Subcommittee recommends Ronald Doucette for Northborough Traffic Safety Committee

The Select Board interview subcommittee voted unanimously to recommend that the full Select Board appoint Ronald Doucette to the Town of Northborough Traffic Safety Committee. Chair Jeff Ostegei moved the recommendation for appointment at the Select Board meeting scheduled for July 13, 2026; Leslie Rutan seconded the motion and the subcommittee recorded three aye votes, and the motion passed.

Ronald Doucette, who told the panel he has lived in Northborough for 48 years, described decades of local civic involvement and safety-focused volunteer work. "I've lived in town Ron Doucette, I've lived in town for 48 years," he said, and told members he served as chairman of a police-station building committee and participated in volunteer safety patrol programs. He also described professional experience in documentation roles at Welch's and 3M and involvement with senior-center leadership, which he said taught him to seek compromise among differing views.

Bill Pierce, a member of the Traffic Safety Committee, outlined the committee's advisory role to the Select Board and its meeting cadence. "The mission of the North Road Traffic Safety Committee is to improve livability, drivability, accessibility, and all forms of pedestrian and intermodal transportation in Northborough," Pierce said. He said the committee meets on the second Tuesday of each month at 6:30 p.m. and that members and staff evaluate resident submissions and make recommendations to the Select Board.

Pierce described recent committee work and near-term priorities. He said a town survey on lowering the default 30 mph speed limit to 25 mph did not produce a recommendation to change the default, but the committee recommended — and the town approved — installation of automatic crosswalk signs at schools using ARPA funds; Pierce said those signs "have now been put in across the town." He also cited targeted local speed-zone adjustments on streets such as Crawford, Church and Whitney as measures to slow traffic entering the center of town.

Pierce told the subcommittee that the committee receives many requests for heavy commercial vehicle exclusions and that the exclusion process requires a traffic safety study and associated expenses. "It costs money," he said, and added that the DPW generally has budget for about one traffic safety study per year, so requests are queued and prioritized.

Pierce listed current committee membership and staff support: he identified Kate Gerard as the committee chair and named members Brian Cole and Christopher DeSantis; he said Rachel Armstrong recently left the committee and that town staff who attend meetings include Sergeant McDonough McDonald, Scott Charpentier and Josh Vanhouten.

After the vote the subcommittee's staff member said Doucette would receive an appointment letter with instructions for swearing in at the town clerk's office and for completing required ethics paperwork. The recommendation will be taken up by the full Select Board on July 13, 2026; if appointed, the term noted in the subcommittee motion runs through April 29, 2029.

The subcommittee adjourned after completing the interview and vote.