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Councilors press for traffic‑signal study after deadly crash at Broadway and Essex in Lawrence City
Summary
After residents and Councilor Vivian Marmol raised pedestrian‑safety concerns following a fatal crash at Broadway and Essex, councilors untabled a prior item on signal timing and voted to request DPW and the city engineer provide a traffic‑study update at the next Public Safety Committee meeting.
Councilor Vivian Marmol urged Lawrence City’s Public Safety Committee on Feb. 25 to move a previously tabled traffic signal item forward after residents of Essex Towers raised concerns about crossing Broadway and Essex streets following a recent deadly crash.
Marmol said elderly residents frequently walk to nearby pharmacies and clinics and that some witnesses to the crash reported fearing for pedestrian safety because crosswalk signals and traffic lights change quickly. “If it’s a matter of saving someone’s life, then I think that that should take priority over the inconvenience of sitting at a light for an extra 3 to 5 seconds,” Marmol said.
The committee discussed a measure first proposed by traffic officers to add a brief all‑stop delay—during which both directions show red—so pedestrians can cross and motorists are less likely to enter the intersection as signals change. However, several staff and officers cautioned that signal timing and pedestrian cycle timings are engineered, subject to state guidance and in many cases limited by equipment.
Lieutenant Torella of the Lawrence Police Department told councilors the police department does not have authority to change signal timing and that any change would require a traffic study and traffic‑engineering work: “The Lawrence Police Department does not have the ability or the authority to lengthen a light or to lengthen a push button to 30 seconds,” he said.
Jeff Domenico of the Lawrence Fire Department’s signal division explained the distinction between vehicle traffic timing and pedestrian crosswalk timing and described how pedestrian requests are held until the signal cycle permits a safe, all‑red crossing. He said the equipment in many intersections is aged and noted the city is replacing signals in some locations; he added that retrofits and controller upgrades have costs and can take months for parts and programming.
Councilors discussed interim options such as incremental increases to pedestrian crossing time and installing countdown timers at crosswalks; Jeff Domenico said newer intersections include pedestrian countdowns and that countdowns and additional seconds for crossing are typically determined by an engineering study.
With DPW and the city engineer not present at the meeting, the committee voted to send a formal request for the DPW director and both city engineers to attend the next Public Safety Committee meeting and provide any existing traffic studies, recommended signal timing changes and cost estimates. The motion to send that correspondence was made by Councilor Gregory Del Rosario and seconded by Councilor Anna Levy; the roll call was unanimous.
Committee members said they want technical guidance—an engineer’s recommendation and a cost estimate—so elected officials can weigh pedestrian‑safety improvements against traffic congestion and budget constraints. Several councilors emphasized that even small timing changes could improve safety at busy intersections where seniors and other pedestrians cross frequently.
