the following was submitted by Pete Jackson

I’m very concerned about the traffic changes proposed for East Milton Square. I think they are in opposition to the findings of the consultant both in the need for the proposed new parking spaces and in the effectiveness of the traffic flow resulting. I feel the consultant was compelled to accede to the citizens on the committee who had an agenda of putting parking in the park whether it was needed or not. Certainly the committee was given control of the process rather than serving in an advisory capacity. One alternative I didn’t see discussed in the plan was the offer from the East Congregational Church to consider use of their rarely used parking lot in some manner to help address parking needs in the square. I think an arrangement with the church to permit employee parking in the church lot would free up spaces closer to businesses for use by shoppers.

I fear the proposed plan will encourage traffic moving eastbound on Adams St toward the square to cut through residential streets to get to Edge Hill Road. I also fear that people will choose to avoid the Square altogether, having a negative impact on the businesses in the Square. My hope had been to open up Adams Street to two way traffic over the expressway to reduce traffic at the most dangerous merge situation in town, an option shown by the consultant team to have a better result for traffic than the proposed “hybrid” plan.

I was encouraged to learn this morning in www.02186MyTownMatters that the Traffic Commission has decided to “test run” the new traffic pattern. Unfortunately planning only a ten day test limits the analysis to only one weekend and doing it in August, the lowest traffic time of the year, doesn’t provide a truly representative sample. I would suggest that the test period be extended so at least of half of it is after Labor Day, to better represent the normal traffic conditions.

I would also request that the Board of Selectmen hold at least one public hearing on the proposed change to give citizens an opportunity to comment on the proposal. It would be helpful if the Milton Times would once again print the proposed Traffic Plan in advance of the BOS hearing.

Thank you for consideration of these comments.

Pete Jackson

The writer is a member of the Milton Planning Board.