Selectmen deny access to Ravine Rd. irk Melrose officials
Published on December 3rd, 2008
STONEHAM, MA - Local police turned away scores of motorists from Ravine and Phillips Roads this week after the Selectmen last Tuesday shuttered cut-through access to the streets from the Fellsway end.
In a unanimous vote last Tuesday, the Selectmen ordered the erection of "Do Not Enter" signs at the Fellsway end of the two roadways in order to prevent motorists from using the streets as a cut-through to West Wyoming Avenue in Melrose.
Special patrols have been regularly stationed in the neighborhood since the signs were posted and on Monday afternoon alone, police turned away 50 motorists who were apparently attempting to violate the new restriction.
Last week, the Selectmen acknowledged that the new signs were causing friction with Melrose officials, who oppose the implementation of any prohibitions on traffic flow.
However, according to Selectman Robert Sweeney, the board had to address cut-through traffic in the neighborhoods before someone got hurt.
"One thing that we all agreed upon is when you come down Ravine Road, even though there's a stop sign, if there's the slightest break in traffic, you're going to step on the gas to beat the cars heading east and west," said Sweeney.
"We have to do something before someone gets hurt. We will do something at that time, so let's do it now," the veteran Selectman argued.
According to Stoneham Safety Officer Larry Rotondi, who has regularly conducted traffic counts on Ravine Road, nearly 3,000 cars travel down the roadway on a daily basis.
During peak traffic times, 200 vehicles per hour use Ravine Road, apparently to avoid the traffic signal at the intersection of Pond Street/West Wyoming/Pond Street near J.J. Grimsby's.
The safety officer also pointed out that the Fellsway end of Ravine Road is 90-feet wide, exacerbating the safety issue by allowing vehicles to veer onto and off the street at high speeds.
Police Chief Richard Bongiorno indicated last week that a variety of other restrictions had been explored by town officials during several neighborhood meetings on the traffic situation.
"Our goal is to solve the problem as quickly as possible without any [large] cash expenditures," Bongiorno explained. "We initially suggested restricted times, but we couldn't police it."
"That would be a small band-aid fix, because there's no way we could dedicate an officer and a cruiser for a long-term period," agreed Sweeney, referring to a peak hour traffic ban.
According to Selectmen, although there are only 20 houses on the two streets, proponents of the restrictions gathered 40 signatures in favor of the "Do Not Enter" signs.
Last Tuesday, local residents voiced overwhelming support for the proposal, claiming that just one neighbor, closest to the Fellsway end of Ravine Road, had opposed the signage.
"Everybody we spoke to except for one person was full-heartedly for the do not enter," said one Ravine Road resident, who didn't identify herself during last Tuesday's public hearing.
As part of their vote, the Selectmen also authorized Bongiorno, at his discretion, to place jersey barriers along Ravine Road in order to narrow the end of the roadway.
"It would just be temporary to narrow the street until we have the financing to put something better up," said DePinto.
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