After years of complaints by residents concerning traffic on the street, the Montgomery Village Board has decided to put a barrier up on Mayfield Drive to keep it from being a through street.
A number of residents of Mayfield Drive showed up at the Village Board meeting in Montgomery this week to hear about possible solutions to the traffic problem.
Several residents got up to speak to the board about vehicles speeding through the neighborhood, which includes a number of children. They said the problem has been going on for years, and that some people like to use the road as a cut-through street to avoid busier roads in the area.
Resident Jabob Hall said that every day people drive at speeds that have been clocked as fast as 51 miles per hour on Mayfield Drive, which has a speed limit of 25 mph.
“People speed around buses, we’ve had vehicles hit and sideswiped,” he said.
The village sent out a survey to neighborhood residents regarding the traffic issues on Mayfield Drive. Some 272 people responded to the survey and of that, 124 respondents said to shut down the road to through traffic, officials said. Trustee Steve Jungermann said most of those who responded saw that as the only viable solution.
Beginning the week of June 28, the street will undergo a planned pavement project. As soon as that is completed the road will become a non-through street.
The plan will close Mayfield with a concrete barrier between Amsterdam Circle and Roxbury Lane, with only a lane open for authorized vehicles such as police cars, fire engines, ambulances, garbage trucks and mail delivery vehicles. Anyone else who drives through the barrier area will face a fine from the police department, officials said.
Montgomery Police Chief Phillip Smith said fines would be given out and not warnings for people violating the barrier area. The citations will begin at $150, he said.
Jungermann said there will be signs put up at both ends of Mayfield Drive warning drivers that there is no outlet available.
Montgomery Village Manager Jeff Zoephel said digital message boards will also be used to notify drivers of the change to Mayfield Drive.
“This is a huge change,” he said. “People will have to change the way they are living.”
More Top Picks Best Walking Shoes For Traveling Abroad
Judy Pochel is a freelance reporter for The Beacon-News.