Public Way Petition - Johnson & Hanover Roads - Carlisle, MA

As tax paying members of the Carlisle community, we believe the issue is a matter of fairness, public safety, and substantial compliance with the minimum requirements associated with determining the roads to be considered a public way.

• Public Safety. With 33 K-8 school age children, making Johnson and Hanover public will allow school buses to use Johnson and Hanover roads and lead to better public safety. While children of both Carlisle School and Concord Carlisle High School are currently picked up at the corners of Johnson/Westford Street and Hanover/Westford street, many residents do not consider these stops to be particularly safe given the significantly increased traffic (and speed) of vehicles along Westford Street and the limited visibility and time required to stop a vehicle in wet and slippery road conditions. Allowing school buses (restricted by the provisions of the school bus contract according to the School Committee) access to Johnson and Hanover will significantly improve the safety of our youngest community members.

• Fairness. As tax paying residents of Carlisle, Johnson and Hanover Road should receive the same sort of public works services, particularly plowing, that are received by another road of Carlisle. Moreover, the roads are already treated by many people from neighboring streets as public ways and as they walk, run or ride bicycles on these roads. These roads area also used as access points to Carlisle’s trails and public land today and we are glad to see that our community is considered a nice place to be, and indeed, have made friends among some of the "regulars" who walk and ride here. In this sense, it is clear that these roads are in fact already public.

• Substantial Compliance. It is understood that the Hanover Hill subdivision has substantially met all of the original requirements established by the Planning Board for Hanover and Johnson to be considered a public way. To the extent that there are any reservations, we encourage you to exercise any permissible discretion that is available to you.