Peabody City’s Municipal Safety Committee on Nov. 13 received a five-year crash summary at the Lowell/Endicott/King Street intersection and moved to seek a legal opinion about expanding enforcement options for parking and hydrant violations.

Captain Kevin Richards presented year-by-year crash counts: “going back to 2020, we had 9 recorded accidents ... In 2021, we had 11. In 2022, we had 14 ... and then in '24, they went down to 4. And in '25, we had 6.” He credited lane striping and a new mast-arm traffic signal with part of the reduction but cautioned some recent collisions were driver inattention or impatience rather than engineering defects.

The panel then turned to cars parked too close to intersections and blocking sight lines. Richards said state or local 'book law' prohibits parking within 20 feet of an intersection to protect sight lines and facilitate safe turns. He recommended enforcement and signage where appropriate, and estimated the fine at around $50 as a deterrent. Councilors said blocked intersections also impede emergency and sanitation vehicles and discussed whether the fire department could be empowered to issue tickets in some circumstances.

Councilor Peach moved that the committee "request an opinion from the city solicitor if we can extend some enforcement capabilities to the fire department or specific people within the fire department." The chair called the motion to a voice vote and said "all in favor," and the motion passed by voice vote; no roll-call tally was recorded in the transcript.

The committee closed the meeting with a motion to adjourn. Further action will depend on the city solicitor's written opinion and any subsequent draft ordinance or interdepartmental agreement.