Peabody Looks To Crack Down On Car Carriers Parking On Routes 1, 114

PEABODY, MA — The Peabody City Council is looking to take the lead toward a statewide crackdown on commercial car carriers blocking breakdown and turning lanes on state highways while they unload cargo with a proposed ordinance that would fine the car companies $1,000 for each offense on Route 1 and Route 114.

Citing the safety concerns and traffic congestion caused by such extended lane blockages, City Councilor Dave Gamache proposed a city ordinance that won unanimous support for a draft ordinance from the Legal Affairs Committee. State Rep. Thomas Walsh (D-Peabody) spoke at the committee meeting and said he is proceeding with similar statewide legislation that he said could receive a boost from the local push on the North Shore.

"It's a little bit frustrating because we've all seen the car carriers in the middle of the street," Walsh said. "The question is how do we enforce (the ordinance)? I am a little bit surprised by that because if you or I parked in the middle of Route 114 and walked away over to any dealership it would be towed in a matter of seconds."

Walsh said one issue with using the existing state law against parking on state roadways to deter car carriers is that there is an allowance for breakdown lane parking for a certain amount of time, and that the proposed new ordinance and state law would satisfy the "need to provide something more stringent."

Gamache said he proposed the $1,000 fine to intentionally exceed the $300 limit that most city ordinance violations carry to act as a legitimate deterrent.

"I want to put some teeth into stopping them from doing this," he said.

He said any ordinance would need the pledged enforcement from the police document to respond in a timely fashion to write the citations and document the offenses.

"This could give a little boost (to the proposed state law) that we are being proactive and that some cities and towns have this problem, and that it's a serious problem," Gamache said.

State. Rep. Sally Kerans (D-Danvers) said she is looking forward to upcoming State House public hearings on the ordinance and agrees that the state push for legislation will benefit from the local action.

"I am thinking it will take a couple of weeks before the hearings to commence and I am thinking at that time we would want something from the City Council indicating your support for the legislation because this is a very real issue for the city," she said.

(Scott Souza is a Patch field editor covering Beverly, Danvers, Marblehead, Peabody, Salem and Swampscott. He can be reached at Scott.Souza@Patch.com. Twitter: @Scott_Souza.)