Harwich Port Safety Improvements Sought

HARWICH – As the commercial climate in Harwich Port continues to strengthen, a spin-off impact has town officials and property owners concerned about deficiencies in safety. Crosswalk conditions, poor lighting and more traffic were some of the issues raised in the select board’s Aug. 19 session. Over the past five to 10 years, tens of millions of dollars have been invested by business and property owners in Harwich Port, which has helped fuel the growth and economic success of the village, property owner Dennis Miller told the board. That success is driven by more and more people coming to Harwich Port for the shops, restaurant and music. But can the public safety infrastructure accommodate the increase in foot and vehicular traffic? Residents living to the north side of Route 28 are seeing an increase in traffic on side streets as drivers seek to avoid the congestion along Route 28 in the village. A few weeks ago, Select Board Chair Julie Kavanagh spoke about the need to have the town’s traffic consultants, VHB, Inc., conduct a study of conditions in the village, specifically looking at crosswalks and lighting. The town, over the past several years, has established ad hoc committees to look at parking, neighborhood traffic and noise issues in the village. In the 2022 Annual Town Report, the town’s traffic safety committee wrote that “Residents and businesses in the Harwich Port area are concerned about traffic issues, including vehicles moving too fast, pedestrians being unable to cross Route 28 safely and parking. While the lighting has been improved, there continue to be several issues that need attention from town administration.” Select Board member Jeffrey Handler wanted to know if Harwich has the right to address issues along Route 28, a state highway, on its own. Miller said the Massachusetts Department of Transportation “defaults to safety.” Miller, who is a major commercial property owner in the Harwich Port, made a presentation to the board noting that drivers find it difficult to see pedestrians in the crosswalks in the village, making for dangerous conditions. Miller said he bought the crosswalk signs placed in three crosswalks between Sea Street and Cross Street. In his presentation, Miller called for crosswalk improvements, including the use of embedded LED crosswalk lighting, the painting of the word “Crosswalks” at those locations, the use of digital speed boards, and assigning a traffic officer to the village during peak times. There are areas where the village sidewalks have become unsafe and unattractive, Miller also said. He recommended the town explore options to repair the damaged sidewalks as well as eliminate the many obstacles to pedestrian safety. He also recommended installing Cape Cod-style LED sidewalk lamp-posts. Miller said he’d like to see brick or cobblestone sidewalks in the heart of the village. “Installing LED sidewalk lamp posts will have an extremely positive impact on safety, appearance, and economic success of our village center,” he said. Miller said such improvements along the 500 yards of Route 28 in the village would create a quintessential seaside community, adding that he has talked to business owners in the village and they support the proposals. The business community also has good ideas about addressing the parking issues, he said, adding that he is available to participate in workshop discussions. Miles Street resident Bob Bench expressed concerns about traffic re-routing into residential neighborhoods to avoid congestion along Route 28. He noted there were three accidents in one day where Miles and Pleasant streets intersect with South Street. “South Street is a raceway,” he said. Pleasant Street resident Bob Cohn also spoke of the increased traffic. He said a dog was hit and killed, mailboxes were knocked down, and there have been some close calls for residents walking along the street. Traffic is also moving too fast, he said. “The horse is out of the barn for this year,” Select Board member Donald Howell said of addressing the issues. He recommended the board hold a workshop in September. The board has been talking about use of shuttles for three years but nothing has been done, he added. “It’s deja vu over and over again,” added Richard Waystack. Waystack recommended putting a task force together and setting a Nov. 1 deadline so a plan can be in place to address issues before next summer. The problems with pedestrian movement along Route 28 in Harwich Port extend beyond the heart of the village. Kavanagh said she received an email from Joe Scribi expressing concerns that the sidewalks end across from the Dairy Queen with space for pedestrians all the way to Jake Rooney’s restaurant. In his email Scribi wrote that after the Harwich Port block party, he and his family decided to walk to Bud’s Go Karts on the corner of Sisson Road. He was pulling a wagon containing his four-year-old and one-year-old children. “Halfway into the walk, the sidewalk without any warning ended,” he wrote. “I decided to run with the wagon up to the next parcel of land expecting the sidewalk to continue. When I got there, still no sidewalk, no street lights, no breakdown lane, not even an area of grass for me to get off the street. I was already committed to the walk and there was no turning back at this point. With my flashlight on my phone I was forced to do a full sprint, pulling the wagon along a curvy dark hilly road into oncoming traffic just to get to a safe spot.” Scribi wrote that a section of that stretch has a pizza shop, bumper boats, batting cages, a zip line, mini golf, trampolines, an ice cream shop, and the go karts, but there are no sidewalks or crosswalks. Scribi added that he is amazed no one has been killed there. He wrote that he contacted MassDOT and was told to contact the town select board to get the ball rolling on safety improvements. Kavanagh said the town’s consulting traffic engineers need to look at the full slate of needs for Route 28 in Harwich Port. “The time is now to work on the simple things for next year,” said Howell. Kavanagh said she would be out of town for a few weeks and the board would consider scheduling a workshop for late September.