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Date: 8/23/2023
CHICOPEE — The Chicopee Public Safety Committee met on Aug. 15 to discuss residents’ concerns with Moreau Drive and the surrounding streets.
A resident who lives on Moreau Drive said that she and her son did a “project” from June 23 through July 17 and sat at their living room window daily from 2:30 to 3:30 p.m. watching the cars go by. She wrote down license plates and emailed Gina Kos at Sunshine Village to let her know of people who did not stop at the stop sign or were speeding.
The resident said police have been there quite often which has been “fabulous.” She added that the stop sign problem has improved, but what she has noticed and what should be investigated are the employees or families going to Sunshine Village, along with the teachers at Litwin Elementary School who are “big offenders” as well.
She said the area is not safe for anyone to walk or bike in, as there are a lot of children who walk that street to get to school.
Ward 6 City Councilor Derek Dobosz said the Police Department has increased enforcement over the past few months and he is hoping it continues. “I believe that we need some infrastructure improvements on Moreau Drive. I’m advocating for either speed tables or a speed bump. I think that’s required because the street is just long enough where people go really fast but it’s very difficult to enforce because there’s nowhere for the police to hide.”
He noted that there should also be a speed table on Angela Drive and Olko Circle — streets abutting Moreau Drive — which he thinks is the only way to completely solve the issue.
Dobosz said he has seen videos of people driving around school buses on Moreau Drive and asked if it was possible to get a police officer there to catch the drivers going through the stop signs. He shared that these are immediate safety issues which he thinks might be able to be solved before the speeders.
DPW Superintendent Elizabette Batista provided an update on what the city is moving forward with to address this.
She shared that they are about two weeks out on delivery of the lighted stop signs. She added that not abiding by the stop sign seems to be a big issue from residents, along with speeding mentioned by Dobosz. Based on the city’s data, Batista said a speeding issue is not being demonstrated. Instead — as it sounds to her — is that the issues are mostly with people not abiding by the stop sign, people crossing and not stopping for buses. She shared that adding speed tables will not solve any problems.
Batista has been working with City Council President Frank Laflamme to order a “Go Slow Children” sign. An order was placed for this lighted sign and is about two to three weeks out from delivery. Once it is in, it will be installed.
“At this point, we really don’t see what else we could do to improve individuals — motorist — from abiding by driving laws,” Batista said.
City Councilor at-Large Jerry Roy asked if installing a security camera on Moreau Drive is an option.
Batista explained that video cannot be used as enforcement. “The best that can be done is to have an officer physically out there during these times in which we’re seeing a lot of violations but again, it’s hard to just have someone sitting out there to wait and see,” she said.
Outside of school, Batista said it is in a remote neighborhood – primarily used by Sunshine Village and Litwin School. However, as mentioned, it is an issue even when school is not in session. Batista said she does not have a great solution to that aside from the lighted sign becoming more visible and making motorists more inclined to stop.
Ward 6 School Committee Representative Samuel Shumsky suggested contacting the state delegation to advocate on behalf of a bill to allow for artificial intelligence ticketing software in school neighborhoods.
“I understand this may be controversial to some, but I suggest maybe allowing it in school related areas because I know police can’t be there 24/7, but this is a way to deter speeding because people are going to know they’re going to get a ticket if they’re flying through areas with little kids and schools,” he said.
Regarding the buses stopping, he also suggested reaching out to the bus company to see if they have any ideas or ways to improve upon that.
Laflamme said the City Council and the Public Safety Committee are working to do what is best and he thinks they are headed down the right track. He shared that he is not sure speed tables are the right process to be done right now but putting this all in place and asking the Police Department to do a little bit more is the best plan.
“We’re moving ahead and let’s just see where it goes,” Laflamme said.
A motion was made and seconded to place this issue on file.