There was a bad accident at the corner of Main and Cross Street Fri. the 10th of Oct. about 2:35 PM. The Fire Dept, Police and EMT were there. Why was this not in the Westfield News? Occasionally, items which might otherwise be included in the Police Log get omitted. In this case, because of the timing of the crash on Friday and when the log was reviewed on Saturday, details should have been sought on Monday but were not pursued due to a reporter’s memory lapse. The facts of the incident appear to be that a motorist on Main Street drove off the roadway in the vicinity of the Cross Street intersection and struck a bicyclist on the sidewalk, a pedestrian, a mail box and a fire hydrant. The bicyclist was transported to Baystate Medical Center where he was admitted and subsequently discharged. The pedestrian suffered only minor injuries, declined medical attention and reportedly transported himself to Noble Hospital.
When I go into Westfield and park my car to walk around and visit the stores [as I like to deal with local merchants], I would love to sit out in front of Mama Cakes or Clemanza’s and have a bite to eat. I have tried it. The traffic from the eighteen wheelers, the fumes, the noise, makes what could be fun experience, anything but. It turns it into a very stressful and uncomfortable visit. The eighteen wheelers go through town one after the other. If they are at a light and you are trying to eat, it is one unhealthy situation..stressful and noisy, and most of all dirty. Then the light turns green, the noise begins, and one 18 wheeler gets through before the light turns red and there is another one sitting now at the light. This could easily be fixed by routing the 18 wheelers down Meadow or Washington Street, or limiting them to certain hours to pass through the main thoroughfare. I have never seen so many trucks of all sizes to include the 18 Wheelers go down a main thoroughfare as they do here in Westfield. I have lived here for 54 years but I grew up in the busy city of Milford, Connecticut and to this day the main thoroughfare is a wonderful place to sit and eat at outside cafes, walk through the stores and have a fun day. I am sorry that is not the case here in Westfield, because I love this city and feel really deeply sorry for the folks who are trying to make a living with their stores on the main thoroughfare… a thoroughfare that is not a fun place to walk. After speaking with a member of the city’s Traffic Commission, the idea of rerouting truck traffic from Elm Street (itself a state highway) through residential side streets is not a viable option. According to Commissioner Dave Billips, the only alternative would be to put another exit between Lee and Westfield on the Massachusetts Turnpike, which he doubts the liklihood of. One suggestion would be to attend the next meeting of the traffic commission and see what they might suggest.
