CSHCA Safety Committee Meeting 1-18-22

Chairs: Dianne Lescinskas and Jennifer Deabler

Minutes: Doreen Miller

In attendance: Pearse Martin (Sen. Nick Collins’ office), Julie Ryan (Councilor Frank Baker’s office), and 8 community members.

Morrissey Boulevard

Problems

• Freeport Street/Morrissey Boulevard intersection
  • Cars go through red lights
    • turning across traffic onto Freeport from Morrissey northbound lanes.
    • on the straight-away.
• Morrissey pedestrian crosswalk at Bianculli Boulevard (UMass intersection)
  • Cars blow through the red lights endangering pedestrians.
  • There was an incident of cars drag racing and speeding through the red light/pedestrian light at least several seconds after it turned red.
• Savin Hill Yacht Club pedestrian light.
  • Cars blow through the red lights endangering pedestrians.
• Morrissey Boulevard from the X-way off ramp to UMass intersection
  • This stretch lacks speed limit signs.
  • Cars coming off the X-way treat the road as an extension of the highway and travel at excessive speeds.
• In general, cars travel at excessive speeds on both sides of the boulevard, which is especially dangerous for people who live directly along the southbound side.
• The state troopers are understaffed. Morrissey Boulevard has only one trooper per shift to patrol the road.
• There is increased pedestrian traffic across the boulevard compared to two years ago.
• There are needles and trash on the pedestrian overpass at Star Market.

Ideas for solutions

• Collect traffic data at key locations for speed, etc.
• Reinstate sporadic speed enforcement with ticketing.
• Post speed limit signs on the northbound side between the X-way off-ramp and UMass intersection.
• Install a digital speed detector sign to alert drivers to their speed (Mass DOT)
• Re-time the lights at Freeport to have a longer delay from when the turning lane turns red and the southbound lanes turn green.
• Surveillance cameras at the lights.
• Install smart lights that detect traffic flow and volume.
• Make more use of 311 to report problems to create a paper trail.

Action steps

• The chairs will draft a letter to Dan Hunt on this issue
  • Outlining concerns
  • Asking for ideas to improve safety
  • Offering a few ideas for solutions to be considered
  • Julie Ryan will confer with Councilor Frank Baker about the above issues and get back to the chairs before they send out their letter.
  • Pearse Martin will contact the state troopers and pass along our concerns.
  • Julie Ryan will follow-up on concerns, especially with the trash and used needles.
  • Chairs will ask Senator Nick Collins and Representative Dan Hunt to investigate the possibility of some of the above-mentioned solutions.
  • Involve C-11 police as they have a department that deals with cameras.
  • Request smart lights from Mass DOT for the Freeport intersection.
  • CC Pearse Martin on any letter sent: Pearse.Martin@masenate.gov
  • Pearse will look into how the state troopers are allocated across Day Boulevard vs. Morrissey Boulevard.
  • Chairs will invite someone from Mass DOT and other stakeholders to attend the next meeting to discuss these issues.

Issues at McKenna’s

Dangerous intersection at Sydney Street and Savin Hill Avenue

• Cars drive down South Sydney the wrong way against traffic.
• Cars block the intersection.
• Cars and delivery trucks block driveways along South Sydney.
• A lack of signage on parking rules.
• The white flexi-pole spacers have created more problems than they have solved.
  • They are useful on the Sydney Street side to create visibility.
  • They are problematic on the South Sydney Street side and create traffic flow problems.
• The police have been unresponsive to the problem.

Trash and rats

• McKenna’s trash in the back is not adequately secured against rodents.
• Previous attempts to engage the owners in discussion did not resolve the issue.
• People throw their trash from local businesses into the street.

Suggested solutions

• Focus on the parking and traffic issues first.
• Post signs on the doors at McKenna’s asking people not to litter or block the streets or driveways.
• Ask the police to monitor the situation during peak hours and write out tickets.
• Post no-parking and tow-sign warnings along the east side of South Sydney.
• Remove the flexi-poles on the South Sydney Street side.
• Have the intersection a 4-way stop to improve pedestrian safety.
• Restrict commercial vehicles from using South Sydney Street.
  • Have McKenna’s coordinate with James Baker from The Daily to share commercial loading areas on Sydney Street.
• Have the owners of McKenna’s reach out to Cristo Rey for the possibility of additional overflow parking.
• Invite the BTD to come re-assess the area to find solutions.
• Increase the number of 15-minute parking spots.
• Directly engage the owners of McKenna’s to help find solutions to the problems their business is creating.

Action steps

• Julie Ryan will coordinate a discussion between the owners of The Daily and McKenna’s to address the problems mentioned above.
• Julie will have Councilor Frank Baker get the BTD to come reassess the area and propose solutions.
• The chairs will invite someone from C-11 police to our next meeting to discuss the problem and find solutions.
• The chairs will invite the owners of McKenna’s and The Daily to come to our next meeting for discussion.
• For food and rat problems
  • Utilize 311.
  • The chairs will reach out and talk with the owners.
  • If there is no satisfactory response or the problem persists, bring in the health inspector from code enforcement to address the issues.

Other problems

• Two break-ins at 10 Sydney Street garage, which is storage for ten units, have been reported to the police.
• Motorcycles are driving into Savin Hill Park and up the hill.
  • Call 311 to report.
  • Call the police to report.
• Buttonwood Street/Columbia Road
  • The Crosswalks have been installed, but cars still cut through at unreasonable speeds.
  • Keep the conversation going.
• School drop-offs at Pope John Paul school on Columbia Road.
  • Parents leave cars unattended in the middle of the road to bring their kids to the door, which backs up traffic and creates a hazardous situation.
  • We need a state trooper to direct traffic in the morning during drop-off times.

Action steps

• The chairs will reach out to Sgt. Golden about the motorcycle issue at the park and cc Julie Ryan and Councilor Frank Baker.
• The chairs will include the school drop-off issue in their email concerning Morrissey Boulevard to the state troopers.
• Pearse Martin will also follow-up with the state troopers on the school issue.

Important contact information

• Dianne Lescinskas: diannelescinskas@gmail.com
• Jennifer Deabler: deablerj@gmail.com
• Julie Ryan (Councilor Baker’s office): Julie.ryan@boston.gov
• Pearse Martin (Sen. Collins’ office): Pearse.Martin@masenate.gov

Next Meeting: Tuesday, February 15, 7 PM on Zoom