By William Tauro
On Monday afternoon a delivery truck owned by A Duie PYLY was traveling on Packard Avenue in Somerville when it hit a utility guide wire causing two utility light poles and a transformer to collapse.
Over sixty Somerville homes lost power and it also caused massive traffic tie up with a very dangerous situation.
Somerville Police and Somerville Firefighters blocked off the street from end to end where the polls were down to prevent any bystanders from getting electrocuted.
NStar arrived on scene to stabilize the wires and restore power to the neighborhood homes that were affected.
Maybe if the residents would take care of there property and have low lines fixed it wouldn’t happen. there’s a law that no line power or otherwise will be lower than 13ft 6in. Truck sign or no trucks still need access to the streets for garbage pick up and deliveries to homes. They need to prosecute the homeowner that causes this. And sir or mam before you say he didn’t belong there know the facts until you see a BOL you have no grounds to accuse the driver of anything.
A] These lines were not attached directly to a home. These lines were connecting from poles on Packard to poles for Teele Ave & Powderhouse Blvd. [see last picture] Thus it falls on NStar.
B] The fact that anyone coming down the street could observe that these lines were hanging low….the truck driver was not paying attention period. I drove trucks, you are suppose to know the height of your vehicle and be observant of overhead hazards. And if THIS NEWSPAPER GOES BACK AND TAKES PICTURES TODAY, they will see that the power lines are still hanging low as Nstar made a temporary fix that will stay in place till the Board of Aldermen go after them for Nstar’S HISTORIC temporary (Long time) pole repairs.
Shortly after Noon time till about 820 pm Somerville Ward 7 residents in this near vicinity were without power. You can see the direction the truck was coming from (Tufts) down Packard Ave heading toward Powderhouse Blvd., bet if the Bill of Lading (truckers delivery papers) were checked that you would see a drop off was made at one of the Tufts bldgs.
I have lived on the Blvd since 1959 and even before that time Powderhouse Blvd has always had signs warning that No Truck Traffic is (other than to resident deliveries on the street) is allowed.
One party stated that maybe it was not so, which is incorrect, it has been grandfathered for decades and worn signage has historically always been replaced. Yet you can be out there and see tractor trailer trucks for Walgreen, Coke, Beer Distributors, even fully loaded new car carriers as well as rubbish “container” trucks traveling the boulevard constantly.
It it time for the city to post large additional signage warning trucks at Curtis St & Broadway, Top Curtis St @ Medford Line, Curtis St @ Professors Row (directing trucks over to College Ave., Broadway & Packard Ave., Packard Ave @ Professors Row, Packard Ave. @ Talbot Ave. as well as along the boulevard at intersection points.
Then place the same extra effort by Somerville Police for violators that was put into place for the solar stop signs at Powdehouse Blvd/Packard Ave for Tufts. Let’s use the taxpayers dollars for the taxpayers.