Unrelenting traffic and the flaunting of common sense motor vehicle laws are the two primary issues that concern the residents of the Temple Street and Route 9 in Framingham.

Nearly 30 neighbors participated in a Framingham Police Department Community Meeting at the police station Thursday night.

The only topic of discussion coming from the neighbors were the many traffic issues that beset those who live on Temple Street, Temple Place, Reni Lane, Woodleigh Road, Primo Drive, Old Wood Road, Westgate Road and Old Worcester Road.

Excessive speed, failing to stop at intersections, blocking intersections and a general lack of consideration by drivers passing through the quiet neighborhood that is bordered by Route 9, were the gist of remarks by a number of residents.

Framingham Police Officer Sean Riley suggested the neighborhood, “Get together as a community and write down all your concerns in detail. Then get on the agenda of the town’s Traffic and Roadway Safety Committee.”
That committee brings together various town departments and is instrumental in resolving issues connected with traffic.

Framingham Deputy Police Chief Ken Ferguson, who co-hosted the meeting with Riley, mentioned to the residents that the area of contention is a state-controlled roadway and when the state is involved, “things take a little longer,” to be resolved.

“Traffic is our biggest problem,” said Kathy McCarthy, a Town Meeting member and resident of the neighborhood.

“Sometimes it is like we are being held hostage,” because traffic blocks many of the neighborhood roads preventing residents from leaving their neighborhood, she told police.

Riley and Deputy Chief Ferguson reiterated their message that neighbors who are aware make for a safe and trouble-free neighborhood.

“We depend on you to be the eyes and ears of the neighborhood,” said Ferguson. “The strength of a community is the relationships in each neighborhood.”

Riley presented a chart which showed that the neighborhood had 47 calls for service in the past year. Motor vehicle accidents (seven) topped the list. There were three breaking and entering calls and two calls for malicious destruction of property.

The statistics indicated that the neighborhood is quiet and relatively incident free. The police department receives an average of 50,000 calls for service in any given year.

“There is no particular major reason that you are all here tonight,” said Riley. “There is not necessarily something going on in the neighborhood.”

The two officers stressed the importance of calling the police department when there is even the slightest suspicion that something in the neighborhood is out of the ordinary.

“We want you to feel comfortable calling us,” said Ferguson. “When we have these meetings we expect to see a spike in calls. We encourage people to call us.”

Turning to general home safety concerns, Riley listed three things that would enhance safety for children on the neighborhood.

• Make sure they have one or two safe homes in the neighborhood to go to in an emergency or if they don’t have a parent at home when they get home from school.
• Make sure children have parents’ contact information including cell phone and work numbers.
• Make sure they have a way to contact police, if no one else is home in the neighborhood.

McCarthy offered a reason why the neighborhood is relatively quiet and safe. “There are a lot of people around who know their neighbors. People watch and know who should be there in the neighborhood.”