BOSTON -- North Shore lawmakers continued their push for solutions to traffic problems that plague Route 128 by firing off a letter to Massachusetts Highway Commissioner Matt Amorello asking for a meeting with him.
Amorello, who is reportedly moving from Grafton to the North Shore, recently told the Salem Evening News that he plans to put designs for improvements to part of Route 128 on a fast track.
The June 4 letter, signed by Sen. Fred Berry of Peabody, Rep. Mike Cahill of Beverly and Rep. Ted Speliotis of Danvers, thanks Amorello for the support and emphasizes the importance of the project. The three lawmakers also tell Amorello that immediate solutions to the problem would be welcome.
Amorello plans to arrange a meeting with them, according to his spokesman, Doug Cope. He said the design of the $11 million project to add acceleration and deceleration lanes to a two-mile stretch of Route 128 in Peabody and Danvers should be ready for construction in 2003. The project will make it easier to get on and off the highway.
"He understands that improving the safety of that stretch of Route 128 is a very important project," Cope said. Cahill said he plans to point out the improvements that are needed at interchanges in Beverly as well.
"It's good that the commissioner is paying attention to the needs along the corridor," Cahill said. "We just have to make sure they look at the whole picture."
Lynne Black considers herself to be a fairly conservative driver. But with two minor traffic tickets to her name, the Salem resident's insurance rates have skyrocketed.
"I found it was a very drastic penalty for just going maybe five or 10 miles over the speed limit," Black said. At Black's request, Berry recently offered a solution at the Statehouse. He filed a bill late last month that would allow motorists with certain traffic violations to attend a driving class. The class would allow them to avoid paying fines and watching their insurance premiums jump.
Only drivers without a prior violation in the past two years would be eligible, and participants would be placed on a six-month "insurance probation" after finishing the class.
Berry said a driver would still need to pay for the class. Inevitably, that would be a bargain compared to the stiff insurance increases imposed in this state.
"The individual might get a whole lot more out of the course than they would have paying the insurance company," Berry said.