Speeding cars, accidents on County Street have residents concerned; seeking help from city

TAUNTON - Business owners and neighbors on County Street fear their businesses and homes are in danger of being damaged by speeding cars or drunk drivers. The property owners have petitioned the city to install a longer guard rail to prevent cars going around the curve in the roadway near Johnson Street from damaging their properties.

“Accidents have occurred, and the drivers were under the influence of alcohol or speeding,” said Jessica Schroeder, owner of J. Renee Hair Studio at 278 County St., adding that her neighbor Patti's Place of Hair Design at 294 County St. has also been damaged.

According to Schroeder, a tenant living in an apartment unit at J. Renee Hair Studio saw a speeding van narrowly miss hitting a person on a sidewalk last week.

“She (tenant) saw the driver go up on the sidewalk and almost hit the pedestrian,” Schroder said. “The driver was going too fast.”

Fatal car crash on County Street

Schroder’s neighbor, Ted Santos, said a driver lost control of his car at 2 a.m. on July 2 and struck a gas meter at J. Renee Hair Studio which includes a home that he lives at with his wife who manages Patti's Place of Hair Design.

“He hit the fence on my property,” Santos said. “He then hit the gas meter at the shop (J. Renee Hair Studio) and died.”

Schroeder said the car crash would have been more devastating for her business if the gas meter exploded when the driver struck it.

“It could have blown up the whole shop,” she added.

Schroeder said the explosion would have endangered tenants living in the apartment, who had just moved into the apartment the day before the crash.

Schroeder said her building has been undergoing repairs since the fatal crash.

“It has cost about $40,000 to $50,000 to do the repairs,” she said. “It’s been a real headache.”

Schroeder said her homeowners’ insurance policy has not been able to provide much coverage because it needs to obtain payments from the car insurance policy of the driver who damaged J. Renee Hair Studio, and she said, the driver "had hardly any coverage."

Driver strikes telephone pole on County Street

Schroeder said the hair studio was almost damaged by a female driver who lost control of her vehicle and struck a telephone pole near Patti’s Place of Hair Design at approximately 1 a.m. on Sept. 2.

“According to a neighbor, the driver hit the curb and flipped over,” Schroeder said. “She missed hitting the building by just a couple of feet. I had pieces of car debris everywhere on my property.”

Car crashes on County Street damage a homeowner’s fence

Santos said several car crashes during the past few years damaged the wooden fence on his property, forcing him to replace the fence three or four times.

“And most of the time, I have to pay for it because the drivers take off,” he said.

Taunton DPW installs curve warning signs on County Street

Taunton Police Safety Officer Arsenio Chaves said the Department of Public Works recently installed several curve warning signs and a double arrow sign on County Street, in hopes of alerting motorists to the curve in the road.

Guardrail extension urged on County Street

Schroeder said the guardrail near Patti’s Place of Hair Design should be extended approximately 46 feet toward her property to prevent motor vehicles from crashing into the hair salon and apartment unit.

“There are plenty of feet where they can extend it,” she said.

Santos said the guardrail in front of Patti’s Place of Hair Design is short, and the drivers involved in recent crashes have not struck it.

“The cars would go straight across and hit my fence,” he said, pointing to a skid mark on his lawn. “They always miss the guardrail.”

Santos believes the signs installed on County Street are too small and won't be noticed by drivers.

Schroeder said a guardrail extension is needed because the roadway curve near Johnson Street “is a bad curve.”

“I wish they (Department of Public Works) would create more protection than signage,” she said.

Schroeder said most of the car crashes near her property occurred during the evening because drivers tend to speed or drive under the influence of alcohol.

“People are not paying attention to signs at that point,” she said. “This is more of a safety issue that involves some physical barricading. There is a guardrail, and it needs to be extended.”

County Street guardrail extension request under DPW review

Schroeder would like to have the guardrail extended from the front of Patti’s Place Hair Design toward J. Renee Hair Studio.

“This would protect both properties from motor vehicles damaging the properties,” he said.

Chaves said he shared Schroeder’s desire for an extended guardrail with Department of Public Works Assistant Commissioner Tony Abreu, and he said the request is under review by BETA.

BETA is a Lincoln, Rhode Island firm that provides engineering advice to communities about traffic, transportation, water, wastewater, and municipal structures.

Chaves said he hopes the guardrail extension request can be granted.

“It will keep motorists from further damaging property at both addresses,” he said.

This article originally appeared on The Taunton Daily Gazette: Car crashes on Taunton's County Street raise safety concerns