and it's network sites are privately owned websites/domains and are not affiliated with or endorsed by any government association or agency.
MassCops (masscops.com) and (masscop.com) are privately owned are not affiliated with or endorsed by the Massachusetts Coalition of Police (masscop.org)
ma police, boston ma police, massachusetts police, massachusetts police, mass state police, mass police, ma, mass, massachusetts, massachusetts, massachutes, massachusetts law, massachusetts polece, police, officer, police officer, cops, police gear, law enforcement, police duty gear, state police, sheriff, law, police supply, police agency directory, police agency, police department, traffic officer, police dept, state trooper, dispatcher, massachusetts county sheriff, massachusetts sheriff, massachusetts department of corrections, ma doc, doc, dept of corrections, police information, civil service, ma civil service, massachusetts crime, police training, police academy, ma police academy, massachusetts officers, masscop, masscops, mpa, bpa, ibpoa, police association, massachusetts police news, massachusetts crime news, mass most wanted, police career information, police patrol, police administration, police books, crime scene training, police discussion, crime discussions, cops