SALISBURY — Selectmen have approved two road changes for beach roads that should make the area safer, but both alterations depend on cooperation from state agencies.
At their meeting Monday, selectmen approved making Vermont Street and Ocean Front South one-way roads in response to a petition from residents who believe the roads are too narrow to allow parking and two-way traffic.
Although the Vermont Street change is one Salisbury's Public Works Department can make on its own, Ocean Front South is owned by the state — the Department of Conservation and Recreation, which owns the beach — so town officials need state approval to complete the direction alteration.
In addition, on behalf of the town, police Chief David L'Esperance will write to the state Highway Department, requesting the speed limit along North End Boulevard be lowered from 40 to 30 mph. Again, since North End Boulevard (Route 1A) is owned by the state, approval from MassHighway is required prior to any change.
A petition by 20 Vermont Street residents recently requested Salisbury Public Works Director Don Levesque to make the one-way change. Vermont Street residents Anthony Tuccelli and John Hausianitis told selectmen Monday night there have been a number of "near misses" along the two-way road over the years, as well as a few side-swipe accidents due to the road's narrow width. With parking along both sides, especially in the summer, having cars pass each other in both directions is a hazard to public safety, they said.
Two-way traffic along Ocean Front South is similarly problematic, the men said, especially when kids are crossing the road to go to the beach.
If the state cooperates, the town would make the directional changes along the road for a 90-day trial period. During that period, Ocean Front South would be one-way heading south, and Vermont Street would be one-way headed west. Parking along the roadways would be allowed in the appropriate direction.
Changing the speed limit on North End Boulevard, however, may not be as simple. The speed limit for state highways is set by the state, L'Esperance said. He will send the letter urging the state to lower the speed limit, but nothing can happen without its approval.
At their meeting Monday night, Selectman Don Beaulieu said over the years there have been numerous incidents of near-misses when cars have come close to clipping pedestrians as they attempted to cross North End Boulevard to get to the beach or back to their cars. Given the parking along both sides of the road, its narrowness and the throngs of people on the road during the summer, Beaulieu and his four colleagues believe 40 mph is too fast to be safe.
During his investigation, Beaulieu discovered a surprising fact. Although MassHighway posts a 40 mph speed limit along two-lane North End Boulevard, when crossing into Route 1A's New Hampshire section, the road broadens to four lanes, with a speed limit of 35 mph posted by New Hampshire's highway authorities. The difference seems to reinforce the error of the 40 mph speed limit, Beaulieu said.
Town officials fully expect MassHighway to want to conduct a traffic study before ruling on the request. Selectmen fear the state could turn down the request because during the winter, there isn't very much traffic at the beach, unlike during the summer.
L'Esperance said MassHighway has been very cooperative with the Police Department in the past, and he's hoping the state will at least agree to lower the speed limit during the busy summer.
But L'Esperance sends a warning to drivers to slow down on North End Boulevard, no matter what the posted limit is, because police can act if they decide people are overdriving the conditions.
"Speed limits are based on what's reasonable and proper given the road conditions," L'Esperance said yesterday. "I-95 might be posted at 65 (mph), but during an ice storm it isn't reasonable and proper to drive that fast given the dangerous conditions.
"It's the same along North End Boulevard," he said. "If traffic is thick, cars are parked on the roadsides and hundreds of people are crossing the road, driving 40 is unreasonable and improper for the road conditions, notwithstanding the posted (40 mph) speed limit. And we'll act accordingly."
