Council splits vote on one-way conversions near Westall School; June Street passes first reading

The Fall River City Council on Oct. 28 considered a package of traffic-ordinance changes recommended by the traffic commission, including proposed one-way conversions on June Street, Lindsay Street and Maple Street. The measures were related to sidewalk widening under the Route 79 project and concerns about circulation and student drop-off near Westall School.

Committee members and traffic staff told the council the Route 79 work and ADA sidewalk widening will reduce roadway width in places and that changes to vehicle circulation were meant to improve safety for schoolchildren. "That was the rationale for it," a councilor said when explaining the traffic director’s presentation.

The council voted to separate the three proposed changes for individual consideration. On June Street (from Prospect Street to Maple Street) the motion to pass through first reading carried on roll call (yes 5, no 3). The Lindsay Street proposal (Prison Avenue to Brownell) failed on first reading (yes 3, no 5); councilors who opposed Lindsay said converting that commercial corridor to one-way would harm small businesses and reduce customer access. The Maple Street measure was not advanced on first reading and was referred back to the ordinances committee for further review and discussion with public-safety staff.

Several councilors said they supported moving quickly on the school-area measures and asked staff to clarify emergency preamble justification; others said the items required more study of emergency-vehicle routing and business impacts.

Next steps: June Street will proceed to subsequent readings; Lindsay and Maple items will return to committee for additional analysis and public input.