City Council - Public Safety Committee

Public Safety Committee Meeting Meeting Minutes: April 7, 2020 Councilor Gomez called the meeting to order at 6:00pm Zoom - Online Members Present: Chair Homar Gomez, Clerk Lindsey Rothschild and Councilor Salem Derby. Also in Attendance: No other people in attendance Approval of Minutes: A motion was made by Councilor Derby and seconded by Councilor Rothschild; it was unanimously voted to approve the minutes of February 4, 2020 and March 3, 2020. Public Speak Time: No public present to speak Continuing Business: ● Letter to MASSDOT regarding traffic light need at South Street and Main Street is ready with letterhead (attached); Councilor Gomez will send to the City Clerk to distribute to the full council for electronic signatures ● Pedestrian Safety Committee - postponed ● Speeding concerns - postponed ● Site visits throughout city - postponed ● Safety issue focus changed - staying home is #1 safety concern Next regular meeting: May, 5 2020 at 6:00pm A motion was made by Councilor Derby and seconded by Councilor Rothschild; it was unanimously voted that this meeting adjourn. Respectfully Submitted, Councilor Lindsey Rothschild Clerk to the Public Safety Committee Attached: Letter to MASSDOT March 4, 2020 Richard J Masse Massachusetts Department of Transportation Mr. Masse, The City council is in receipt of your email letter to Mayor LaChapelle regarding the data on the intersection of South and Main. In it the DOT concludes that a traffic light and a reconfiguration of the intersection is in order due to the number of serious accidents at the intersection and a speed study indicating that over 85% of the time during your study, vehicular traffic exceeded 40 MPH. This traffic light will greatly improve the safety of the intersection for our residents. Also, the South St corridor will become a main transportation link to the new Pre K to eighth grade school slated to open in 2022. Increased bus traffic alone concerns the Council greatly. We realize that this project is quite expensive. However, we see it as urgent given the data and the increased traffic due to the new school. We cannot wait until the next serious accident takes a life. We the undersigned members of the Easthampton City Council do hereby request that this project be placed on a priority list for future funding. The city will also move to apply for a MassDOT Safe Roads to School set aside grant to supplement DOT funding. In the meantime, anything that could be done to help warn the public of the dangerous intersection. Perhaps a blinking sign that says “Dangerous Intersection” ahead to replace that which already exists and please paint the cross walks on the south side of Main St. Thank you for your consideration. _________________________ __________________________ ________________________ _________________________ __________________________ ________________________ _________________________ __________________________ ________________________