Engineering took this so it must be for paving, hopefully that is the case, but some warning would have been nice!

https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=536021739855029&substory_index=0&id=259831184140754

This is not for paving but due to complaints of toomuch traffic by endicott street residents. If you dont like it, please let your city councillors and Salem traffic people now. And tell your neighbors too that they have influence by only if they speak up.

Wow, thank you dinkel, just read that, and that is horrible! People on that site seem very upset too, we need to call the city hall or contact our local councilors and tell them this is terrible. Just making things worse for other people. Guessing someone 'important' lives over on Endicott and Prescott. What a terrible idea.

You are all crazy. This reduces cut through traffic on those very narrow streets. Most people are asking for one way signs to reduce traffic and you are complaining about reduced traffic. It must be awful to have to drive from the house of pizza around the corner to get home. To say it has created a traffic mess is nonsense. I have never seen traffic in that stretch of Margin St.

Immediate residents, through the Greater Endicott Street Neighborhood Association, asked the City for help with a problem that needs resolution. This one-way Pilot Program will eventually be tested because a pedestrian was struck by a vehicle from Marblehead on lower Endicott Street. Neighbors feared the man was dead. He was thrown in the air and lay motionless on the ground with blood oozing from his head. No one can say for certain whether or not he eventually lost his life from this accident. After that incident, two vehicles collided on lower Endicott. One was a resident and her car was apparently totaled. A young child was in the back seat of the other vehicle. Luckily, no one was hurt that time. This issue is not about the inconvenience to non-neighborhood and non-Salem drivers, who unashamedly travel our street at speeds too fast for a residential area. The issue is the traffic situation in downtown Salem that brings excessive traffic into our neighborhood, makes our streets unsafe for pedestrians and children, damages our parked vehicles and is destroying our quality of life. Rather than complain about losing a short-cut, folks should be asking the City to address the bigger picture, which is the downtown Salem traffic snags. Until that gets remedied, test programs like this one will occur...and no one is more inconvenienced by them than those of us who live here. It's a sacrifice for safety that a large majority of us are willing to make. Those beyond Endicott Street would do exactly the same thing, if this problem existed on their own street.

GESNA, noone wants accidents but they will always happen, and using the logic of completely messing with the routes of tens of thousands over 2 incidents would result in the shutdown of every roadway in America. There are way more accidents in the downtown, such as the kids that were hit up on Bridge during October, or how every time I walk in a crosswalk, I am nearly run over at the Derby St stop. But that does not mean you close down a road or an intersection. Instead, the laws on the books should be enforced. Cops should be ticketing people on your street and Prescott St if that is the case. This solution only makes others have to deal with the problem, namely the children crossing the streets from the middle school and the Phoenix school, not to mention the summer street residents. So now they should have to deal with the issue instead of the Endicott people? They did not choose to live on those streets, they chose more remote areas. Forcing traffic to a dangerous curve where children are walking every day does not seem like a good idea either.

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's job was to ask the City for help with a dangerous situation that has existed on Endicott for years and is worsening. It was no one's goal to burden any other street, so that's why Prescott got included and why Summer Street is being studied. We are all in a downtown neighborhood, not a remote area. The City found that our concerns deserved attention and the Pilot Program was approved by the City Council. It may very well fail and not be adopted. Any concerned citizen can be part of the solution, whatever that may be, but one cannot expect the police to always be at every problem traffic area in the city. Our street was neither designed nor intended to be a Canal or Washington and handle thousands of cars a day. In fact, the Phoenix schoolchildren cross Endicott nearly everyday on their way to the High Street Playground. So do children from all over the neighborhood and beyond. Their safety is our concern. Those who lose a short-cut are not. Improve the flow of downtown traffic and problems on our streets will end, or be lessened. That should be the ultimate goal.

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.

sdfg

First time using this thing but wanted to weigh in on this. This is a poor decision by the parking commissioner and I for one am contacting the Mayor's office and my local ward councilor about this. Traffic is a problem everywhere, but if you choose to live downtown then guess what, you have to deal with what comes with making that choice. Satisfying a few people at the cost of tens of thousands is ridiculous. I have children that walk from the middle school and this decision is putting them at further risk, was that even considered? And what about all the big trucks that need to get up these streets? Like the trash trucks, busses, delivery trucks, the oil trucks? There is no way they will be able to make the turns down these streets from Summer. The corners are too sharp and there are always cars parked right there too. You also cannot see around the corner as you make turns off of Summer, putting more people at risk. All these Endicott people have done is work to satisfy their own needs by making everyone else deal with it instead, and it speaks poorly of the Salem traffic people to have allowed this to happen. Anyone with common sense can just drive by all those streets and you can see where it makes sense to have cars going up to Summer and that is Gedney and Endicott. They are simply the widest and both have commercial businesses right at those corners as opposed to residences that have cars parked right there and may have their children playing. A parking commissioner should know this and that is should be a grid, as in any city. Up, down, up down. Someone asked for a better idea. Make Endicott and Gedney the streets that access Summer, with High St a one-way down from Summer to Margin. Make that section of Margin a two-way just to Gedney (NOT Norman) with a left-turn only onto Gedney at Steve's. You cannot have the traffic go to Norman, as that will just make the traffic jam there astronomically worse, and would make no sense given that the next intersection is Washington anyway. Then you give people an option to go up either one, so Endicott is not so heavily travelled, and you have the normal grid of up, down. Leave Summer, Prescott, Winthrop, etc, all as they are (or you could make Prescott a one-way down from Summer too). If the people are TRULY worried about pedestrians (and we all should be, we are all pedestrians too), the lobbying should be for pedestrian bridges over the whole downtown area, just like Boston does it. Put one at the post office, one over Margin and one over Norman. You could do it over Washington too. You would greatly reduce the traffic stoppages as well, as there would be no need anymore for walk signals. I have lived in other cities and countries where they do this and it works fantastically. But just making a much narrower street in Summer deal with all this and trying to get big trucks around the corners is not the right way to go about this at all. It is not their fault that people choose to live on Endicott. Pedestrians are in danger at every crossing, period. I know, I walk everywhere! They could even put in one of those walk signals to make people stop for crossing, but the bridges are the best way to go. For accessibility, they usually have elevators or escalators as well.

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

Done 5/22/17

So it turns out that this GESNA person is the neighborhood association, and they posted that it was 'GESNA's job to bring this to the city....but GESNA stands for Greater Endicott Street! And the people in charge of this association live on this specific stretch of Endicott St. Yup, special interest at its finest. So a couple residents used their position to push through their personal agenda...par for the course here in Salem. Classic case of NIMBY and collusion. Cannot wait to find out if the parking parking commissioner lives there too! Neighborhood associations are supposed to represent the WHOLE neighborhood. And yet, these chairpeople got rid of their problem by making it the problem of other people in the neighborhood, namely those up and down Summer.

Opened

I have expressed my views to my city councilor and I encourage you and your neighbors to do the same. There are probably other city offices that should hear our views as well.

Wow, well now we know why this happened. Usual Salem story, agendas furthered by city officials to benefit a few entitled people while affecting the whole north shore, and anyone who visits. It is clear that the only people in favor of this are those that live right there, and now we know that is exactly what happened. Need to contact the local media, let them know what is going on here and find out what the ties are between these people and the parking commissioner. I live in Salem and guess what, I chose NOT to live downtown for just these reasons. You choose to live there, then DEAL WITH IT. More of this entitlement, and people using their position to push through their own agendas. I do not complain about the traffic and the tourists during October because I know I made the choice to buy here. I am not in those wards but I will join everyone in calling the city hall about this. I read the comments posted and I agree that this impacts tens of thousands of people...all the people who come and go through Salem. It was noted that 2500 cars go through there and that that number was a big deal. So now you want to send that many more back to Washington or down Summer. Where there are FAR more pedestrians. But you claimed it was about pedestrian safety.... Such short-sightedness here. You need to look at the larger impact. First, you're crazy if you think that the big trucks can make those corners without clipping cars. Then think of how it backs up streets all around when a main way out is shut off. A study was mentioned and it was someone watching the cars, and counting them. So what? City planning has to take into account the WHOLE organism. Not just a few entitled people using their position at the cost of those they are supposed to represent. You plan lights for example....you need to think of what it is doing on Bridge and how that affects what is happening over on Highland. And so on. I have worked in construction and been involved with engineering and the ideas about bridges isn't bad. They are more affordable than you think, you can get pre-fabbed ones for 150k. And they can be made to look nice too, with facades like witches, nautical themes, and so on. All which would add to the downtown flair. Maybe not so much at Endicott itself but for sure at Washington and Derby, Washington and Essex, and Essex and Summer. Everything gets backed up there because of the constant pedestrian lights. There is not even a light at the Essex crossing on Washington, but everyone has to stop constantly. You put all that up in the air and you watch how traffic improves all over. Might even make less people try to avoid those areas. Some longer bridges do not even need stairs, they are more like ramps up and over the streets. If Salem wants to be a marquis city, then it needs to do what other major cities do.

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.

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.

Yeah, but isn't it easier to just complain, blame, and see conspiracies where none exist?

noted