OFFICE OF THE CITY MANAGER

CITY HALL

375 MERRIMACK STREET

LOWELL, MA  01852

TELE: (978) 970-4000  FAX: (978) 970-4007

Bernard F. Lynch

City Manager

TO:                  Mayor Edward “Bud” Caulfield

                                    And

                        Members of the Lowell City Council

FROM:            Bernard F. Lynch, City Manager

DATE:             June 6, 2008

SUBJECT:       MOTION OF 5/6/08 BY MAYOR CAULFIELD

REQUEST TRAFFIC ENGINEER INVESTIGATE THE ROAD CONDITIONS @ HADLEY STREET & KFC

In regards to the above-mentioned motion Jeff Gomes, Transportation Engineer visited the site in question and has the following comments.  The KFC parking lot is flush with Hadley Street due to the lack of a sidewalk or curbing making it difficult to distinguish the public right of way.  Apparently non-compliant and/or unstructured parking creates a problem at this location at times.  It is possible to better define the KFC driveway and the public right of way.  One quick and inexpensive solution would be restriping the edge line between the parking lot and the street.  Other marking solutions will be investigated as well to clearly define the entranceway and prevent unorganized parking.

Jeff Gomes will be work with the KFC manager/owner to review the parking issues, driveway definition and discuss options for improvements at this location that will best serve the business and the residents in this area.  A long-term solution may be the installation of curbing and sidewalks.  This would require further input from Engineering and Public Works.  We will bring this issue to their attention and update the Council as necessary.

If you have any questions regarding this information, please contact me.  Thank you.

cc:        Assistant City Manager T J McCarthy, Commissioner of Public Works

            Lisa DeMeo, City Engineer

Lt. Tim Crowley, Lowell Police Department

Anne Barton, Deputy Director

Jeffrey Gomes, Transportation Engineer

            Matthew Roux, Assistant Traffic Planner