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What on earth is going on right now with this new traffic sign for Endicott? What a mess this has caused, with traffic backed up in all directions! You go past it and to Prescott and that is blocked now too! I hope this is not the city's idea to push everyone down Summer! That street is far more narrow than Endicott is, and makes it very dangerous for anyone that needs to go down Prescott. Summer is on an incline at that intersection, and cars at the end block the views around corners. Have seen children nearly hit as people try to turn down Prescott off of Summer. I hope this is part of some paving thing because this is a terrible setup for the city right now!
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23 Comments
Former Employee {Engineering Department] (Registered User)
An anonymous SeeClickFix user (Registered User)
mmdinkel (Registered User)
ASalemResident (Registered User)
An anonymous SeeClickFix user (Registered User)
john (Registered User)
GESNA, 32 Endicott (Registered User)
An anonymous SeeClickFix user (Registered User)
Chris (Registered User)
As someone who has mobility issues, trying to cross the street at the crosswalk on Endicott St in front of Salem House of pizza it taking your life in your own hand. Cars coming on to Endicott St from Mill St do not slow down when they make the turn. Once they get on to Endicott St they will go high rates of speed forgetting that Endicott St is a two-way street and that there are cars on both sides of the street. I have seen many times cars going up Endicott St and coming down will have to attempt to pull over to let the other car pass.
I love it that people who are complaining about the one-way sign have not come up with any alternatives to this issue.
GESNA, 32 Endicott (Registered User)
Joanne (Registered User)
I think the one-way down Endicott is an excellent idea. Two lanes of traffic on that narrow residential street is not good. This idea was concurred by the city's traffic commission. The point is not to force through traffic onto other narrow streets (there is no "remote" in the area), but to direct them to remain on Washington Street and then turn left onto Norman to get to 114. The majority of cars that use Endicott as a cut-through are not Salem residents. Those of us in the neighborhood can use Summer to get to Prescott and Endicott. However, I agree that putting up the signs with no forewarning to the neighborhood's residents was not a good idea.
The status quo cannot remain. If anyone had a different or better idea, please lay it out.
Interested (Registered User)
Interested (Registered User)
Joanne (Registered User)
Let's all take a little breath here. First of all, no residential street--not Endicott, not Prescott, not Summer--should be used as a cut through. These are residential streets, not thoroughfares. Drivers wishing to go from downtown to 114 or other parts of town have a route: It's Washington Street. I understand that downtown traffic is not pleasant, but that doesn't mean residential side streets should be used as cut-throughs and bypasses.
Second, to the neighbor who has commented just above me, allow me to address some issues:
1. As noted, no residential street should be used as a cut-through. Further, most of the drivers cutting through are not from Salem
2. "Choosing to live downtown" should not automatically come with an overabundance of out-of-city vehicles using a residential street as a cut-through. And, in fact, Endicott Street is a residential neighborhood, not part of the city's commercial downtown district
3. "Tens of thousands"--um, no
4. We did in fact consider schoolchildren, and we are concerned that the two-way traffic on Endicott is a danger to them. The Traffic Commission agreed.
5. Trucks are not supposed to travel those side streets. Local deliveries can just as easily be made from the other direction--as FedEx, UPS, and trash pickup vehicles often do.. But as it is is now, large vehicles, including buses, are using Endicott as a cut-through
6. Not only did the Endicott Street residents gather information on our own, the Traffic Commission did its own information gathering--which included physically walking and observing the neighborhood streets at various times of day--and the city hired a firm that specializes in traffic patterns. Do you know how many cars currently use Endicott Street from Margin Street every day? Take a guess*
7. Endicott Street is not a wide street, and that is part of the problem. Most residents have seen their cards sideswiped and/or had side-view mirrors ripped off by passing cars. Most of us are now parking on the sidewalk.
8. As for cars going up Gedney, which has very few residential buildings, there is a plan being formulated now. I'm just sorry the one-way signs went up before a reach-out to the community was made. But beginning to reroute traffic is a good first step
9. Pedestrian bridges are not a solution. Not only are they unsightly, they require money to be built and maintained, and they are not friendly to people in wheelchairs. Elevators? Escalators? The cost along removes these as viable options
10. So how many care drive UP Endicott Street each day? 200? 500? 1000?
No. A study, in which the street was "wired" revealed that 2400 vehicles drive up Endicott from Margin every day. *2400! No one residential street should have to bear that much traffic
Stängt Department of Public Services - Director (Verified Official)
An anonymous SeeClickFix user (Registered User)
Reopened An anonymous SeeClickFix user (Registered User)
ASalemResident (Registered User)
NorthShoreJewel (Registered User)
Joanne (Registered User)
To Concerned Salem Residents and Concerned Citizens and others who are concerned:
Any group of neighbors can form a neighborhood association. All you need are a lot of time, a great deal of willingness to take on projects pertinent to your neighborhood, the time and energy to research your project, and then more time and energy to pursue them with the city.
We are not "a couple of residents" but some 25 neighbors from four streets: Endicott, Prescott, Summer, and Pratt. It's easy to @#$% and moan but much harder to look at a problem that affects an entire neighborhood--including not only Endicott Street but the neighboring streets, the Pratt Street Playground, and children crossing Endicott Street.
As we speak, the city is counting how many cars are using Summer Street (you'll see the wires on the street). And plans are afoot to alleviate traffic by allowing a right turn onto Margin to go up Gedney. No one wants to dump Endicott's problem onto one street. Please learn more. Then you might be less inclined to complain.
As for "collusion," here's the dictionary definition: "secret or illegal cooperation or conspiracy." GESNA has been the very opposite: visible and vocal, out in the open, with public meetings.
GESNA, 32 Endicott (Registered User)
In 2015, 47 immediate residents of lower Endicott Street and 2 businesses banded together and signed a letter requesting official assistance with this worsening traffic problem that has become a safety issue for pedestrians. It was presented openly at a neighborhood-wide GESNA meeting. The Lower Endicott Traffic Sub-Committee (LETS-C) was then created by 6 of those signatories to work on this issue with the City. They have done so as an entity separate from GESNA. However, both GESNA chairpersons, as signatories that live in the affected area, are on the sub-committee and rightfully so.
GESNA informed the entire neighborhood of its creation and what was being proposed. We invited all neighbors to comment and/or attend the meeting with the Traffic Commission BEFORE anything was adopted. A few people in opposition did show up and were heard, along with many who stood in favor. What was approved is only a test. A study. A Pilot Program. It is happening because the City recognizes that a problem exists. All anyone needs to do is open their eyes and they will come to the same conclusion. While the one-ways are favored by those most affected, the LETS-C had no power to demand it. GESNA, as a member of NIAC (Neighborhood Improvement Advisory Committee), along with every other neighborhood association in the City, informs officials of neighborhood concerns. This particular issue was brought to that table because it's a valid one and deserves some kind of resolution. It is not the first time we have done that and it won't be the last.
Since its creation in 2009, GESNA has called for attention to concerns from all over the neighborhood, not just lower Endicott Street. We have worked on zoning issues, parking issues, signage, street striping, police patrols, problem properties on High Street and central Endicott, vandalism at the Playground on Pratt, the Summer/Broad/Gedney intersection, wrong way traffic on Summer, issues stemming from the homeless shelter, tour buses, temporary resident-only parking on Hathorne in October, overflowing dumpsters and rodent problems - We even used the mailing list to help a neighbor get his cat back. Plus, we inform nearly 100 people in the neighborhood of various events and developments that directly affect us all. It's a thankless, time-consuming labor of love and citizenship that just a handful of people are willing to make.
All sorts of complaints come to us, such as resident parking on upper Summer Street and traffic concerns on Winthrop. They could be dealt with, as well, if neighbors there did what those on lower Endicott Street did - organize and ask for help. GESNA cannot solve everyone's problem for them, but we are happy to bring issues to the forefront and stand with any neighbor who wants to participate in the stewardship and betterment of this community...and we have a successful track record of doing just that. A majority of people throughout the neighborhood already know this. We thank you for your support and for working towards finding solutions to this and any other neighborhood issue that concerns you.
Joanne (Registered User)
Stängt Salem Police Department (Verified Official)