City officials proposed changes that they believe will make Lynnfield Street, Casco Road, and Goodwin Circle, also known as Condon Circle, safer at a Peabody City Council Municipal Safety Committee meeting. 

Councilor-at-Large Thomas Rossignoll introduced the motion, saying that Casco Road has become a safety concern and issue, and that it has caused havoc and bottlenecks. 

“Because of the ability to take a left turn from Lynnfield Street onto Casco, and the ability to take a left turn out of Casco onto Lynnfield Street, it’s really become a safety issue,” Rossignoll said.

Peabody Police Capt. Scott Richards said he has gone to the area of concern a few times, and that there have been issues of accidents and traffic backups. He said another complication is that the issue requires multiple jurisdictions — Lynn, Lynnfield, and Peabody — to come together to solve the problem. 

“From my standpoint, we had a couple ideas, but I think the most sensible one at this point in time would make Lynnfield Street going outbound toward the rotary, not be able to take a left-hand turn down to Casco, and coming out of Casco, only a right-only coming out,” Richards said, adding that this plan would help alleviate traffic backup near the rotary. “So, no left turn onto Lynnfield Street.”

Richards brought up the idea of doing a trial period to test the proposed regulations and see if they will work.

“If it works, make it permanent, and if it doesn’t, then find another solution,” Richards said.

Councilor-at-Large Jon Turco said that the area of concern is extremely dangerous and he has personally seen some “close calls.” He also said that Peabody Mayor Ted Bettencourt has discussed the issue regarding the intersection with Lynn Mayor Jared Nicholson.

“That needs to continue,” Turco said. “Additionally, if we leave it in committee for 30 days, that gives anybody that sees this meeting time to reach out to councilors if there’s any issue with this. I see it more as beneficial, it may inconvenience some, but beneficial for the most part.”

Turco added that he and other city officials have also looked into Bartholomew Street and Lynnfield Street, but that was not brought up at the meeting and will be a topic of discussion for another day.

“Hopefully, within the next 30 days, we can have this addressed,” Turco said.

Bettencourt said that the area is very dangerous and scary, and that he has been in touch with Lynnfield and Lynn officials, especially because Lynn residents would be greatly impacted by whichever decision is made. 

“He (Nicholson) didn’t really give me a definitive comment (on whether or not to adopt Richards’ idea),” Bettencourt said. “He just said to keep him updated on what we’re doing and our progress, but I told him this is something that we’re taking very seriously.”

Bettencourt said that before making any changes, there should be public notifications such as robocall messages or billboards a couple of weeks in advance if a trial period occurs, like Richards suggested. 

Nicholson provided a statement to The Item about the situation. He said that while he acknowledges the challenges presented at the intersection, it is important that the three communities affected work together to find a solution.

“We do not support action by one community that would have a significant impact on the others. The proposal put forth would exacerbate traffic congestion in the area,” Nicholson said. “I appreciate Mayor Bettencourt’s outreach and would certainly be open to a joint discussion on potential improvements at that intersection.”