Tewksbury Residents Sound Off on Safety Issues

Tewksbury, MA - Summer’s nearly here, and with each walk in the park, day at the pool and backyard BBQ comes the risk of snakebites, drowning and fires, but don’t worry! There’s no reason to stay cooped up inside all season.

Patch put together a list of summer safety tips to keep you safe and having fun while the weather’s warm. Make sure to give snakes their distance and always swim with a buddy to stay carefree during the dog days.

Keeping these tips in mind, there are other possible dangers that affect Tewksbury residents year round.

We asked Patch readers what they thought the biggest safety issues were in their town. Here’s a list of the most pressing problems, from break-ins to traffic jams:

• "This town is not pedestrian friendly at all! There would be much less traffic if there were more sidewalks and bike lanes. I wish I could let my kids explore outside my neighborhood, bike to the library, etc."

• "Has anyone driven around the intersection of River Road and Andover Street during peak traffic hours? It is complete chaos and a stop light is desperately needed. This even further complicated by the parking lots for Rite Aid, Mobil, and the plaza for White Dove Pantry."

• "Absolutely sidewalks and a few too many sex offenders living in the area."

• "How about we get rid of Heroine Haven also know as Motel 6- that's our biggest problem in the town"

• "Rt 38!! The traffic is insane and what does the town do? They let more buildings go up which means more traffic, but yet wherever you go there's nothing but run down buildings."

• "Better monitoring of the 20 mph speed limit in school zones when the lights are flashing!"

• "Need more sidewalks, more traffic lights at dangerous intersections, more speed traps because people drive way too fast on 25-30mph roads, and making sure the drugs stay at bay."

• "Need working lights at the 4-way intersections at the following locations---on North Street going up to Fresca Soccer field, Foster and Shawsheen at convenience store near Heath Brook School and South and Salem."

• "Pedestrian (and bicycle) safety. Roads are far too wide, sidewalks are anemic, and bicycle lanes are non-existent."

• "Narcotics epidemic, even with the Tewksbury Police Department doing a fantastic job."

Is there a problem that wasn’t mentioned? Share it with us in the comments below or on our Tewksbury Patch Facebook page.