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Date: 8/24/2022
WEST SPRINGFIELD — An ordinance passed by the West Springfield Town Council on Aug. 15 will exclude heavy commercial vehicles from Kings Highway and Eldridge Avenue.
Commercial vehicles with a weight in excess of 3,500 pounds will be barred from the full length of both roads, except for the purpose of making local deliveries.
At the council meeting, residents spoke out to note that Kings Highway previously excluded commercial vehicles, as far back as the 1970s. The reason commercial vehicles were then allowed, before being banned again, has to do with a change in state regulations, according to Town Engineer Connor Knightly.
In the past, towns were allowed to post signs prohibiting commercial vehicles on their own authority, but today it requires a permit from the Massachusetts Department of Transportation. After conducting an impact study on the affected areas, the town applied for a permit, allowing the council to vote on the ordinance.
Commercial vehicles barred from Kings Highway will be directed to use Elm and Westfield streets, which are wider roads, better equipped for heavy traffic.
Eldridge Avenue will also gain a commercial vehicle restriction. Residents of the short one-way street have complained that truckers use what should be a quiet lane as a shortcut from Elm Street to Riverdale Street and Route 5.
Several Eldridge residents attended the council meeting to support the change, but also to tell the council that’s not enough: they want Eldridge to be turned into a dead-end street, preventing any traffic onto Riverdale, commercial or otherwise.
“As far as making a road a dead end, it’s not so simple,” replied Knightly. Not only would new permits and construction authorization need to be obtained, but the existing one-way status of the street would need to be revoked.
Residents say it would help with their quality of life, however.
“It would solve three things, that truck traffic, speeding, and then the drug sales that we have. We have a lot of cars that pull in, do their drug sales, and they can get out to Riverdale quickly so if that were closed off, nobody’s gonna want to go in there and get boxed in,” said Joe Eslie, who owns rental properties on Eldridge.
According to West Springfield Police Sgt. Joseph LaFrance, since 2019 there have been just two reports of drug-related activity on Eldridge Avenue, neither resulting in arrest. He added that the narcotics division reported “there is nothing we are working on or investigating on Eldridge Avenue.”
In 2019, a nearby industrial building on Elm Street was found to contain an illegal marijuana grow operation, which resulted in the arrest of two New York residents.
“But it is empty now, and no signs of their return,” said LaFrance.
The commercial vehicle restrictions take effect immediately, with signs to be posted shortly. A map detailing the affected areas will be posted at townofwestspringfield.org.