Medford council members heard from residents at their April 19 meeting who acknowledged an increased police presence on Taunton Boulevard, but said more needs to be done about speeding there.
Medford council heard multiple residents voice their concerns about the ongoing issue of speeding on Taunton Boulevard at its April 19 session.
For months, residents have expressed to officials their concerns about vehicles speeding down Taunton Boulevard. Tom Durham, a former law-enforcement officer and educator who moved to Medford five years ago, said he’s heard those concerns and suggested the council provide resources for the affected residents.
“I can tell you the trucks are rattling our windows,” he said
Dave Cristoforo, who’s lived in town for seven years, voiced his concern to show support for his neighbors.
“I would say it’s been a constant issue in terms of the speeding,” he noted.”It’s probably gotten worse over the last couple of years in my experience, and particularly with the commercial vehicles and the heavy trucks.”
Cristoforo thanked council and Medford police for the latter’s increased presence on the boulevard, but noted he has never seen a commercial vehicle pulled over for speeding.
“As you know, it’s an area populated by a lot of children, particularly in the warm weather,” he said
Council did not comment on the Taunton Boulevard issue. It did adopt the calendar year 2022 model ordinance to exceed the municipal budget appropriation limits, and to establish a cap bank, something the council has done for many years.
“Description of this is, we can for a year take some of the taxes that we don’t raise within the cap, and we can bank that in case we have a need to use it next year,” Mayor Charles “Chuck” Watson said. “We have no intention of raising taxes over the cap and hopefully not raising taxes next year at all anyway. But that’s what it’s for.”
Township Manager Kathy Burger noted earlier in the meeting that the budget has not yet been approved, but a public hearing on the subject is upcoming.
Dates for residents to keep in mind are:
- St. Mary of the Lakes carnival May 16 to 21
- The annual Arbor Day celebration at Milton H. Allen Elementary School on April 28, which also marks Medford’s 42nd consecutive year as a Tree City, USA.
- The annual Earth Day observance and town-wide yard sale on April 30, from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m., at Freedom Park.
