5 Facts

Swampscott Police Department Awarded Grant to Enhance Pedestrian and Bicyclist Safety

Here is one of five things to know about Swampscott today: Swampscott police was one of only 48 police departments to receive a bicyclist and walker safety grants.

1) Newsbit of the Day: In an effort to make Swampscott a safer place for our pedestrians and bicyclists, the Swampscott Police Department will use a $3,000 grant provided by the Executive Office of Public Safety and Security.  The funding is from $192,000 provided by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration specifically to improve pedestrian and bicyclist safety.  Swampscott is one of 48 police departments to receive this grant. From 2006 to 2011, 1544 pedestrians were injured in crashes and of those 375 sustained fatal injuries, according to the Massachusetts Traffic Records Analysis Center. During that same time frame, 586 bicyclists were injured in crashes with 45 resulting in death.  “Bicyclists and pedestrians are …

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Parents Support a Sidewalk Clearing By-Law [Video]

Snowbound sidewalks force walkers into the road, many of them children on their way to and from school.

Hadley parents hope for help getting their kids safely to school when ice and snow stand in the way. And no doubt parents with children at other elementary schools share a similar hope. Melissa Defilippi, mom to a Hadley kindergartener, hopes help arrives in the form of a Town Meeting by-law requiring residents to clear sidewalks in front of their homes. Cleared sidewalks would give children a place to walk other than the side of the road. She is hopeful selectmen will propose the Town Meeting by-law.  The head of the Department of Public Works, Gino Cresta, said sidewalk shoveling proposals have come before several Town Meetings in his 15 years as a meeting member. Each time it has been defeated, he said. Opponents say the by-law would …

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Are Crosswalk Laws Too Lenient?

Violating the state's crosswalk law can get you fined $200. Is that enough of a deterrent?

On Sunday, an elderly man was struck by a car while trying to use a crosswalk in downtown Peabody. He later died at the hospital. Peabody is one of the area cities that routinely deploys a police officer in its downtown to monitor traffic and help pedestrians cross four lanes of traffic on Main Street – and not much gets past him. But that’s just one officer, part-time, occasionally accompanied by another officer on a motorcycle, watching one busy crosswalk just up from Peabody Square. In fact, about a quarter of a mile down Main Street at another busy intersection, a 63-year old woman was struck and killed by a car back in September of 2011. That accident occurred around 6 a.m., and there was no detail officer nearby. Of course, …

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Liz

1:22 pm on Friday, February 1, 2013

Oh but they have stickers! I love it when I see a vehicle with a "Slow down for Allie" sticker speeding through residential neighborhoods, not yielding to pedestrians, or going around me when I am. A lot of folks on the north shore are inconsiderate hypocrites.   more ›

Safety Tips For Tonight's Trick or Treating in Swampscott

Swampscott has no set hours for trick or treating, scheduled for tonight. Below are safety tips from Swampscott police.

  These tips were submitted by the Swampscott Police Department last year. To help ensure this Halloween is a safe and happy holiday for you and your children, here are some things to be aware of.  Costume Suggestions:  • Keep costumes short to prevent trips, falls and other bumps in the night.  • Wear light or bright colored costumes and use light reflective tape.  • Children shouldn't wear a mask; it restricts vision. If a mask must be worn, cut large eye holes. Make-up is much safer than a mask because it doesn't obstruct vision.  • Toy weapons, wands, brooms, etc. should be made of paper or cardboard; they are safer than plastic, wood or metal.  • Put the child's name, address and phone number on the inside of their costume in case of …

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Tips For Safe and Festive Holiday Decorating

Stay safe tips from National Grid.

  This article was submitted by National Grid. National Grid is reminding its customers about the importance of safety around the holidays, especially with holiday orientated lights and decorations. As we move deeper into the season of cold weather, National Grid would also like to share some energy saving tips so that customers can benefit from a more environmentally friendly, safe and cost-effective way to save money and celebrate this holiday season.  Decorating Safely National Grid has a 20-year track record of partnering with its customers to provide successful, award-winning efficiency programs in its U.S. service territory. These programs have helped save customers nearly 565 million therms of natural gas, representing approximately…

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Patch Picks

5 Tips To Weather Irene

This week's Patch Picks are hurricane tips from the Swampscott Fire Department.

In the weekly Patch Picks we highlight everything from beaches to books. This week Swampscott fire Deputy Chief James Potts gives us 5 tips to prepare for a hurricane. We asked for 5, so this is not an exhaustive live.

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