Safety concern in Lunenburg

LUNENBURG — One high-volume road in town is a thoroughfare for local and out-of-state traffic, but some residents and town officials say it’s also a dangerous hub for speeding.

“I’ve seen instances where the school bus driver has had to lay on the horn,” said Susan Somers, 45, of Chase Road. “It’s scary, because it’s not safe.”

Route 13/Chase Road was the scene of 17 motor vehicle crashes in 2012, according to Lt. Michael Luth. The Police Department logged 23 crashes so far this year, eclipsing the crash total from 2014, the year with the next-highest amount out of the past five.

Luth said one particular intersection on Chase Road is one of the more dangerous junctions in town — where Northfield and Chase roads cross east of Lanni Orchards.

“Over the years we’ve had some very, very, very, very serious accidents there, some of them fatal,” said Luth.

The intersection is so dangerous because fast-moving traffic headed west from New Hampshire meets vehicles traveling up and down a hill along Northfield Road, said Department of Public Works Director Jack Rodriquenz.

Somers has lived in her home several-dozen feet from the intersection for the past four years. In that time, she’s heard several vehicles collide outside her front door.

A mother to children ages 12 and 7, Somers fears speeders most when her children board the bus to school each morning.

“This intersection in particular just seems to be a real bad one,” she said at her home on Monday. “People get impatient, because of the amount of traffic and the speeds, and they just take a chance to get out.”

Over a third of all vehicles that traveled on Chase Road over a one-week period in October exceeded the posted speed limit of 45 miles-per-hour, according to a study by Lunenburg police.

Lunenburg Police Chief James Marino said he is aware of issue of speeding on Chase Road.

His department, Marino said, does not have enough officers to constantly patrol, then ticket speeding drivers.

“We just don’t have enough help to place someone out there on a regular basis,” said Marino. “We do it when we can, but it’s not all the town that’s a county road, that’s a fast road, and it’s been a challenge to enforce the law.”

Marino said he and Rodriquenz are working with the Massachusetts Department of Transportation to find funding to install a safety measure: Flashing lights at the intersection of Chase and Northfield roads.

“That will hopefully help save somebody’s life,” said Marino.

Town officials for the past several years have lobbied MassDOT for funding to rebuild a portion of Chase Road, said Rodriquenz.

A contractor on Nov. 12 agreed to perform the labor, which entails installing new guardrails, and laying down new pavement and clearing the brush around that problem intersection to improve sight-line, Rodriquenz said.

The project, expected to begin this spring, will impact the stretch of Chase Road east of the intersection in question, and is funded through a state grant.

But new, smoother pavement means no potholes to slow down drivers. Rodriquenz said speeding could get worse after the road is rehabilitated.

“We’re thankful for that,” Rodriquenz said of the state-funded road work. “But we’re also concerned, as when the road is in great condition, as it will be after the job, that it will also increase the speed of drivers.”

Concerns over Chase Road prompted Taunja Golding to write a letter to state Rep. Jennifer Benson requesting action be taken to slow traffic and mediate the “rumble strip” paving.

An October meeting with Benson, Marino, Rodriquenz and others followed her letter, and Golding said all in attendance showed empathy to her concerns.

While she said she ultimately hopes the speed limit on Chase Road will be reduced, for now, Golding said she’s cautious when walking near the roadway.

“All it takes is one text, one distracted driver and we’re all done,” she said.