Traffic, Speeding A Growing Concern To Summer Residents

HARWICH – The town’s summer population is growing, putting pressure on a number of town services. That was a clear message from town department heads in Monday's non-resident taxpayers meeting.

“Harwich is thriving. I’ve never seen so much traffic before,” said Police Chief Kevin Considine.

 “The town has been extremely successful in revitalizing Harwich Port, presenting a lot more challenges, and a lot more policing is required,” said Select Board Chair Donald Howell. “There are 11,500 residents and it goes to over 40,000 in the summer. It requires 24-hour coverage, and a lot happens after dark.” 

“This is the busiest I’ve ever seen it on the Cape,” agreed Department of Public Works Director Lincoln Hooper.

 Approximately 40 summer residents attended the session, which returned to a public forum after six years of presentations through the government TV channel.

The concerns have not changed much during that time. Traffic, speeding on roadways, the need for more sidewalks, street lighting and beach conditions continue to be major issues. The cost of sewering is also a new focus of seasonal residents.

 “Park Street is very busy, Brooks Park is busy,” said one property owner. 

She questioned why there is only one speed sign at the head of Oak Street and none going past Monomoy Regional High School and down to Cranberry Valley Golf Course. Traffic is cutting down Park Street, including large trucks, to avoid Harwich Center, she said.

 “It doesn’t seem like anything is going to be done,” she said.

 “There are people on 50 other streets asking for the same thing. We assign officers to them, but have limited staffing,” said Considine. 

The chief said state law requires placement of speed signs at the start and end of roads, but the town can add speed signs anywhere along the road. Considine said he would look into it.

Howell said at the end of the summer he plans a ride-along with the police department to examine sign needs.

Considine said the major issues of concern to him as the chief are speeding and traffic. He said the department has a lot of real estate to cover, and as Harwich Port thrives there is a need for additional patrols there as well as at beaches to address late night gatherings.   

 There was a request for a flashing light on the Old Colony Bike Trail crossing at Oak Street. Hooper said there is one planned under a Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) grant of $1.2 million to upgrade the trail in 2027. 

 Hooper was asked if road safety improvements, such as a crosswalk, could be added at the intersection of Depot Road and Route 28 in South Harwich. Hooper said Route 28 is a state highway and while agreed there is a line of sight issue at the hill to the west, any design improvements would be made by MassDOT. Full signalization would be needed for any meaningful improvements at that location, he added.

Hooper was also asked about the placement of a curb along the sidewalk on Bank Street where asphalt meets asphalt at the same level and for a reduction in speed on that street. He said speed is an issue for the police department, but he agreed the sidewalk there is substandard. 

Sometime ago, Hooper said, the town had an estimate of $330,000 for a sidewalk improvement on Bank Street, and today that price would be north of $1 million. He said there is no plan for  reconstruction of the sidewalk, adding that it now costs $2 million a mile for sidewalk installation.

As for lighting, Howell said that request has to be balanced against the many people who “don’t want to light up Harwich.” He said the town looks at accident records to determine such needs. Hooper said the board also has a policy that no additional streetlights be added along town roads.  

 Hooper said his department is charged with maintaining 22 town-owned beaches and has focused on keeping them clean, using the tractor-based beach rake repeatedly each week on eight of the major beaches.

 “It looks almost like Florida,” Hooper said.

A brief exchange on the tax rate led to a discussion on the cost impacts of state-mandated sewering in Harwich. Howell said 15 years ago, the estimate for sewering the necessary watersheds in town was $300 million, and today that estimate is more like $500 million. The town has 22 years to complete the work.

The current sewering in East Harwich costs $50 million, said wastewater consultant Dan Pelletier. The project will be ongoing into 2026. The sewering project for the Great Sand Lakes is in the final design stage, he said. 

“The bonding will be significant,” said Howell. “We don’t want to crush everybody in a single year. We want to balance it, making it absorbable by the tax base and as nitrogen needs to be removed.” 

When asked when various sections of town would be sewered, Pelletier said work is being done to adjust the town’s comprehensive wastewater management plan, but he didn’t think it would change significantly from the plan approved in 2016. 

Sherri Geller of West Harwich said she was glad to see the return to the public forum non-resident taxpayers format. Select board members committed to continuing the face-to face annual session in the future.