On the Right Road – McKenna, Council tackle truck issue

The problem, as presented by a Winthrop resident during the public comment portion of a Town Council meeting last month, is that the trucks going to the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority’s (MWRA) Deer Island sewage treatment facility have been using non-designated routes to get there and then, on top of that, travel far in excess of the speed limit.

Town Manager James McKenna wasted no time in addressing the issue. He and Police Chief Terence Delehanty sat down with MWRA representatives and discussed the matter. We have no doubt that residents will see a much safer situation forthwith.

Although one has to be concerned with Councillor Jeanne Maggio’s personal observation that she witnessed 10 motor vehicle operators (both truckers and residents) running a stop sign in a short period of time, we expect with “persistent and consistent” (to borrow Councillor Vice President Joe Ferrino’s clever terminology) watch of the situation by the police, we’ll continue to see improvement in this area.

But what struck us about the matter is that town officials did not put this issue on the back burner. Town Manager McKenna made it a priority by immediately contacting the MWRA about the dangerous situation and he has gotten results.

Chief Delehanty has joined the effort fully with the law enforcement component. A number of traffic citations have been issued to non-complying truck drivers. Chief Delehanty also will be inviting MWRA officials to an upcoming community meeting with Precinct 3 residents to further discuss the ongoing improvements.