New look on Franklin St.
Published on August 27th, 2003
STONEHAM, MA - The clock is ticking down to the final days preceding the commencement of a new school year, and Stoneham Safety Officer Larry Rotondi has a message for commuters travelling and parking on Franklin Street.
Slow down, pay attention to the traffic lights, and find another place to park.
"We've had lot of problems with people going right through the new traffic lights on Franklin Street," said Rotondi. "I'm sure a lot of it is people just not being used to looking for red lights on Franklin Street...how many years have people been used to not stopping on Franklin Street. But we want people to be obey the lights before the kids start walking to school in September."
The longtime Stoneham policeman plans on closely monitoring Franklin Street during the first few weeks of school.
"People better be aware because they're going to start getting tickets, or getting into an accident...one of the two," added Rotondi, who said he hasn't written out any tickets yet because "the signs just went up and we wanted to notify the people before we start cracking down on them.'
"This is going to make things a lot easier for people getting out of Pleasant Street and Stevens Street onto Franklin," said Rotondi.
Concerned about the considerable amount of children expected to be walking on Franklin Street to and from the high school and middle school, Rotondi has watched many drivers speed through the newly installed traffic lights.
Anecdotally, several people have recounted stories of near misses with reactions, or lack thereof, to the new installation.
"I almost bought it twice on Franklin Street the other day," said School Committee member Cheryl Walsh. "People need to get used to the new setup on Franklin Street."
The lights, installed along the length of Franklin Street at the intersections of Pine Street, Summer Street, the Stoneham High School driveway entrance and Perkins Street, have been flashing red, green and yellow (except for the Perkins Street sign, which only flashes for pedestrian crossing) over the last few weeks, and many residents continue to practice some now obsolete driving habits on Franklin Street.
The lights will flash red and stop traffic, and can initiated by pedestrians and schoolchildren attempting to cross the perpetually busy Franklin Street.
A key part of the Franklin Street reconstruction, the series of traffic signals were supposed to slow down what has been a virtual pole position on Franklin Street for years.
"Right now (we're going to start enforcement) because of school," said Rotondi, who said Franklin Street is 95 percent complete and should be fully completed by September 4. "Everything is all painted and ready to go."
Rotondi also mentioned problems with the parking enforcement on the eastbound side of Franklin Street after the Pine Street intersection. Starting from the corner where Cravings sits, cars are no longer allowed to park on the east side of Franklin Street.
The no parking signs haven't been installed by that corner, but the six signs prohibiting parking are on the way.
There were three vehicles parked in the "no parking" zone early Tuesday afternoon, but Rotondi couldn't dole out ticket because the signs hadn't yet been installed in that area.
But the white street lines clearly show there isn't enough room for cars to park on that side of the street, and trucks and larger vehicle couldn't turn easterly from Pine onto Franklin Street without careening into the westbound lane.
Rotondi also added there would be no parking on the westerly side of Franklin from Main Street to Spencer Street.
Rotondi hopes to have the parking problems remedied within the week.
"We don't want to give out tickets, but, once the signs are all up, we'll have to do it," said Rotondi. "If you watch the lines and the way they're painted, it's obvious where vehicles can and can't park. If you can't fit between the white line and the curb, then you can't park there."
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