The Peabody City Council unanimously approved a series of traffic-safety and parking measures on Thursday, including adding stop signs at neighborhood intersections, drafting ordinance changes to parking rules on Washington and Park streets and referring enforcement issues such as e-bikes on sidewalks and parking too close to intersections to municipal safety.

Councilor April Peach moved to add several intersections to the city’s stop-sign ordinance (Section 19-126), naming Bowditch Street at Central Street; Bowditch Street at Water Street; Buxton Street at Water Street; and Smith Avenue at Buxton Street. Councilor Rosignal asked whether the stop signs would be temporary; Peach said the placement reflects where drivers already stop and that post‑Central Street construction traffic increases make the signs enforceable and advisable. The motion to draft and advertise the ordinance addition passed 9-0.

Separately, Councilor James McGinn moved amendments to parking regulations (Section 19-94) near Washington Street and to remove a Park Street west-side parking segment (and add an east-side segment from Main Street to Elliot Place) after police recommended changes to improve emergency access and safety. McGinn said police deployed temporary parking restrictions and recommended permanent amendments because the narrow conditions made it difficult for emergency vehicles to pass. Those drafting-and-advertise motions also passed unanimously.

Councilor Manning Martin asked municipal safety to investigate complaints about electric bicycles (e-bikes) operating on Main Street sidewalks and requested that Captain Richards or a designee attend municipal safety to discuss enforcement options and ordinance language. Martin said she had received repeated reports from downtown business patrons who fear being struck by heavy, fast-moving e-bikes when exiting storefronts. The council approved the referral to municipal safety 9-0.

Martin also asked municipal safety to review enforcement of parking restrictions near intersections after a constituent complaint about vehicles blocking visibility at Dalton Court and Washington Street. Councilor McGinn said the police department had already evaluated the Dalton Court intersection, committed to step up enforcement and requested striping from the Department of Public Services to reinforce no‑parking areas; McGinn urged that enforcement and DPS striping proceed this construction season.

Councilor Gamache and others also raised the condition of Lowell Street and reported ongoing work with the mayor to get contractor repairs and to schedule paving in the spring. Multiple traffic and parking motions were passed without dissent.