Public Safety Committee Meeting May 22, 2023

Posted May 18, 2023, 3:30 PM

City Council
Holyoke Massachusetts

Pursuant to the Massachusetts Open Meeting Law, G.L. c. 30A, §§ 18-25,
and Chapter 2 of the Acts of 2023,
notice is hereby given of a meeting of the committee on
Public Safety

Monday, May 22, 2023
6:30 PM

Meeting to take place at
Holyoke City Hall, 536 Dwight St
and can be accessed remotely on Zoom Meetings
Per order of the Chair: Israel Rivera

Remote access via www.zoom.us
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83977369911?pwd=WlRCam9xMG9pcmkvbk1Qc21ITHVhdz09
Meeting ID: 839 7736 9911 Meeting Passcode: 806648 or by call in at 1 (646) 558-8656 with the same Meeting ID and Passcode.

Agenda

Item 1: 6-1-21 ANDERSON-BURGOS — Ordered, That the City Engineer evaluate and make suggestions to address the speeding on Beech St, specifically the stretch between Portland St and Linden St. The residents that live on the side streets are concerned when tuning on to Beech St. As a side note the Holyoke High School is across the street and this makes that section a hazard to the students as well as the pedestrians.

Item 2: 6-1-21 HERNANDEZ — Ordered, Reach out to DPW/HPD to conduct a traffic study for the area, corner of Pine and Appleton Street, due to high speed travel and constant running of the Stop sign.  Residents are concerned and have suggested that a camera could assist police department in identifying violators.  In addition there is a problem with constant parking of vehicles in the alleyways between Pine and Walnut on the Appleton side street in which they conduct mechanical work and in summer time these illegally parked vehicles are utilized as launching pads for fireworks.

Item 3: 9-7-21 BARTLEY — Due to concerns at Metcalf school, ordain, : right turn only’ when exiting the parking area.

Item 4: 9-7-21 HERNANDEZ — Ordered, Intersection at West Franklin and Linden has a crosswalk that is routinely ignored creating a dangerous circumstance for our pedestrians, can a study be conducted to place flashing lights and or a middle signage that creates urgency to stop for pedestrians.  Traffic needs to slow down in our City.

Item 5: 9-7-21 HERNANDEZ — Ordered, Clinton & Dwight street corner in need of crosswalk or light and some kind of bump out to keep cars from parking up to corner blocking visibility for pedestrians, currently pedestrians have to walk to almost the middle of street to see incoming traffic. Vehicles constantly park in the -No parking zone-, not being enforced nor ticketed.

Item 6: 9-7-21 HERNANDEZ — Ordered, The crosswalk that was installed in Hampden Street next to Stop and Shop, to address our pedestrians but most importantly our blind residents, is missing essential functions and it would be most beneficial that a Spring-loaded In-Street Pedestrian Crosswalk Sign be placed in the middle with  lines repainted that instill urgency to the motorist that they need to stop, slow down to allow our pedestrians to safely arrive to the other side.  Currently motorists continue to speed up that hill ignoring the initial beep. It would be most beneficial to have a light such as that in South Street in front of Elmwood towers. Motorists that do stop to yield to pedestrians are most of the times almost rear ended by other speeding motorists and at times they try to dodge the stopped vehicle and go around creating a very unsafe atmosphere for pedestrians that now are obliged to step back out of the way.

Item 7: 9-7-21 HERNANDEZ, TALLMAN — Ordered, That DPW and or Holyoke Police department provide an update on what was the agreement when the Dunkin Donuts was built as to designate certain parking spaces for Eddie’s Furniture located at 865 Hampden Street, to allow their delivery and Large cargo vehicles to have the necessary clearance to enter and exit safely from their lot.  As it stands there are provisional handwritten no parking signs posted on cones that continually are being taken down thus preventing their business to function properly.
*Tabled 2-16-22

Item 8: 9-7-21 HERNANDEZ, TALLMAN, MURPHY — Ordered, A study to address a possible right turning only lane, Hampden right turn only onto Pleasant is the goal.

Item 9: 10-19-21 MCGEE, TALLMAN — Ordered, The DPW repair sidewalks on Hampden St. near 8 Williams St.

Item 10: 1-18-22 ANDERSON-BURGOS — Ordered that the DPW change the size of the “no turn on red” signs located on the corner of Hillside Ave and Cherry St. The current signs are too small, making drivers unaware of them.
Refer to Public Safety, copy to DPW

Item 11: 1-18-22 ANDERSON-BURGOS — Ordered that the sidewalk in front of 211 West Franklin St be repaired. The roots from the tree in front of the house has raised the sidewalk making it difficult to transport their disabled child.
Refer to Public Safety, copy to DPW

Item 12: 1-18-23 BARTLEY — That the DPW fully plow, sand, salt all of Ogden St. Receive, adopt, refer to DPW with copy to Public Safety.

Item 13: 3-1-22 PUELLO — Ordered, That the city engineer draft the costs and feasibility of installing two raised crosswalks on Main Street adjacent to Springdale Park.

Item 14: 3-15-22 PUELLO — Ordered, That the City engineer draft the feasibility and associated costs of a raised crosswalk adjacent to 401 Main Street.

Item 15: 4-5-22 ANDERSON-BURGOS, JOURDAIN, PUELLO — Ordered, that the public safety committee invite in relevant departments to address safety concerns at the intersection of Beech St and West Franklin. A resident recently lost her life crossing the street, and other residents have also expressed concerns. What can prevent future tragedies? What are the state’s plans and timeline? What can be done in the meantime? Invite in Mayor Garcia, HPD, DPW, HG&E, MassDOT.

Item 16: 4-5-22 MURPHY-ROMBOLETTI — Ordered, That the City Engineer look into whether installation of a traffic light at the intersection of 141 and Bemis Rd is necessary in order to mitigate traffic concerns and potential accidents.
*Tabled 6-27-22, 8-8-22

Item 17: 4-19-22 ANDERSON-BURGOS — Ordered that the police department provide the city council with a report of the intersections with the highest rates of accidents. A discussion of safety concerns would be helped by having a broader picture of problem areas instead of discussing individual issues. Refer to Public Safety and copy HPD
*Tabled 6-27-22

Item 18: 5-3-22 ANDERSON-BURGOS — Ordered, that SLOW CHILDREN AT PLAY signs be placed on at both ends of Locust St between West Franklin St and MacKenzie Ave.
*Tabled 6-27-22

Item 19: 6-21-22 VACON — Ordered, that the city engineer evaluate the area of Cherry & Dale Streets for speed calming measures and the PD enforce speed limits. Pedestrians and drivers are reporting drivers traveling at high speeds failing to stop for the crosswalk and causing dangerous situations for drivers entering Cherry Street from Dale St. and driveways on Cherry St.
*Tabled 8-8-22

Item 20: 6-21-22 VACON — Ordered, that the radar speed feedback sign be placed on Cherry Street near the curve (Beaudoin Village side of road) when approaching the intersection at Dale.  Pedestrians have reported nearly being hit by drivers while in the crosswalk.

Item 21: 6-21-22 ANDERSON-BURGOS — Ordered, That the DPW install a raised crosswalk at the intersection of Linden St and West Franklin St. Vehicles coming down Linden St are not coming to a complete stop.

Item 22: 6-21-22 MALDONADO VELEZ — Ordered, that the city engineer study the intersection of Hamilton Street and Main Street in the hopes of adding safety measures. Some problems at this intersection have been “very dangerous to cross the street even with the marked crosswalk” and “dangerous when taking a left turn from Hamilton onto Main Street”. Any recommendations to how we can improve the safety at this intersection would be great!

Item 23: 8-2-22 BARTLEY — Ordered, Due to neighbor concerns, the city engineer review accident reports at the intersection of Linden and Hampshire Streets and, if needed, recommend traffic safety improvements at what now is a 3-way stop. Refer to public safety and copy to city engineer for a report in 60 days time.

Item 24: 8-2-22 BARTLEY — Ordered, DPW repaint the crosswalk on Hillside Ave near Coit. Receive and refer to DPW. Copy to Public Safety.

Item 25: 8-2-22 MCGEE — Order that the city engineer review the inner section of Yale and Park Slope to determine what options are available (i.e. new signage) to help slow traffic in the area.

Item 26: 10-4-22 GIVNER, TALLMAN — Ordered, with special support from our blind residents and advocates, Order that a light signal with crossing sounds be installed at location of existing cross to Stop n Shop on Hampden St at Clinton Ave.
Request to City Engineer, DPW, and copy to Public Safety

Item 27: 10-4-22 RIVERA_J, MALDONADO VELEZ — Ordered, that we install raised crosswalks, or other calming measures, on Main Street between Hamilton Street & Sargeant Street and Cabot Street & Spring Street.
Refer to Public Safety.

Item 28: 11-1-22 MURPHY-ROMBOLETTI — Ordered that the City Engineer explore options for traffic mitigation on Whiting Farms Rd, specifically at the crosswalks on Farnum and Tokeneke, to ensure that drivers stop for pedestrians utilizing the crosswalks.

Item 29: 11-15-22 BARTLEY — The City Engineer provide an update to a future Public Safety meeting on the status of funding repairs at the crosswalk at the main gate to H.C.C. (This has been pending since at least 2017.)
*Tabled 1-10-23

Item 30: 11-15-22 BARTLEY — Ordered, The Mayor and community development dept fund the following projects with either CDBG or ARPA funds: Repair Sidewalk on east side of Queen St. between Coit St and Queen St. and Build/Repair Sidewalk on west side of High St. from Norfolk St. to Parenteau Dr.; repave Merrick Ave.; repair sidewalk on south-side of Hampden St. between Nonotuck and Pleasant Sts. with the section near Thorpe Ave. (W-4) in need of immediate attention.

Item 31: 11-15-22 BARTLEY, PUELLO — Ordered, City Engineer consider the following road improvements on Main St. in Springdale: in lieu of replacing the traffic light, install a raised crosswalk and solar-powered pedestrian signal. Copy to Mayor, Community Development, HFD Commissioners and Alarm Division.

Item 32: 12-6-22 BARTLEY — Ordered, The DPW, HPD and City Engineer report to City Council with its efforts to improve traffic safety at the corners of Linden/Hampshire Sts. and Linden/Locust Sts. as residents report speeding, accidents, and many instances of running the stop signs. Please produce any accident reports for the last two years for these intersections and send as a communication. Receive and refer to Public Safety; copies to DPW, HPD and Engineer.
*Tabled 1-10-23

Item 33: 12-20-22 JOURDAIN, BARTLEY — Ordered, That the City Engineer review the opportunity to put a raised sidewalk(s) in front of Blessed Sacrament School on Westfield Rd and report back to the City Council on our ability to do that.  These were placed in front of Mayer Field on this street and should also be considered here as well for child safety.

Item 34: 1-3-23 From Barbara Blodgett, re: letter sent to Mayor Joshua A. Garcia addressing speeding on Hillside Avenue & Speeding within the City of Holyoke.

Item 35: 1-17-23 PUELLO — Ordered, That the city engineer please explore the feasibility of installing a divider(s) at the top of Saint Vincent street. Concerns have been raised about vehicles being able to turn safely.

Item 36: 1-17-23 PUELLO — Ordered, That the city engineer please explore the feasibility or repairing the raised crossed walk on West Franklin and Magnolia Ave. Concerns have been raised about its effectiveness.

Item 37: 2-7-23 ANDERSON-BURGOS — Ordered, That a flashing stop sign be installed to replace the current standard stop sign located on Magnolia Ave going up Portland St. Cars are speeding and ignoring the current stop sign. (Refer to Public Safety copy to DPW)

Item 38: 2-7-23 ANDERSON-BURGOS — Ordered that the DPW place a “STOP SIGN AHEAD” on the G&E pole #8 near 59 Magnolia Avenue. (Refer to Public Safety copy to DPW)

Item 39: 2-7-23 GIVNER — Ordered, With Community support, That all four way intersections include either red blinking lights or solar powered stop signs, AND that any new stop signs installed include solar powered lighting.
-To DPW / Copy to public safety.

Item 40: 2-21-23 ANDERSON-BURGOS — Ordered, that the City Engineer provide feedback to address traffic safety issues at the intersection of Linden, Anderson, and MacKenzie. Drivers have been observed frequently driving through, often speeding through the stop sign on Linden. Recently a vehicle hit a house right at that corner.

Item 41: 6-21-22 VACON — Ordered, that our City Engineer recommend traffic calming measures for Whiting Farms Rd. Constituents are reporting drivers operating their vehicles in an unsafe manner.
*Tabled 8-8-22

Administrative Assistant: Jeffery Anderson-Burgos

The listing of matters are those reasonably anticipated by the chair which may be discussed at the meeting. Not all items listed may in fact be discussed and other items may also be brought up for discussion to the extent permitted by law. Also one or two items may require the committee to enter into executive session at this meeting. Agenda subject to change up to two business days (48 hours) prior to posted meeting time.