Massachusetts Coastal Residents Fight First Traffic Light In Town

You live in a quaint town with a gorgeous beach on the Massachusetts coastline. There are no traffic lights, as there are only 2 busy times of the day.

Morning and afternoon traffic can get claustrophobic, but nothing like Boston or downtown Peabody or Beverly.

What's the Problem?

But wait. There's summer traffic that's overwhelming to the small town which welcomes thousands to it's beautiful 2+ miles white sand beach.

The problem is the traffic congestion during busy times and in the summer. The intersection is at Central and Markets Streets, where there are 5 roads coming into the center. In fact, it's called 5 Corners.

Residents agree it's a monster of an intersection, but patient drivers get through it just fine.

State Highway Route 1A

According to a recent Facebook poll, 78% of Ipswich's 8,400 members do not want a traffic light. There have been no major accidents nor fatalities at this intersection, just bottle-necked traffic during busy times and the summer season.

One Facebook group member chimed in "From Lord's Square to the South Green is not state controlled. It is town controlled", which means since it's a state recommendation to add a traffic light, can the state force the issue?

canva.com

There's a virtual meeting on January 14 to discuss options. If you have a love for Crane Beach (locals call it Crane's Beach) or live in or near Ipswich, perhaps you will have an idea of how to resolve this situation.

Ipswich has other problems, like the Country Street Bridge which is great need of repair, yet has barriers on on lane and no action on repair for months. Don't get the residents going about a new elementary school, or the new police station, or the lack of a vibrant downtown.

As with everything, time will tell.