Signs Would Help High Street Stay Safe

Really, the problem along High Street in Westwood is the huge number of children who live on the adjoining streets.

All the way from Rte. 128 to Hartford Street, the rush-hour on High Street is brutal. Lots of drivers use any trick they can to escape that stretch of High Street. So they try Summer Street, Dover Road, Conant Road, Country Lane and Lorraine Road to hurry through the area. Using neighborhood roads to solve a highway problem is inherently dangerous.

Lots of drivers save a few minutes doing this back-roads maneuver. It might seem like a tiny timesaver. But during rush-hour, that can be the difference between being late and being on time.

As vital as office time is, it takes second place to kids.

Some fancy road work in the area would cost as much as $1.5 million to add safety for the side roads. This is not going to happen.

One thing Westwood could do is put up signs at the appropriate intersections stating that there is no entrance from 6 to 9 a.m. or from 4 to 6 p.m., and give the neighbors town-issued permission stickers to identify them.

When some money comes along, the town can put cameras on the intersection and ticket the cars that use the streets banned at those times.

That could give neighbors and the town time an even better solution.

Editor's Note: Officials will discuss traffic calming in the neighborhoods near Dover Road Wednesday night at 7:30 p.m. For more information on that meeting, .