Pittsfield Considers Heavy Vehicle Exclusion on Appleton Ave.
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Heavy commercial vehicles might be banned from driving on Appleton Avenue from East Street to East Housatonic Street in the future.
On Thursday, the Traffic Commission fielded a petition from Ward 4 Councilor James Conant requesting an exclusion for large commercial trucks on the route, which runs next to Pittsfield High School and through a residential neighborhood.
City Engineer Tyler Shedd explained that the city would have to conduct a traffic study first. He agreed to have that data collected by summertime, and the petition was referred to his office. The exclusion would also have be OKed by the Massachusetts Department of Transportation.
"I think it's something where maybe we can discuss it here, because trucks are trying to avoid the corner of South and West Housatonic Street, which had barriers for years, and then we put a bump out there," Shedd said.
"There's a designated truck route that just doesn't get followed, and there's been attempts at improving signage."
He said the concern is trucks turning from Appleton Avenue to East Housatonic Street without enough room. This often means cars have to get out of the way or run a red light.
In 2022, the commission approved a petition to exclude heavy commercial vehicles on Deming and East Housatonic Streets. Ward 5 Councilor Patrick Kavey pointed to previous years' efforts to exclude heavy commercial trucks from the area.
"I don't disagree with [Conant] at all," he said.
"I think that we should have done it on East Housatonic, too, but we just haven't, and I assume the reason was something either with state law or with you, because other councils have requested it."
The requirements for an exclusion, Shedd explained, are that there is a significant number of trucks, at least 5 percent, and that the detour is not a burden.
Kavey reported speaking to a truck driver who said they look at the GPS instead of the signs on routes. He reached out to two GPS companies on the issue, and only heard back from one.
Appleton Avenue has also been the focus of safety concerns for students leaving PHS.
At the first meeting of the new School Committee early this year, resident Brenda Coddington raised concerns about traffic on Appleton Avenue when students are released from PHS. She has consistently returned to the open microphone stand, most recently asking for an update on crossing guards.
Coddington said she was hit by another vehicle while waiting to pick up her granddaughter on the street just before Christmas, and that if it had been two minutes later, her granddaughter would have gotten hit while getting in the car.
The commission also heard an update on efforts to make the intersection of Linden and Onota Streets more comfortable for drivers. A petition from Joseph Cimini to redesign the intersection of Linden Street at Onota Street was filed because the city is already working on it.
Shedd reported that Pittsfield is working on softening the northeast corner of the intersection, reducing it by two feet.
"Right now it's just not comfortable to drive through, like it can be done, but we should make it a little bit more comfortable, basically," he said.
"The idea is that we're going to take at least two feet from where the curb is now on the Onota side."
Tags: intersection, traffic commission,
