Traffic Advice:

Don’t Do Nothing

To the Editor:

In April when I saw some of the recommendations in Vollmer Associates’ traffic study, I wrote a letter saying there was no way they were aware of the volume and nature of the traffic entering and exiting West Street and crossing Main Street at the flagpole. West Street appears to be a sleepy little country road, but is the main access to the large Castle Hill and Taunton Lake areas and all the side roads.

Now, unbelievably, I am writing the same letter in regard to the Police Commission and Borough Board of Burgesses’ decisions to leave the flagpole intersection unchanged. Vollmer’s suggestion to send all West Street traffic around the south side of the Meeting House was a bad one because of the heavy cross traffic and truck traffic on West Street. However, the decision to do nothing is just as bad for the same reason.

It is quite evident that the Burgesses live on Main Street or on streets where they do not have to “cheat death” daily crossing Main Street. They don’t have to deal with the large amount of southbound traffic illegally crossing the solid line at high speed and illegally passing on the right. They only deal with north-south Main Street traffic, which is occasionally heavy. I invite them to go stand in front of the Meeting House for a while in a heavy traffic period and see what is required to cross Main Street to or from West Street, especially if there are cars parked in front of the Meeting House.

I know the Borough Burgesses are committed to preserving the pristine nature of Main Street, and I’m all for that, but safety has to be a major consideration, also. The only way to make the flagpole intersection reasonably safe is to install traffic lights and boldly mark the southbound shoulder and traffic lane so that it is obvious which is which. This can only be done with cross-hatching on the shoulder.

We live on Castle Hill, half mile from the flagpole. We receive absolutely no more benefits from the borough than we did when we lived 21/2 miles away off the west end of Taunton Lake, but because we are within the boundary of the borough, we have to pay taxes to the borough. I don’t think it is unreasonable to ask that the borough take our safety into consideration for the money we have to pay. As for the Police Commission, just because the Vollmer study was flawed, it does not mean nothing needs to be done.

Yours truly,

Howard F. Bowles, Jr

2 Old Castle Drive, Newtown                                           July 16, 2007