WESTFIELD – The City Council will conduct a public hearing at its Sept. 5 meeting on a proposal to change the name of Summit Lock Road to Medeiros Way, a proposal to eliminate tractor-trailer truck drives from Summit Drive, a residential street off Pontoosic Road, miles from the industrial road located off Southampton Road.
The name change motion is sponsored by Ward 5 Councilor Richard E. Onofrey Jr. and Ward 1 Councilor Christopher Keefe. The two councilors requested a public hearing to allow input from Summit Lock Road businesses that will have to change all of their legal documentation to the new street name.
Onofrey said that truck drivers exiting the Massachusetts Turnpike enter the work ‘Summit’ into their GPS, and then follow the directions across the city to the residential Summit Drive which is located near the summit of Provin Mountain. The large rigs then have trouble negotiating the residential streets, driving over lawns and posing a public safety threat to residents.
“This is something the Ward 1 Councilor and I have been working on for some time,” Onofrey said at the Aug. 15 council session. “We put up signs (at the bottom of Knollwood Drive and Robinson Drive), so the problem has abated somewhat, but it is still occurring.”
Onofrey said this morning that he observed a tractor-trailer truck go up Knollwood Drive a few days ago.
“It’s gotten a little better, but trucks are still going up there, which is a disservice to both the truck drivers and the residents,” Onofrey said “This all started more than a year ago and initially I requested the council to change the name of Summit Drive, but that effects a lot more people and the problem is Summit Lock Road.”
Summit Drive residents appeared en masse to protest the proposal to change the street name, citing the economic impact of changing all of their documentation such as deeds, mortgages, various forms of personal identification.
“The issue was sent to committee and Councilor Keefe and I looked at it and decided that we need a public hearing,” Onofrey said. “We came up with the idea of naming Summit Lock Road Medeiros Way shortly after Charlie died. It made sense because he was the long-time Ward 1 City Councilor.”
Ward 4 Councilor Mary O’Connell said that she has concerns about the businesses on Summit Lock Road that will be affected by the proposed name change and hopes to hear those concerns of articulated at the public hearing.
