A large delegation of Neponset Street residents is scheduled to appear before town officials tomorrow night to demand stringent policing, radar enforcement, and additional safety measures to combat escalating traffic hazards along their roadway.

Functioning as a key residential connector between I-95 and Route 1, Neponset Street has become a focal point of community anxiety, particularly regarding the safety of approximately 400 children who cross the street daily to attend the Prescott Elementary School.

While a school traffic control officer is stationed during regular arrival and dismissal hours, residents point out that children staying for after-school activities receive no crossing protection. To safeguard students, the neighborhood group’s proposals include:

Installing radar control equipment—noting that nearby Dedham utilizes a radar unit and Walpole is deploying its own once warning signs are posted.
Constructing an underpass or pedestrian footbridge across Neponset Street near Prescott Street.
Erecting additional “Caution” warning signs near the Prescott Street intersection.
Painting a solid no-passing double yellow line down the center of the street.

State Representative William Butters (D-Norwood) has been involved in addressing the corridor’s traffic dangers, which local officials have also urged the state to help resolve.

Board of Appeals Threatens Norwood Plaza Permit

In a related municipal matter, Board of Appeals Chairman James J. Drummey warned that the board may call a public hearing to revoke the operating permit for the Norwood Plaza shopping center if developer John Alevizos fails to block off an unauthorized vehicular entrance connecting the plaza parking lot to an adjacent gasoline station.

According to the terms of the plaza’s amended operating permit—which included a year-to-year agreement allowing the gas station to maintain an access opening—the connection was supposed to be permanently closed this summer. Chairman Drummey noted that the board wrote to Alevizos three weeks ago demanding an explanation for the unfulfilled change but has received no reply. The board contends that motorists using the gas station lot as a cut-through to enter the shopping center creates severe traffic hazards.

The traffic safety concerns underscored the broader neighborhood anxiety following a recent pedestrian accident on Wednesday, in which 10-year-old Janet Tucker of 765 Neponset Street was struck by a vehicle while crossing in front of a stopped school bus, leaving her in traction for three months.

Archival Note: This article has been dynamically reconstructed from the original public record print archives of the Patriot Ledger