'Out of Control': Taunton councilor sounds alarm over speeding cars plowing into homes

TAUNTON — City Councilor John McCaul is sounding the alarm about speeding on Hart and Plain streets in the wake of several crashes in which drivers have plowed into homes.

"There have been four accidents where cars have crashed into homes," McCaul said.

Hart Avenue resident Judy Simmons, said the traffic on adjacent Hart Street "is out of control."

"There are cars that come down the street like it's a super highway," she said. "They fly over the railroad tracks. Cars have hit telephone poles. We have had some accidents happen in my yard."

McCaul said Taunton Police Safety Officer Arsenio Chaves told him he plans to conduct a traffic study on Hart and Plain streets in response to neighborhood concerns.

Speeding car crashed into Hart Street house

McCaul said a speeding driver on Hart Street lost control of his car and struck a house near the corner of Hart Avenue at approximately 1 a.m. on April 9.

The driver was speeding over railroad tracks, and he landed on a property owner's lawn and hit the corner of a house at Hart Avenue and shifted it 18 inches off its foundation, McCaul said.

Homeowner Lorna Rankins, 62, said the driver crashed into her bedroom while she was in an adjacent room with her two Boston terriers.

"The bedroom and a large portion of the basement were destroyed," she said.

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Rankins said one of her dogs is being treated for trauma following the crash, and an engineer will examine the home's main beams to determine if the "house can be saved and rebuilt."

Hart Avenue resident Fred Simmons, 88, said the driver that struck Rankin's house narrowly missed hitting his brother Francis Simmons' home near the corner of Hart Street.

"The car missed a rock (cinderblock) in the front yard of my brother's house and then flew into the house across the street," he said.

Simmons' daughter Suzanne Simmons, 53, said the driver would have died if he hit the cinderblock.

"There are skid marks on the lawn," she said. "The guy was probably going 80 mph over the railroad tracks."

There are no speed limit signs on Hart Street, which intersects with Middleboro Avenue near Route 24 to the corner of Plain Street.

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Hart Street is treated as a 'shortcut'

Fred Simmons said a utility pole near the corner of Hart Street and Hart Avenue had to be replaced last year after being struck by a car.

"Another pole got hit on Friday night (July 14) by a car coming down a hill," he said. "The traffic is unbelievable."

Judy Simmons, who is Suzanne's mother, said many speeding drivers discovered Hart Street as a shortcut to access Route 140 last year while roadway repairs were underway on Weir and Ingell streets.

"They were fixing the roads, and people found our street to be a shortcut," she said.

Judy said she recently counted 101 cars driving by her house on a weekday between 5 a.m. and 6 a.m.

"I was up early because I was going to an appointment," she said. "I was sitting near the front of the house and saw cars heading toward Weir Street and Route 140. I counted 101 cars going by in both directions in that short period on a weekday morning."

Suzanne said traffic on Hart Street "is constant and something needs to be done."

"I can't get out of my driveway, and neither can my parents without waiting five minutes," she said.

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Plain Street homeowner's fence damaged by speeding drivers

Plain Street resident Jean Nicholas, 72, said speeding cars have struck her frontyard fence four times during the past two years.

"We don't know who hit it," she said. "A motorbike hit our fence three weeks ago."

Her husband, Chad Nicholas, 69, said he recently installed an outdoor security camera, and it recorded a man driving a motorbike that struck the fence.

"The guy got back onto his motorbike and left," he said.

Nicholas said the cyclist also struck a roadway curve warning sign near the fence while driving up Plain Street from Weir Street.

"Two pedals from the motorbike fell off onto the sidewalk," he said.

Nicholas said he has had to constantly replace fences on his front lawn that drivers struck during the past two years.

"I'm trying to figure out the best type of fence that should be installed," he said. "I don't want to place big rocks on the front of my property because that could injure anybody who hits it."

Nicholas said he would like city officials to place a roadway curve warning sign for drivers to heed as they drive on Plain Street from the corner of Weir Street.

"There are two curve warning signs that alert vehicles which are going in the opposite direction," he said. "There are no signs that alert people coming up from Weir Street. Vehicles coming up that way should know there is a bad curve."

McCaul said there are skid marks on Plain Street near the corner of Beacon Street that indicate how fast some drivers have driven.

"As you drive up the street from West Water Street...you will see skid marks of rubber that swerve to the left and right," he said. "If a car was coming from the opposite direction, they could have gotten hit."

Taunton Police to study traffic on Hart and Plain streets

Taunton police safety officer Arsenio Chaves said speed radar devices will be placed on Hart and Plain Streets to monitor traffic.

According to two signs at opposite ends of the roadway, the speed limit on Plain Street is 30 mph from the corner of Hart Street to the intersection of West Plain Street.

Plain Street has no speed limit signs from the corner of Hart Street to the intersection of Weir Street.

McCaul said drivers "need to follow the laws of driving and respect other people on the road, which is common courtesy."

"That comes down to respecting neighborhoods," he said. "If we respect the laws, our community won't have problems."

McCaul said he is working with the city's Department of Public Works to get proper speed limit signs installed on Hart and Plain streets.

"Once the traffic study is done, we will look at where to place the signs," he said.

This article originally appeared on The Taunton Daily Gazette: Taunton: Speeding, crashes raise concerns on Hart and Plain streets