The Framingham Traffic Commission recommended the creation of the group, which would be a part of the Department of Public Works, during their meeting on Tuesday.
FRAMINGHAM - The Framingham Traffic Commission voted to recommend the creation of a traffic department within the local Department of Public Works (DPW) during their meeting on Tuesday, April 22, resulting in the matter being passed along to the City Council.
Framingham officials recently resumed work on a city charter mandate that dictates that the Traffic Commission is responsible for a recommendation on internal DPW organization. A study to seek how other municipalities organize their own traffic departments was published back in 2020, but no action has been taken since. Recently, the City Council requested that the Traffic Commission revisit the topic.
“Part of the review looked at engineering, maintenance, parking, parking enforcement—all of these items that some towns and cities include in their traffic and transportation departments, and some don’t,” DPW representative for the commission Matthew Hayes explained on Tuesday.
The new traffic department would feature a director who would report to the local DPW director, along with a traffic engineer and an administrative assistant. The new group would incorporate the Framingham Lighting and Signals Division, but they would not be responsible for enforcing traffic regulations—that would still fall under the police department’s responsibilities.
Framingham DPW Director Bob Lewis believes that bringing multiple municipal services together under the traffic department’s purview while also satisfying the local charter is a wise idea.
“It’s another level of consolidation and efficiencies that the city councils have been promoting…There’s a lot of synergies between those departments,” Lewis said during the Traffic Commission's meeting.
A memo provided to the Traffic Commission noted that initial and ongoing costs for the new department would be covered through grants, city appropriations, and mitigation funds.
Following the Traffic Commission’s recommendation, the traffic department question will now be passed along to the City Council for final approval.
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This week on The Frame: Mayor Charlie Sisitsky unveils his $383.2 million proposal for the upcoming municipal budget as local leaders deliberate on financing the public school district’s operations, state officials provide an update on the General Chemical cleanup process, and coverage of I Believe Academy’s recent fundraiser and the Taste of MetroWest event.
The mayor unveiled the bottom line of his municipal budget proposal for the upcoming fiscal year on Tuesday. That same night, the Framingham School Committee continued to discuss how they can bridge the gap between their budget pitch and Sisitsky’s.
Tens of thousands of runners, wheelchair riders, and hand cyclists finished the journey from Hopkinton to Boylston Street this week, while about a half million spectators lined the 26.2 mile-long course to cheer the participants on. Thousands of those attendees watched the action unfold here in Framingham.
