BY GAYLA CAWLEY
LYNN — The mayor and city councilors spoke in favor of potential improvements to the Route 107 corridor Wednesday night.
The comments were given during a Route 107 Corridor Study public meeting at Lynn English High School, with about 50 residents in attendance.
According to the study conducted by state transportation officials, a total of 1,672 people responded to the state transportation survey conducted between October 2015 and February 2016, and listed better street lighting, repaired sidewalks and more left turns as improvement opportunities.
According to the Department of Transportation website, the study will help produce an improvement plan for the Lynn-Salem road stretch.
Mayor Judith Flanagan Kennedy said she was speaking not so much as mayor, but as a resident who lives on Buchanan Circle.
“We have tried for years to get an on-demand signal there,” Kennedy said.
When attempting a left-hand turn toward Lynn, Kennedy said “people will just not stop for us,” creating backups and dangerous situations.
City Council President Dan Cahill, who lives on Belleaire Avenue, said the home’s previous owners informed him upon his purchase of the imminent danger of turning onto the street. He said one young woman lost her life in the area, and he spoke about how dangerous it is to get in and out of the side streets.
Ward 2 Councilor William Trahant Jr. said the young woman died at the intersection of Eastern Avenue. Trahant, who represents the area, said he gets a lot of calls regarding the traffic issues.
“A signal at Stanwood (Street) and Western Avenue would be a huge improvement,” he said.
For purpose of presentation, Route 107 was broken down into four segments, with problems being identified for each. In the first segment, which included the intersections of Chestnut Street, Chatham Street, Maple Street and Maple Avenue, the highlighted problems included lack of traffic signal coordination, high crash locations and a lack of turning lanes at the intersections.
In the second segment, which included Fays Avenue, the Walmart driveway, Olde Village Drive and Barnes Road/Ravenna Avenue, the identified problems were wide crossings for pedestrians, missing sidewalks and crosswalks, and illegal U-turns.
In the third segment, which included Swampscott Road, Marlborough Road and Hawthorne Square Mall, issues were vehicle progression, signal coordination, roadway debris, high speeds and illegal U-turns.
The fourth and final segment included Wilson Street/Cherry Hill Avenue, Salem Hospital’s lower entrance and Jackson Street/Dalton Parkway, and the issues included pavement markings, access management and missing crosswalks.
Gayla Cawley can be reached at gcawley@itemlive.com. Follow her on Twitter @Gayla Cawley.