NEWTON, Mass. — The city’s decision to paint over the Italian colored traffic stripes along Adams Street has been met with controversy ahead of the city’s annual Italian-American festival.
Mayor Fuller says it all comes down to regulations for public safety. In a statement, Mayor Fuller cites the busy roads, volume of traffic, and an analysis of citywide data that puts Adams Street on the city’s number one priority for traffic calming.
“We certainly could have done better with communication,” the mayor said. “While we had met with Festa leaders for many months and explained the need for the double yellow center lines, we missed the mark in communicating more broadly with more residents and City Councilors.”
Mayor Fuller says the double yellow center lines are not an option, but mandatory.
Vice President of Saint Mary of Carmen Society, Cayle Pasquarosa, says with the festival’s 90th year tradition this year, the timing of it all couldn’t be worse.
“We had done everything in our power behind the scenes to just get them to you know pause or terminate the project, and as a result, it was just terrible, the communication was off the charts non-existent, and it could have been avoided, which is the painful part about this whole thing,” said Pasquarosa.
Organizers say the Italian colored lines have been faithfully repainted each July since 1935. They say it has existed alongside city traffic and public safety regulations for centuries — some even painted over the newly added yellow lines.
Mayor Fuller acknowledges the city’s frustration and says they met with festa leaders for months to explain this decision, but missed the mark in communicating more broadly with residents and city councilors.
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