Keefe Seeks to Slow Down Speeders in City

Ward 4 Councillor Patrick Keefe said that motorists speeding on local streets remains a problem and he wants to address the situation quickly for his constituents.

“We’ve added speed readers throughout the city, more stop signs, and different traffic signals, but ultimately speeding hasn’t necessarily stopped,” said Keefe at Monday’s Council meeting.

Keefe added that Ward 4 consists of several streets that served as “cut-throughs” to avoid traffic on Broadway.

“I just want residents to know that we hear your concerns and we’re attempting to do everything we can and mitigate the issues,” said Keefe. “But like everything, it does come down to enforcement.”

Councillor George Rotondo supported Keefe’s quest to address the problem of speeders.

“I’m hoping that with streets like Fenno, Park, Proctor, and Mountain, that enforcement takes place,” said Rotondo. “Before somebody gets hit and killed, hopefully we can get a little bit more enforcement.”

Ward 2 Councillor Ira Novoselsky supported the measure, saying that “especially on Beach Street by Walnut Avenue cars were flying down both ways, so I had stop signs put there.”

Novoselsky said that residents appreciate the installation of additional stop signs “and [the stop signs] work in the long run.”

Ward 1 Councillor Joanne McKenna said that speeding is a problem on Winthrop Avenue and Crescent Avenue, two roadways that are cut-throughs to the town of Winthrop. “The speeding is terrible, so I agree with this motion wholeheartedly,” said McKenna.

The Council unanimously approved Keefe’s original motion to have the Traffic Commission install a stop sign on Prospect Avenue going west, at the intersection of Homer Street.