In recent news...

2017-2022 - A brief timeline between 2017-2022. Letter to Town

Sep - Dec 2022 - I went back and forth with everyone at the Town (Town Manager, Public Works, etc) and the 14th district state rep.  After I sent videos of the trucks on the road, they stopped responding.

April 15, 2023 - I emailed the Town Police Chief for a status on my "Traffic Calming Request Form".  He said he'd look into it but I never got a response.

June 9, 2023 - I emailed the Town DEI committee regarding socioeconomic discrimination but I never got a response.

July 6, 2023 - I emailed the new 14th District State Representative, Simon Cataldo.  He responded once to tell me he would check with the Town.

July 15, 2023 - I responded to the CPD's "safety officer" email from March 20th requesting a ballpark date on when the community engagement "transportation study" will be available as I haven't seen it.  

July 19, 2023 - I got a call from Simon Cataldo's assistant, Ethan Raye.  He's going to make some calls and get back to me.  

July 23, 2023 - A friend of mine got the word out to the community that I spoke with Simon Cataldo's office about possible problem solving about Main Street's problems.  Several people who reside on Main Street contacted Simon Cataldo's office with their own concerns about the road.

July 24, 2023 - CPD responded about the Town Transportation Study.  "The contract was recently awarded to Stantec Eng. It was agreed upon to start the engagement after the summer."

July 26, 2023 - I received an email from Klye Stapleton, Simon Cataldo's assistant.

"We reached out to the town and received some information from them regarding the National Grid work and the patch. The Town’s Engineering Department has accepted the work as it has been completed per their standards. DPW informed me that they had National Grid repair the trench several times until it was up to the Town’s standards." 

I'd like to know what "standard" the Town is using.  Are they factoring the weight of the trucks, speed and proximity of the houses next to the road?  Also, the Town never contacted me to ask if the work had stopped my house from vibrating - my answer would be "No".  

July 26, 2023 - Replied to the CPD email asking them if they have an update on my Traffic Calming Policy request and asked why there is an increase in commercial truck traffic and speeding.

July 28, 2023 - Concord Zoning Board approved three affordable housing apartment buildings in West Concord near Main Street (In addition to an existing project completed of Main Street devoted affordable housing).  I applaud their effort to approve more multi-family housing, but Concord has a lot of space.  They decided to cram it into an already densely populated area with no plans to adjust the roads for the new influx of traffic.

• 166 Commonwealth Ave Project 

• 13B Commonwealth Ave 

• NOVO Riverside Commons
  

August 2023 - I communicated with the 14th District Representative, who wanted to help but it seems the Town of Concord "officials" didn't want to cooperate.  In fact, after the State Rep called the Town, the Town increased the speed limit from 30mph to 35mph in front of my house.

August 2023 - I communicated with the Police Department Safety Officer but he didn't really want to deal with the issues.

October 2023 - I looked into the traffic study the CPD told me about.  I found the traffic committee's website where it's well underway but I don't know how to participate.  There's only one date to meet and that is Oct 17 when I'm working.  Why can't they advertise these things better so people know what that there is a public survery underway?  It's not on their social media page and I never got anything in the mail.

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March 17, 2023 Update

I reached another breaking point and submitted a request to enforce the speed limit again on March 17.  This was the Police Dept's response on March 20th:

"Thank you for reaching out and please know that traffic safety is one of the Concord Police’s highest priorities. Traffic enforcement on Main Street is and will continue to be a primary area of enforcement for our west sector. Since January 1, 2023 CPD was conducted 131 hours of traffic enforcement and made 135 motor vehicles stops on Main Street. I have attached a link with citation data that shows CPD takes traffic enforcement seriously and we conduct more motor vehicles stops than any surrounding community. Be assured CPD will continue our efforts on Main Street. In the coming months community engagement will begin for the Comprehensive Transportation Study that the Town is undertaking, we would encourage you to share your experiences and concerns through that process."  Ron Holsinger, Concord Police Department

They also sent me this study along with their response.  415 pages I had to read and then what?  They don't specify what the stops are for and problem areas.  The document doesn't specify citations for breaking the law.  You could have 1000 stops to give warnings for expired registration and very few for safety related offenses like speeding. This study appears to be a breakdown of race and outcome of the stop.  According to this study, 79.8% of drivers stopped where "passing through" as opposed to "intown motorists".

https://www.bostonherald.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/2020-Massachusetts-Uniform-Citation-Data-Analysis-Report.pdf

They claim there's going to be a "Transportation Study" but I have no idea what that involves and it's hard to believe anything these people say.  They never increased a police presence or increased traffic stops after I made my request on March 17th.  On July 24, Ron Holsinger responded that the Transportation Study survey will be available in the fall.  

On March 24, I made a formal records request of where these 135 traffic stops took place on Main Street.  Main Street is a 5 mile span through Town.  Here's the actual data.  There were 9 speeding citations between Jan 1, 2023 and April 6, 2023.  There was one citation 475 feet southwest from my house on January 16 (this was the week I requested traffic enforcement).  Considering speeding is occurring every day, shouldn't there be more citations than this?  And out of 135 stops (I counted 235 recorded non-citation "stops" - 92% were warnings for various road incidents and/or expired registration/licenses).  CPD only issued 19 citations total (listed below).  I'm received another data request for 2022, but I've yet to parse through that.  I would like to request the digital traffic sign data near my house, which they claim they're recording all of the vehicle's speeds.