BYFIELD — Two local men are proposing a number of changes to traffic patterns in Byfield Village that they say will improve safety in a sometimes congested area.
Former Town Moderator John Salter, who for many years owned Salter Transportation on Scotland Road, told selectmen Tuesday night that commuters getting to and from Interstate 95 during morning and afternoon drive times create congestion and hazards.
He and Lunt Street resident John Ashton are proposing changes at three specific locations.
Salter said homeward-bound drivers coming off the highway in the evening cut down Church Street en route to Main Street and then to West Newbury, often at speeds higher than necessary on the roadway. He suggested making the intersection of Church Street and Downfall Road a four-way stop.
Similarly, eastbound morning traffic uses Lunt Street as a shortcut to Central Street and then to Interstate 95, he said, and westbound traffic in the afternoon uses it as a quick way to get back to Main Street on the way to Georgetown.
The proposal is to make Lunt Street a dead end at the intersection of Main Street, to block it off completely the way Green Street was closed a few years ago at its Parker Street end.
Taking Church Street in a northerly direction and Lunt Street southerly allows drivers to bypass the junction of Central and Main streets, an intersection Salter and Ashton also addressed.
They said the area is too wide, and nothing forces traffic to stay in a lane. They proposed a circular barrier in the middle of the intersection and a sign telling drivers to keep right. That would establish a more orderly traffic pattern, Salter said. It would be similar to the intersection next to the former Kelley School building in Newburyport, he said, where an old, round horse trough sits in the middle of Auburn Street where it joins High Street.
Planning Board member David Powell said if Lunt Street is to be closed off, it must be done legally. He said the move to close off Green Street did not conform to legal requirements.
Selectmen said they would ask the Police Department to look at the traffic pattern and proposals and make recommendations.
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