By Scott Calzolaio

Milford Police Chief Robert Tusino has identified several areas of concern related to street parking. This photo was taken, at night, on North Bow St. and Spring St. As the police officer was making his way down the street, the red van was coming toward the cruiser but had to pull over because there was not enough room for two cars to pass. Photo source: www.milfordpolice.org

After getting some pushback from the Select Board on a few of his proposed changes in the past, Tusino decided that instead of trying to explain the danger, he would simply show them instead.

Using in-house drones, Tusino and his team filmed POV [point of view] shots of blind traffic turns, and corners with obscured vision. All this to show the Select Board the real-time danger these spots in town pose. 

For example, the camera closes in on the turn at Court Street and Jefferson Street, and showcases the blind spot created by the parked van on the left and car on the right.

“Hopefully this will really shed some light on what I’ve been trying to say,” Tusino said in an interview before the meeting. “The plan is to propose a bunch of options, because there is no one-size-fits-all solution for these issues.”

Among the proposed changes is an amendment to the parking-to-curb bylaw. Currently, cars can legally park 20 feet from an intersection. Tusino said that this is not nearly enough space. 

“One of the big things I would like to see implemented is an increase to at least 50 feet from the intersection,” he said.

Tusino also discussed the future of traffic enforcement in town. He discussed the possibility of starting a traffic division, whose sole purpose would be to maintain the rules of the road in town.

Many residents may have already noticed the crackdown on illegal parking in town.

“Parking citations and police proactive activity has been way up since I took over,” he said. “But still, it’s not enough. We don’t have the resources to address all the parking complaints right now.”

A police cruiser navigates the turn from West Street onto Union Street. Vehicles parked on both sides of the street make it impossible for two cars to pass each other. Here, there is only enough room for one car to squeeze through. Photo source: www.milfordpolice.org

These are “legitimate concerns that we need to start addressing now,” he said. 

Tusino has already begun planning to write an article for the May Town Meeting to appropriate the funds to address this issue.