Sandwich officials began discussions concerning the possible expansion of a school traffic zone on South Main St. and reducing the speed limit in the downtown area during a July 5 city council meeting.
Currently, Lions Rd. and Wells St. are both 20 mph school zones, while S. Main St. is a 30 mph limit. The city council is entertaining the expansion of the zone onto Main St. from the Sandwich Public Library to Rt. 34., to make the walk safer for children who have to cross Main St. on their route to school.
Mayor Todd Latham asked council members to examine the school zone streets and come back with the locations they think need crosswalks and increased signage.
“We’re looking at safety for our students, for our parents, for our crossing guards,” Latham said, adding, “It’s probably long overdue.”
Alderman Fred Kreinbrink brought up the addition of a three-way stop sign at the corner of S. Main St. and Lions Rd., suggesting it would assist drivers on Lions Rd. attempting to turn south on Main St.
“I think it would make sense to put a stop sign in there for the traffic flow,” Kreinbrink said. “I know a lot of people have complained about trying to turn south off of Lions Rd.”
Police Chief James Bianchi cautioned that the addition of a stop sign at that intersection would back up traffic on S Main St. in both directions.
Alderman Rich Robinson said he was not in favor of a three-way stop there, adding that people driving through the school zone at drop-off time have to have some common sense.
“If you’re trying to turn south onto Main St. from Lions Rd. at 7 or 8 a.m.,” Robinson said, “It’s kind of ridiculous.”
Bianchi said he was worried about sign pollution on Main St. and advised the council to add traffic signs gradually and see how traffic is affected.
“Go slow,” Bianchi said. “It will be easier to add a stop sign later than to remove one.”
Latham said the goal is to have the school zone modifications finalized by the end of the month and implemented before the school year begins.
The council also discussed reducing the speed limit and improving parking visibility in the city’s downtown district.
Latham said the issue is a combination of poor visibility from downtown parking spots and traffic moving too quickly through the area.
“It’s not always visible, it can be hard to see when backing out from any of our stores,” Latham said. “We want to make it safer for people to shop downtown by slowing down traffic through there.”
Alderwoman Cara Killey said the visibility for pedestrians crossing Railroad and Main Streets are the biggest problems.
Latham suggested making Railroad St. a work zone to improve safety for pedestrians and workers.
Latham said he would like to see the downtown speed limit changed from 30 mph to 20 mph, and asked for council for guidance on where the speed zone should start.
Bianchi said he would like to see the 20 mph zone stretch east to west from Green St. to Lafayette St. and north to south from 2nd St to College St.
Robinson said he didn’t believe a reduced downtown speed limit would make a difference.
Latham asked council members to look over the plans individually and bring back ideas and suggestions for next weeks meeting.
