Councillors Slam Harris Street Traffic Redesign Rollout, Cite Poor Communication and Neighborhood Impact Concerns

By Barbara Taormina

REVERE – Chief of Planning and Community Development Tom Skwierawski was at this week’s City Council meeting with an overview of the Harris Street traffic redesign. Skwierawski began by explaining that the project began long before he landed in Revere. It was one of several mitigation projects proposed for HYM. The goal of the Harris Street redesign is to remove 1,500 cars of cut-through traffic that use Harris Street as a shortcut between Route 16 and neighborhood streets.

The Traffic Commission approved converting Harris Street to a partial one-way between Winthrop Avenue and Sewall Street. According to the redesign plan, Route 16 southbound is getting two left-turn lanes at Winthrop Avenue to accommodate regional traffic that previously cut through Harris Street to reach east Revere and Winthrop. Parking will be prohibited on parts of Sewall Street, between Harris and Bixby Streets, to keep visibility clear.

Timing was a major topic. Councillors were upset that the new traffic flow and rules were set to start Friday, Dec. 6, for a 90-day trial period, and they were just learning the details of the redesign a few days before. But the lack of communication wasn’t their only concern.

Ward 1 Councillor Joanne McKenna said residents were never given a chance to express their views on the street redesign at a community meeting, which was promised but never happened. And McKenna said she feared changes to Harris Street will only push cut-through traffic deeper into the neighborhood. McKenna said the traffic will need to push through somewhere.

“C’mon, this is terrible,” she said. “You’re going to make a beautiful, quite neighborhood crazy.”

Others, like McKenna, felt the surrounding neighborhood is at risk of being inundated with commuter traffic.

Sewall Street resident Edward Terrell spoke about the redesign during the public comment segment of the meeting. “I’m furious,” he said, adding that the neighborhood asked for some help with traffic and they are getting whole neighborhood renovation.

Skwierawski tried to reassure councillors and residents by stressing the benefit of directing regional traffic away from Harris Street. He also said changes could be made along the way. “We can pivot and adapt as needed,” said Skwierawski. “We’re doing this to bring regional traffic off local roads.”

But councillors, who have no say in the plan, wanted more data. They wanted evidence that the changes actually reduced cut-through traffic. Skwierawski said data would be collected during the 90-day trial.

Councillor-at-Large Michelle Kelley proposed postponing the trial until spring. “This would give everyone a chance to process this,” she said.

But Skwierawski said plans were in place to start this week. He did, however, agree to schedule a community meeting halfway through the trial to see how the neighborhood was coping with the changes.