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Committee tables commuter-rail noise resolution; police describe vandalism incident as isolated
Summary
The Public Safety Committee lifted a 2025 resolution about MBTA commuter-rail safety and noise but tabled it for lack of MBTA representation; Deputy Chief JT Hoare told the committee a vehicular vandalism incident in the affected neighborhood was "an isolated incident" linked to a juvenile from a nearby group home and had been mitigated.
The Fall River City Public Safety Committee lifted a previously tabled resolution concerning commuter-rail safety and noise but ultimately tabled further action April 7 because no MBTA representative attended and some neighbors still report ongoing noise concerns.
Committee members discussed a report in The Herald about a $6,800,000 state capital improvement allocation to reduce South Coast rail noise, and several council members said some residents were offered window replacements while others were not. Councilors asked staff to follow up on mitigation and whether more residents remain affected.
Deputy Chief JT Hoare described a vehicular vandalism incident in the President Avenue/Madison Street neighborhoods that led to the original 01/14/2025 resolution. "I think this was an isolated incident involving a juvenile that was going through scribe that kinda had an outburst," Hoare said, adding the police identified a nearby group home as the source and worked out mitigation terms.
Given the absence of MBTA officials and the presence of continuing resident complaints, the committee voted to table the item for future follow-up so the MBTA and any other interested parties can attend and the city can compile updates on mitigation measures.
Next steps: committee staff will attempt to secure MBTA representation or further information on state-funded mitigation programs and report back at a future meeting.
