WESTFIELD – During Thursday’s City Council meeting, the Legislative & Ordinance sub-committee reported on its 2-1 recommendation to support a letter to the MassDOT from the Traffic Commission requesting a 24-hour heavy truck exclusion on Paper Mill Road. After a lengthy debate and input from residents and one business owner on Paper Mill, the Council voted against the 24-hour truck exclusion request to the state.
The initial request to increase the exclusion to 24-hours came from the residents of Paper Mill Road, several of whom spoke during public participation at the start of the Thursday’s meeting, urging councilors to support the 24-hour exclusion.
According to Paper Mill resident Joann Barnes, the 24-hour exclusion was always their intention. Barnes said in the first submission to the MassDOT, the language was general, and when the city was asked for a more specific request, they emphasized eliminating the cut-through of trucks on the road between the hours of 5 p.m. and 7 a.m. “To my knowledge, no language was submitted regarding a 24-hour truck exclusion,” Barnes said.
Jonathan Lane of John S. Lane & Son, whose quarry business is also on Paper Mill Road, spoke against the exclusion. Lane said the quarry has been operating on Paper Mill since 1892, before the school was built. He said there are only two ways for trucks to go that are not subject to the low railroad bridge at the bottom of E. Mountain Road, and if Paper Mill receives the exclusion, some of his trucks will be forced to use Holyoke Road.
Lane said many of his trucks can use the bridge, but those that can’t use Paper Mill, which he said amounts to 30 to 40 a day. “I would love to not use Paper Mill, if we could fix the bridge at the end of E. Mountain Rd. That’s not an easy process,” he said. He also talked about the added cost of sending the trucks down Holyoke Road, which is longer, and adds 30 minutes to trucks going in the opposite direction. At the L&O meeting, Lane said that the majority of his trucks going in the other direction do use Holyoke Road.
At-large Councilor Nicholas J. Morganelli, Jr., who voted in favor of the recommendation at L&O, said Chief Camerota was present at the sub-committee meeting for the Traffic Commission. He said there are trucks using Paper Mill and Holyoke that had no business with the quarry or being on those roads, but were sent there by their GPS systems.
“Personally, I want to be business friendly,” Morganelli said. He said that Lane is a victim of low bridges. However, he added that Holyoke Road is longer and straighter than Paper Mill, with no school and no park. Morganelli called it a “lose-lose” situation, a phrase repeated by several other councilors during the lengthy debate that followed.
Ward 4 Councilor Michael Burns, who also recommended supporting the letter in L&O, said he took the advice of Chief Camerota to have the experts at MassDOT study the truck traffic and make recommendations. He also said he was in favor of the exclusion as a former Little League coach, which plays in the park on Paper Mill.
The no vote at L&O came from Ward 6 Councilor William Onyski, who admitted being in a difficult predicament as both Paper Mill and Holyoke roads are in his ward. “I want to improve the quality of life on Paper Mill Road, but not at the expense of Holyoke Road,” Onyski said. He added that while raising the bridge would solve the problem; it hasn’t been done since 1955, and wasn’t likely to be done in the next thirty years.
Onyski said he had received seven emails from Holyoke road residents which mimicked the concerns of residents on Paper Mill. “Arguably, it’s the same reasoning for both streets,” he said, adding that he still feels it’s not right to shift problems from one road to another. He said he has and will continue to support Paper Mill, listing new sewers, an extended gas line, new pavement, a traffic light in the works; and the 13 hour overnight exclusion, which he said is still sitting in L&O, and he believes is a good compromise.
The majority of councilors expressed support for Onyski’s position. At-large Council Matthew Emmershy said what the letter would do would is help one street, and harm another.
At-large Councilor Dave Flaherty, who also lives in Ward 6, said he agreed 100% that the City Council cannot favor one road over another. He said there are more accidents on Holyoke Road, particularly at Springdale; and called the left turn from Holyoke Road onto Elm Street, “horrible.”
“This is a no-win situation for us. We have to do what’s fair,” Flaherty said.
Ward 1 Councilor Mary Ann Babinski said that if the 24-hour exclusion went in for Paper Mill Road, Holyoke Road would be justified in asking for the same exclusion. “It’s not only these two roads,” Babinski said that are dealing with truck traffic problems.
At-large Councilor Dan Allie pointed out that the 24-hour exclusion would have to be approved by the MassDOT. “We’ve been working the whole time that I’ve been on the City Council on this road,” Allie said. He recommended first moving the 13-hour exclusion out of committee and acting on it, and then sending the letter to MassDOT. “We should be working on all fronts,” he said.
At-large Councilor Cindy C. Harris said she was at the L&O meeting, and listened to what the residents and Chief Camerota had to say. She also said that she lives on 10 & 202 close to the road, and deals with 24-hour truck traffic. However, Harris said she was concerned about the pumping station on Holyoke Road, and the possibility of an accident from increased truck traffic impacting the aquifer.
At-large Councilor John J. Beltrandi, III said he has two granddaughters that live on Paper Mill, but he also drives a truck that uses the quarry. “As a businessman, I can’t in good conscience support a 24-hour exclusion,” he said.
The motion to send the letter to MassDOT failed 8 to 3, with Councilors Allie, Burns and Morganelli voting to support the 24-hour truck exclusion study.
