THE SAUGUS ADVOCATE – FRIDAY, JUNE 18, 2021 Page 19 Keeping track of the trucks Selectmen tell town resident they plan to check out her concerns about heavy trucks crossing through Saugus By Mark E. Vogler “W hy are these heavy trucks allowed to frequently and noisily rumble through our residential neighborhoods?” That was one of several questions Margaret O’Neil Lankow raised in a recent letter to selectmen. And she was there at Tuesday night’s (June 15) board meeting to follow up on her concerns. Lankow, a Saugus native who left town, but returned to her family home located off Hamilton Street in East Saugus, told the board she is keeping notes on what she believes is heavy duty truck traffic with no business town, cutting through Saugus residential neighborhoods. “Over the past months, I have noticed multiple and frequent very heavy trucks lumbering down Main Street, Hamilton Street, Essex Street, Lincoln Avenue, Winter Street, Saville Street and Walnut Street,” Lankow said. “As a taxpayer, I know that heavy trucking can wear out our roads and cause damage. In addition, the trucks were definitely over the speed limit and I was right behind one traveling into Cliftondale,” she said. Town Manager Scott C. Crabtree accepted Lankow’s offer to review her notes on the truck traffic, which list companies in some instances along with the times and locations. If there’s a problem and the companies aren’t authorized to travel the particular roads, Crabtree said he would have the police check into the matter. Selectman Michael Serino is convinced there is a problem. He’s been keeping notes too. “I have received numerous complaints regarding caravans of tractor trailers traveling through Saugus, in particular Cliftondale Square,” Serino wrote in a June 1 email to Crabtree. Serino has done his own tailing of trucks and what he observed concerns him. “This situation is very dangerous, particularly in the Cliftondale Square area,” Serino said. “If I recall, several years ago, this had happened before when trucks were hauling fill from Aggreate’s Swampscott Quarry. We worked out a deal with Aggregate, in which they told their drivers they would have to travel from Western Ave down Walnut Street and out to Route One,” he said. Crabtree said the easiest course of action would be to contact companies doing business in Saugus to see if they have agreements. At the same time, Crabtree said it was a difficult situation that would take time to check out. “At least make sure they are following speed limits,” Board of Selectmen Vice Chair Corinne Riley said.
20 Publizr Home