Temporary Chair: Heidi Moesinger
Minutes: Doreen Miller
Aaron Richardson, the community liaison from the State Troopers joined the meeting to introduce himself and to let us know his role as the intermediary for any issues that arise.
His goals:
- Interact more with schools.
- Have an ongoing conversation with the public.
- Look for suggestions.
- Network with community members.
- Work together on issues.
- Be proactive in finding shelter for the homeless on cold nights.
- Have daily meetings with this supervisor to provide him with updates.
In light of the recent pedestrian who was hit and in critical condition, some suggestions/requests were made to him to improve pedestrian safety along Columbia Road
- flashing lights/signs at pedestrian crossings at the off ramps and the rotary.
- speed limit signs at the rotary to slow down the flow of traffic there.
He will make sure any concerns or requests from community members are directed to the proper agency. He is our advocate for getting things done. The safety committee chair and the president of CSHCA will be provided his contact information.
Ongoing Projects
- Safety contact information spreadsheet
- With important contact information and resources such as C-11, The City of Boston, Mass Dot, etc.
- Contact information of our city reps
- Interactive map with locations and dates of recent crimes, accidents, and other safety issues
- Potentially to be used for future application to Slow Streets.
- To document what’s going on in the neighborhood
- To be shared with Councilor Baker to justify his efforts for raised intersections and other traffic calming measures.
People are encouraged to email Frank Baker with any issues.
Updates
Update by William Bonnice on past applications for Slow Streets.
- We attempted this twice.
- Other areas are worse off than we are.
- There is a limited budget for this.
- No areas received money last year, and only 4 the year before.
- We’d be better off focusing on problematic areas and smaller projects, and could make progress even without the Slow Streets program.
Of Special Concern is Pleasant Street.
- Cars tend to speed down the street.
- Suggestion: narrow the roadway and install protected bike lanes.
- There is a lack of line of sight coming off the side streets onto Pleasant.
- Suggestion: have no parking zones on either side of a side street entry to increase the line of sight.
- The traffic light on Columbia Road coming off Pond Street has a strange red/green cycle.
- Suggestion: It needs to be readjusted to be more logical and less confusing.
Safety Alerts
- Cars broken into on Grampian Way, Savin Hill Avenue, and Southview Street
- Violent attacks in Dorchester – be aware of your surroundings and walk with a friend.
- Cars getting keyed.
- Unshoveled sidewalks making passing dangerous especially for handicapped individuals.
- Parking on sidewalks – call 311 to report
- Blocking of a fire hydrant or driveway – call 911 as it is considered a safety issue.
Actions
- Make a list of concerns and the changes we would like to see and present it to city officials.
- Find a connection in the traffic department and get him/her to come to a safety meeting for dialogue.
- Advocate for changes in key problematic areas.
- William Bonnice will forward his notes on previous Safe Streets applications to the chair.
- Heidi will make links available to the documents shared in the meeting (excel spreadsheet and interactive map).
- Heidi will contact Frank Baker’s office to get updates on his push for speed humps in strategic areas in the neighborhood before we consider more stringent measures.
Needed
- Someone to volunteer to mine police reports for this area and be willing to update the committee monthly.
- Someone to permanently chair the Safety Committee. No one at the meeting was nominated or willing to step up. It was voted that Heidi will remain temporary chair with the position considered “vacant.”