Truck exclusion supported for Latisquama Road
By Ken Powers Contributing Writer

Southborough - The selectmen voted at their June 26 meeting to ask the Massachusetts Highway Department (MassHighway) to conduct a study about excluding trucks from using Latisquama Road as a cut-through.

Latisquama Road runs between East Main Street and White Bagley Road, which connects to Route 9.

Residents petitioned the board saying that the road is too narrow to safely accommodate the trucks and buses that are frequenting it, and that the road has begun cracking from the weight of the constant barrage of these heavy vehicles.

"Our concern is safety," Latisquama resident Thomas McCarthy said. "The width of one end of the road is less than 14 feet."

Main Street is exempt from truck traffic so McCarthy is at a loss to understand why truck are using Latisquama as a cutthrough.

"There is no pass-through for trucks," McCarthy said, "so there is no reason they should be using Latisquama."

McCarthy said he has talked with owners of local trucking companies about not using the street as a cut through and when he does the situation improves for a while, but then reverts right back to the way it was.

The desire of residents of Latisquama wanting to have their street excluded from truck traffic has created concern among White Bagley Road residents who now fear the trucks will start using their road.

Those concerns prompted the selectmen to vote to ask the MassHighway if trucks could be excluded from both Latisquama and White Bagley.

Eric Abell, a spokesperson for MassHighway, said when the department receives a request such as this they ask the town to conduct a study. Once the study is completed MassHighway personnel will review said study to determine if the road - or in this case, roads - meet the criteria.

"MassHighway will look at the percentage of trucks that fall into the category of using the road, the impact on the quality of the road and also how having trucks on the road aff ects the quality of life in the neighborhood," Abell said.

In order for a town to receive an exclusion for one of its roads, Abell said, an alternative route must be available and viable. If the road impacts another community, that community must approve the alternative route.

Karen Galligan, Public Works superintendent for Southborough, said that some action can be taken in the meantime to possibly alleviate some of the truck traffic.

"Because Main Street is excluded, we could warn truck drivers they are approaching an excluded zone by putting up signs that say 'Truck Exclusion Ahead,'" Galligan said.

The selectmen voted to approve the Truck Exclusion Ahead signs.

Also at the June 26 meeting, the board heard from residents concerned about the impact of a 200-unit Chapter 40B project on the town's schools and traffic, as the site of the proposed development is a parcel of land adjacent to the Route 9 and Interstate 495 interchange.

The complex of eight apartment buildings and eight townhouses, to be known as Alexan Southborough, would be accessible through a road off Route 9 westbound, between the Red Roof Inn and the Central Park office building.

The development, being proposed by Trammell Crow Residential of Needham, would be constructed on 30 acres and include 72 onebedroom units, 124 two-bedroom units and four threebedroom units.

Being a 40B project made up of rental apartments and townhouses, 25 percent of the units will be rented at an aff ordable rate, which would be 80 percent of the median income for families in the Greater Boston area.

Successful completion of the project would allow Southborough to meet the state's goal of having at least 10 percent of the housing units considered aff ordable until the 2010 census.