Red Light Mayhem In Melrose? Some Residents Say So

MELROSE, MA — Picture yourself standing at a busy intersection in Melrose, waiting for the light to change so you can make your way across Main Street. It shouldn't be hard to imagine, it's likely a daily occurrence for many. Then picture the light finally turning, taking a step off the curb, but having to retreat back when a car blows a red light.

Then another.

Then another.

Then another.

Then another.

That's what one person said she saw happen at the intersection of Main and Franklin Wednesday morning. The person, who is not being named since she posted the account on a private Melrose Community Facebook page, said five cars whizzed past one person trying to cross the street. She ended the story by saying the city needed more traffic enforcement. The majority of the couple dozen comments that followed agreed with her.

Five cars blowing a red light on Main Street seems almost unbelievable. This reporter is familiar with the intersection, and while drivers make no apologies for trying to beat the light, seeing even two cars YOLO it through the light is a sight I have yet to behold.

Sgt. Jonathan Goc of the Melrose Police Traffic Division hasn't seen it either.

"5 cars would be very rare," he told Patch in an email. "I have never seen that."

Goc wrote that when you see red light violations in Melrose, it's usually one car going through just as the light turns red, then another tailing it through a solid red light.

"Anything after 2 cars going through a red is not too common," he wrote.

Those commenting on the Facebook post listed several instances of cars running rampant through red lights in Melrose.

One person said she just saw two cars run a red in front of the middle school. Another said she narrowly avoided an accident at the Franklin and Main intersection when a car blew a light. And yet another claimed "on average at least 5 drivers will run the red light" at Lebanon and Grove. (This reporter would concur that this intersection can be a mess, though that account appears extreme.)

Goc wrote the intersection of Franklin and Main "definitely has a good amount of red light violations especially during the am/pm commuter hours."

There are some intersections that see more frequent red light offenses, he wrote, saying Main at the Fellsway and Tremont at the Fellsway "would be on that short list."

For those interested, there is a Pedestrian & Bicycle Advisory Committee meeting June 6. A Traffic Commission meeting is not currently on the schedule.

What do you think the worst intersection in Melrose is for red light violations? And be honest, do you ever try to catch the light yourself? Email mike.carraggi@patch.com, and subscribe to Melrose Patch for more local news and real-time alerts.

Photo by Mike Carraggi