NORTHBOROUGH – A truck exclusion on Lincoln and Pleasant streets took a step forward during the Oct. 28 Select Board meeting.
According to Department of Public Works Director Scott Charpentier, the town has received several requests over the past couple of years to implement a heavy commercial vehicle exclusion on Lincoln Street.
“It’s obviously a cut-through; everybody knows. You do your GPS from [Interstate 290 to Route 20], it pushes you down Pleasant and down Lincoln Street,” said Charpentier.
The town has previously reached out to local trucking companies, which he said “sufficed the need” but the pattern has since changed as drivers solely follow their GPS. Earlier this year, the Central Massachusetts Regional Planning Commission conducted traffic counts on Lincoln and Pleasant streets. According to a memo from Charpentier, the initial findings indicate that both roads meet the minimum 5% truck traffic threshold to consider an exclusion.
“Anybody who’s done walker pickup at Lincoln Street School — this is certainly needed,” said Select Board member Mike Tietjen.
To implement a heavy commercial vehicle exclusion, an engineering study must be completed. The Traffic Safety Committee took the exclusion under consideration and decided to bring it before the Select Board to seek funds to complete the study. Charpentier said he received a quote from an engineering consultant who previously did the reports for an exclusion on Rice Avenue and Summer Street.
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Charpentier and Traffic Safety Committee Chair Bill Pierce went before the Select Board on Oct. 28 to seek $18,000 in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds for the study. The funds come from Select Board member Lisa Maselli’s division of the ARPA funds; the Select Board has prepared a list of projects the members were interested in funding totaling about $320,000 — or the previous total of $1.7 million divided by approximately five.
The exclusion will return to the Select Board in the future.
Select Board member Laura Ziton thanked the Traffic Safety Committee for its work on the exclusion and the proposal.
“I’m sorry it’s extra money, but being someone that spends a lot of time on Lincoln Street with those big trucks, I’m grateful that we’ve got a path to reduce that,” she said.
Summer Street exclusion
The Select Board discussed the possibility of other exclusions being brought before the board.
According to Pierce, the Traffic Safety Committee voted not to recommend an exclusion on Summer Street.
“Primarily because what that would do is that would then force trucks coming up South Street to have to try to make a right-hand turn onto Route 20 from South Street,” Pierce said.
He explained that a tractor trailer would have to be in the left lane to turn right, “which we believe would cause more problems than allowing that truck exclusion.” Charpentier said the truck would then have to go two lanes over on the double yellow center line, meaning it takes four lanes to make the turn.
Maselli voiced interest in having the exclusion brought before the board at a future meeting.
