Politics & Government

DPW: Support Needed For Traffic Calming Measures to Resume

Officials and residents will discuss traffic issues in a meeting tonight at Westwood High School.

As they prepare to resume discussions on traffic issues in certain Westwood neighborhoods Wednesday night, town officials are hoping to gain feedback from residents on how to proceed with a possible solution.

"What we hope to resolve is just to come up with a plan that makes sense with the neighborhood," said Vicki Quiram, Director of the Westwood Department of Public Works. "It's so important because without the neighborhood support, it makes it difficult  to move ahead."

The discussions at Wednesday's meeting, which will be held at 7 p.m. in the Little Theater, will focus on potential measures to address traffic issues in the neighborhoods of High Rock Street, Dover Road, Conant Road, Country Lane and Lorraine Road, all of which tend to be used as cut-through streets to avoid rush hour traffic.  

Find out what's happening in Westwoodwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

, Quiram explained to the Westwood Board of Selectmen that while a large number of drivers use those roads in an attempt to save time, they really only save about five minutes in total in the morning commute. What's more, they tend to drive about 10 miles an hour over the speed limit in the area. 

One solution includes a process of multiple phases, such as the installation of various types of traffic deterrents like speed humps, raised intersections, raised islands or constructed "gateways" to certain neighborhoods. The plan would end up costing between $600,000 and $1.5 million.

Find out what's happening in Westwoodwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

An alternative plan would comprise the installation of about 19 speed humps, the cost for which would hover somewhere between $100,000 and $150,000.

"There's no perfect answer," Quiram said. "But if we don't come up with a plan and we don't try something, we don't get anywhere." 

There is currently no funding for such a project, but if residents are in favor of a plan and are willing to move forward, the town will look at ways to come up with the money, Quiram said. 

"One thing that's really important to understand is this whole traffic issue is this is not a problem that anyone caused," Quiram said. "This is really and truly a regional issue, it's a regional growth issue, a regional transportation issue."

Quiram, Town Administrator Mike Jaillet, Westwood Public Safety Officer Sgt. Paul Sicard and representatives from Beta Group, Inc., which analyzed traffic in the area, . 

More information on the traffic calming issues and potential solutions can be found at the Westwood DPW's main web page.


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here