The Traffic and Parking Commission will hold a public hearing on making a portion of Clark Avenue a one-way street, although city officials stated there may not be much of a need to make a change to the road.
Earlier this year, Broadway resident Craig Moore made the request to make Clark Avenue one way between Stockton Street and Webster Avenue.
“Since we have fielded this request, the DPW and Housing and Community Development have collected data on crashes along this segment of Clark, as well as assessed operations,” said Alex Train, the city’s housing and community development director. “Usually, when we are looking at issues pertaining to narrow streets, we look for things like sideswipes and parked vehicles being hit. We didn’t see anything that stood out to us in terms of the crash data.”
Train said the city also began collecting feedback from neighbors about the potential benefits and drawbacks of making the section of the street one way.
“From a design perspective, we don’t see any major benefits with regards to safety and operations if we were to convert this,” said Train.
However, Train proposed moving the request to a public hearing to hear more from residents before the traffic commission makes a final decision.
The commission also moved a request to implement daytime resident parking restrictions on Chestnut Street between Third and Fourth Streets to a public hearing.
“This is something we would generally be in support of as long as it works for the neighborhood,” said Train.
The commission also heard several requests from District 6 City Councilor Giovanni Recupero.
Recupero requested the installation of a stop sign at Pearl and Essex.
Train noted that there is a redesign planned for that area that could help with some of the issues. As a more immediate step, Train recommended stepping up enforcement in the area and improving striping in the intersection to try to improve traffic and safety issues.
Recupero also requested the city install a speed bump on Essex Street between Shawmut and Lynn.
Train said placing a small speed bump in that area would be reasonable.
Recupero also made a request that the city look at adding dedicated handicap parking spaces along Broadway. While people with handicap plates and placards can use any of the spaces on Broadway, Recupero said there is a lack of dedicated handicap spaces.
“As part of the larger downtown Broadway project, we are planning on adding handicap spaces on each block,” said Train. “That is a year away, though, so I think it is a great idea to look into in the meantime.”
Train said the city could look at some possible locations for the parking spaces and present them to the Traffic and Parking Commission at its May meeting.