Salem’s Last Road: How Salem Changed with the Road

Even after only four months, it is very apparent that Salem’s Last Road has changed traffic patterns in Salem.  It has also changed neighborhoods.

The road, centered on the new triangular parkland at St. Peter’s St., has divided the Bridge St. area into three distinct neighborhoods.

The first neighborhood is my own, the section of St. Peter’s St. and Bridge going southeast towards Federal and Church Sts.  It includes Ash St., the steep street between my building and the Unitarian church, and extends out to Washington St.

This has changed the least out of the three.  It’s more or less the same neighborhood I found when I moved into my current apartment in 1995.  Parker Brothers was demolished around the same time I moved in, and the Jail was long closed.

I have the same traffic noise I always have, and the train noise to let me know when I oversleep and miss the 7:05 to Boston.  Bridge St. is no longer the intimate and very congested street it was when I came, but is a full 4-1/2 lane highway.  I have mixed feelings about that. 

The sidewalk along Bridge St. was very dangerous to traverse in 1995, with the steep drop and broken fence at the old Harley-Davidson dealership at 234 Bridge St.  It is much safer now, even if it lacks character.  Despite what I first feared when the road opened, I have no trouble getting to Salem Depot on time for my bus or train with a crosswalk just steps from the door.

The second neighborhood created by the bypass road is really two neighborhoods.  The first one goes from St. Peter St. northeast, away from downtown, out to Winter St. where Route 1A curves south from Bridge St. to Salem Common and Hawthorne Boulevard. 

This area between 1A and 107 is very quiet with the new roadway.  Standing at the Howard St. Cemetery above the Salem Jail, you would hardly know there is a busy road.  The triangular park is a very effective buffer against road noise.  If the Jail is developed, its residents will find it a nice refuge virtually in downtown.

The second part of this neighborhood extends from Winter St. northeastwards to the bridge.  This hasn’t changed a lot, but it has subtly changed as most of the heavy truck traffic is now off Bridge St.  This is for the better.

Of course, all of the neighborhoods I’ve talked about are connected by a very nice bikepath which has gotten rave reviews by most who have walked it, myself included.

The third and last neighborhood, unfortunately, is not really a neighborhood at all.  It is the saddest example of development anywhere in the city.

It is the Jefferson, stretching north from Salem Depot, along the old Parker Brothers property out to Howard St. on the southbound lane of Bridge St.  It is nine apartment buildings cut neatly in half by the bypass road.  For all intents and purposes, the Jefferson is almost completely isolated from the rest of the city by Bridge St. and the bypass road, especially buildings 5 through 9 on the Howard St. side which make a tight triangle isolated from every other neighboring street.

The fault is entirely on former mayor Stan Usovicz’s shoulders.

As much as I opposed the routing of the road, I can forgive that and I can probably even accept it now. 

But the process that led to a fly-by-night developer erecting cheap and probably dangerous buildings was one of the worst things to happen to Salem since the old Depot was demolished.

There were many many possibilities for development, even with the routing of the road that was selected.  It was rumored a hotel chain was interested—the bypass road would have been a boon for them!  There was talk about building the courthouse complex there.  Imagine no over-sensitive neighbors to complain (I certainly wouldn’t have!)  Imagine reusing part of the Parker Brothers complex for offices or even an inn!

But no, Stan did what was cheapest and quickest.  People in the Jefferson are cursing;  I have already had comments in my blog about the noise that Jefferson dwellers experience from the road.  Someday, some child trying to get to his friend’s house across the road will be killed.  One hopes there won’t be a fire as there was at the complex in Peabody.

That poor decision to develop is responsible for all the ills that the road has caused in Salem.   The road could have been better, but it hasn’t turned out to be the nightmare I feared it would be.  The Jefferson, on the other hand, is different.

Stan Usovicz needs to admit to his culpability.  If more retired officials thought about what their decisions meant to Salem, 10, 20 years down the road or longer, they might have made better decisions.  Perhaps we would demand—and have—better officials.

Who knows, the Old Salem Depot and Leslie’s Retreat Bridge might be still with us.  And we might have had a great development on Bridge St. making money for the city.

Instead of crapbox apartments hemmed in by a highway.

Salem’s Last Road: Its Progress, Twenty Weeks Later (Part 2)

Last post, I mentioned the problem MassHighway made for itself with the bikepath on the bypass road.  Now my other peeve:  Audible pedestrian signals. 

The Commission met with Sue Cranney almost three years ago, and she was receptive to installing the newer Polara talking signals already at other locations in Salem.

MassHighway installed the Polara signals at North St., but not at St. Peter St. as we requested.   Technically, the bell signal that’s there is in compliance, so there’s nothing we can do.

But I and the Commission are still very disappointed.  When we meet with someone and convince them to provide access for people with disabilities, and show them how they can provide access, we don’t expect to have to get every little concession in writing.  We can’t lawyer up on everything.   (Though Jack has written documentation and minutes on all of this.)

We had Ms. Cranney’s word and we gave her the benefit of the doubt.  These talking signals would have been much better for pedestrians and neighbors than bells and buzzers are now. ( Bob Moran wondered if the speakers for the Polara signals are up above the street.  They are not.  They are in the same housing that the pedestrian button is, at street level where pedestrians can hear them.  And they adjust for ambient noise so they are not loud at night.)

In addition, the Polara signal buttons don’t freeze in cold weather, unlike older signals, and I am told, they are cheaper to maintain.

They are more expensive than other signals and no doubt a beancounter at MassHighway was behind this;  in today’s economy, one cannot expect a lot of sympathy to our desires.

However, we could still get our signal.  The Commission is working with Dave Knowlton, our city engineer, and he is receptive to installing the Polara signal.  But the project, pending the MAAB hearing, is still controlled by the state;  the city hasn’t taken over the road and bikepath yet.

If I and the Commission only get this done in 2009, it will be a good thing.

Next installment of Salem’s Last Road:  How Salem changed with the road.

Salem’s Last Road: Its Progress, Twenty Weeks Later

The Salem News recently ran an article on the bypass road, “Life After The Bypass Road, Jury’s Still Out”.  Rather than summarize that article, which doesn’t have any insights I didn’t know already, this post and the next few, have  my observations on the road so far and its impact on Salem over twenty weeks after it opened.

There are two problems with the bypass road that I and the Commission on Disabilities are working on.  The first problem involves the bike path.

Last June, MassHighway notified the Commission about a problem with the bike path.   The entrance to Lemon St. at the path was too steep for wheelchairs and fixing this would have been all but impossible.  The Commission (Jack, Charlie and myself) met with MassHighway and agreed to kick the problem over to the MAAB (Massachusetts Architectural Access Board).

Only problem was, MAAB requested that they stop construction on the bikepath while they reviewed MassHighway’s variance request.  This was in late July.

The road and bikepath opened and everyone was happy. 

Except the MAAB.  As Jack related to me, to the MAAB, MassHighway was behaving like a homeowner who did an addition to his house without pulling a permit.   And then going to the building inspector to say, “CAN HAS OCCUPANCY PERMIT PLEEZ?  KTHX BYE!”

The MAAB wasn’t going to let that go with a handshake and a smile;  they requested MassHighway go to Boston in person to request their variance.  (Normally, this isn’t necessary if the petitioner has collected all the information for the MAAB to make a determination.)

So, two state agencies fight it out.  Great.  This doesn’t seem like a big deal but it is disappointing.  The Commission really doesn’t live to fight;  we like when projects go smoothly without drama.  If  MassHighway had only asked our advice earlier, say in April when we could see the site, this would not have happened.

As a result, the Commission has urged the city to not accept or take control of the bikepath until the MAAB has had its hearing with MassHighway and the issue is settled.  That ripples into the next problem, the audible pedestrian signals, and my next post.

MBTA service changes for Winter 2008-2009

Last fall, the MBTA released its service plan for 2008 and I reported on the changes that the MBTA proposed for bus service to Salem.  The biggest changes were to route 465, where one trip on Saturday was to be eliminated, and to route 450 and 456, which would run less frequently due to traffic congestion.

This week, the Winter 2008 schedule changes were published on the MBTA website.  The only change that affects Salem is on the 465. Weekday trips leaving Salem to Danvers now leave at :45 past the hour, 5 minutes later than usual.  Saturday trips depart at :05 past the hour to Danvers.  Buses to Salem from Danvers leave Liberty Tree Mall a few minutes earlier than previously.  Since buses to Danvers come from Beverly on their way to Salem, I presume that traffic congestion in Beverly is the cause.  (The 451 and 465 are run together as one long metaroute.  I seldom ride the 451 and have not ridden it to North Beverly in years, so no first hand experience here.)  No changes to Beverly service.

The change that was threatened—dropping certain Saturday morning trips on the 465—has not happened so far.  There were also no changes to the 450 for the winter.  Of course, commuter rail is not changed.

MBTA schedules are revised seasonally, and can change.  The last big change to bus service was in the summer schedule of 2002, when virtually every North Shore bus route was revised, rerouted or eliminated.  It was mostly for the good then, and today’s schedule change isn’t a big deal.

But with the T’s budget as it is now, the future is darker.

Church Move on Hold

The church move is stalled.  Soft footing and now, bad weather, have delayed yesterday’s planned move.  The moving crew was out today doing some preparation, but nothing was moved yet when I took this picture around 11:45 AM.  (The snow was getting much heavier so I couldn’t stay to watch.)

Salem News:   Federal Street church going for a ride today,  and Church move postponed.

P.S.  WHDH had a reporter outside Dunkin Donuts outside the post office around noon.  Missed being on TV by that much!  I’ve seen and walked by many news trucks due to living near the courthouse, but have never been on live commercial TV.

Salem Common Playground Stalled

At the December 2008 meeting of the Salem Commission on Disabilities, our chairman, Jack Harris, gave us some unpleasant news on the Salem Common playground project.  Parents in the neighborhood have wanted a renovation of the existing playground for about two years. 

According to Steve Dibble, the Salem Common neighborhood association reviewed—and rejected—plans that he presented to the group.  Steve Dibble is formerly of the Salem Parks and Recreation Department, and has his own company, Dibble & Sons Park Equipment, Inc,  selling playground equipment.

We had the pleasure of meeting Steve several years ago when he gave a presentation before the Commission on special playground equipment for kids with disabilities.  Steve was and is very knowledgeable and sensitive to the needs of people with disabilities.  We had hoped the Common group would consult with him on the new playground.

Apparently, the group asked Steve for a design, but they rejected it. 

Last summer, as I blogged A Playground for the Common, the playground project hit a bump when one of the neighbors complained that the planned playground wasn’t historic enough;  this neighbor thought, if I recall correctly, that the playground should have “a ship, or a McIntyre house for kids to climb on."

The rejected design had a ship motif, according to Jack.  So what’s the problem?

The only way the Common association could be happy is for Samuel McIntrye himself to come back from the dead and design a playground!  He literally built just about everything else in Salem.

Steve Dibble said something else too:  According to him, of all the playgrounds in Salem, there are no “tot lots”, play areas designed for children 2 to 5.  Furthermore, the Common area is the best location in Salem for a tot lot;  it’s near two hotels and numerous inns;  it’s active yet very pedestrian-friendly.

I have seen many parents and their young children on the Common over the years, all year round.  When I was on the Common walking my friend’s dog several times a day, young children very often came up to me to want to pat the dog (this dog, a yellow lab and fine Southern lady, considered all children to be her puppies!)

There is another reason to support a playground:

This is 86 Essex St.  I blogged about it.  It’s on the Common.  It is the only public housing in Salem for people and families with disabilities.  Yes, families.  Children.  Jack Harris himself has two special-needs daughters who use the Common and there are several other families there with special-needs kids.

This building was renovated just last year.  Does this look like a slum?  Does this degrade property values?

I’ll say it again, it’s on the Common.   It has been on Salem Common for 23 years.

23 years.  My foster mother, myself and our immediate family were one of the first tenants there in 1985.

We were there first. 

Some people have complained about the reuse of the building, since it was once the Phillips School (which I attended!), but at the time it became housing my Mom had become disabled and could not be independent in our old apartment on Osgood St.  This was the right use of the building for her and her neighbors.  It still is. 

It belongs there now, and so does a playground.

Is a playground, a playground for children with disabilities, that much a threat to the character of the Common?  To Regina Flynn’s or Michael Coleman’s property values?  If the playground comes, does Sammy McIntyre’s ghost cry?

Jack Harris is going to sit down with Jason Silva to try and get this moving.  I had to bite my tongue when this came up during the meeting (or else we’d be there for hours more.)

But I’m not going to hold back now.

Shame on the Salem Common snobs.  Shame on you.

First Baptist Church Moving Day

As reported, moving day for the former First Baptist Church is underway.  The building is being moved 200 feet to make way for the new courthouse. 

The building is being supported by many dollies—one of which you see here—that will  move it to its new location.

The old church will become the new law library. 

I can now stop wondering if there’ll be a new courthouse.