A.
Section 22 of Chapter 40 of the General Laws says
the Select Board may make rules and orders for the regulation of carriages
and vehicles used within the Town.
B.
Acting under this general authority, the Select Board
of Dalton appointed an advisory committee to draw up a set of regulations.
C.
These regulations are dated October 30, 1969. They
have been approved by the Massachusetts Highway Department (MHD),
published in the local paper and approved by the Select Board. They
supersede any previous regulations of which there was a set drawn
in 1935, but never provided with any enforcement procedures.
D.
The regulations are based upon a sample set of regulations
recommended by the MHD and they have been tailored to meet Dalton's
needs as seen at the time drawn.
E.
The regulations are not a static group of works. The
provision for each regulatory sign erected on Town streets is recorded.
As signs are added or subtracted these schedules will be update via
action of the Select Board after recommendation from the Traffic Commission.
F.
The Select Board has established a permanent Traffic
Commission, part of whose job it will be to keep these regulations
up to date.
A.
State law gives control of the Town streets to local
government. In Dalton, this means the Select Board.
B.
To assist them in this control the Select Board delegates
to the Police Chief the Authority to enforce the traffic regulations.
C.
The Traffic Commission is an advisory board with no
authority to govern. Its responsibility is to study situations presented
to them by the Police Chief or the Select Board and recommend to the
Select Board solutions to the problems presented. The Commission maintains
the necessary liaison between the Select Board and the Police Chief
and the Massachusetts Highway Department (MHD). No recommendations
of the Traffic Commission are effected until approved by the Select
Board.
D.
State law gives control of state highways to the MHD.
This applies even when state highways form the principle business
streets in a town.
E.
All signs erected on state highways are erected under
the control of and by the MHD. In practice, it tries to follow the
requests of the local governing bodies if it can do so without violation
of generally accepted principles of traffic control. Signs erected
on state highways do not appear on regulation schedules of the Town.
F.
Certain types of signs erected on Town streets must
first receive the approval of the MHD. Most important categories of
these are stop signs and speed signs.
G.
State law prescribes by MGL c. 90, § 20a
or 20c, that the penalizing functions for violations of Town traffic
regulations shall only be administered by the District Court.
H.
Because of local circumstances, § 20a has
been chosen as the governing statute for Dalton rather that § 20c.
This statute prescribes in detail a ticket system to be used, the
amounts of penalties, and the way in which the Court will administer.
B.
The ticket system for enforcing moving violations
is the statewide system known as the "no-fix" system. The local code
does not change any of the procedure now used to operate this system.
C.
Local police enforce all traffic rules and orders
on Town ways and are authorized to enforce traffic laws and regulations
on state highways. State police may enforce moving violations on any
road anywhere in the state. They may enforce nonmoving (parking) violations
on state highways. In practice, where there is a local police force,
state police do not take part in traffic regulation enforcement within
a Town unless asked for help by the local force.
D.
The Dalton Traffic Code contains regulations pertaining
to moving vehicles. These will continue to be enforced with the "no-fix"
ticket system.
A.
The Dalton Traffic Code is principally concerned with
regulation of nonmoving vehicles. In general the purpose of the code
is to eliminate safety hazards caused by parked cars and to protect
the general public from possible nuisance caused by parked cars.
B.
Dalton police officers using the Dalton ticket system
will enforce violations of regulations contained in the code on both
Town roads and state highways.
A.
The majority of parking problems in Dalton occur on
State Routes 8 and 9, which is Main Street in Dalton, and State Route
9 which is North Street in Dalton.
B.
Chapter 85, § 2, of the General Laws gives control of these streets to the Massachusetts Highway Department (MHD). Article 11, Sections 2 and 3, of the DPW regulations of January 9, 1952, read as follows:
|
Sect. 2 Prohibited Parking -- No person shall
stop, stand or park a vehicle upon any state highway except as otherwise
provided in Section 3 of this article.
| |
|
Sect. 3 No person shall park a vehicle upon
any state highway for a period of time longer than that specified
upon official signs erected within the area.
|
C.
Literal interpretation of these sections means that
in order to legally permit any parking on North and Main Streets all
sections of the roads from the Pittsfield to the Hinsdale and Windsor
Town lines would have to be posted with parking permitted signs. (Two
hours is the maximum permitted on a sign by MHD.)
D.
The Traffic Commission, recognizing the impracticality
of this approach has, with the approval of the MHD, created the following
interpretation to be used to control signing and enforcement:
(1)
Wherever the Police Chief, with the concurrence of
the Traffic Commission, rules that parking on one or both sides of
a state highway will create a safety hazard, it will be recommended
to the Select Board that they ask MHD to post "No Parking" signs in
the area of the potential hazard.
(2)
Wherever there are business concerns which would benefit
by allowing parking along the state highway in front of their business
building, and as long as a safety hazard will not be created, the
Traffic Commission will recommend to the Select Board that they request
the MHD to erect limited-time parking permitted signs. Limited parking
may be permitted in time intervals of 1/4 hour, 1/2 hour, one hour,
and two hours. The Traffic Commission will recommend the time interval
after, where necessary, considering the recommendations of the owners
of the businesses adjacent to the area to be signed.
(3)
The remaining areas of state highway are not signed.
It is illegal to park in these areas.
(4)
Persons parking in these unsigned areas do so at their
own risk.
(5)
However, recognizing the inconvenience to the citizens
which 100% enforcement of the law in these areas would cause, the
Traffic Commission has recommended to the Select Board that they instruct
the Police Department to use a liberal enforcement policy in unsigned
areas. The Select Board has accepted this recommendation.
(6)
In practice this will mean that normally tickets will
be given only for parking in an area which contains no-parking signs
or overtime parking in a limited-time parking area (or for other specific
violation of the code).
(7)
It is recognized that there are variable conditions
(such as weather), which can change normally nonhazardous parking
at a given spot on the state highway into a situation where parking
creates a safety hazard or a public nuisance.
(8)
Parking tickets will not be issued to vehicles parked
in the unsigned areas on the state highway, which constitute the Town's
main streets, unless varying conditions have made the illegal parking
a safety hazard or a public nuisance.
(9)
Some, but not necessarily all, of the conditions which
will be considered in issuing tickets to cars parked on unsigned portions
of the state highways through Town are as follows:
(a)
Width of highway at the spot where the offending
vehicle is parked.
(b)
Legal speed allowed in the area. Highway speed
areas need more clearance between parked cars.
(c)
Degree of impairment of visibility of approaching
vehicles caused by offending parked vehicles.
(d)
Current weather conditions.
(e)
Degree of public nuisance created by the offending
vehicle.
A.
Parking on Town roads is permitted anywhere not specifically
prohibited by a sign or by a specific provision of the code.
B.
Where parking on Town roads creates, in the opinion
of the Police Chief, either a safety hazard or a public nuisance,
the Traffic Commission will, upon occurrence, recommend to the Select
Board that the area be posted "No Parking."
A.
The code prohibits all-night parking anywhere on state
highways 12 months a year.
B.
The Town of Dalton prohibits overnight parking for
longer than one hour between the hours of 1:00 a.m. and 6:00 a.m.
on any day between November 15 and April 15 of the following year.
C.
The preferred enforcement provision is the issuance
of a ticket. However, should a vehicle be parked illegally and constitute
a hazard then the police officer may at his discretion:
(1)
Ask the owner to move the vehicle at once and issue
a ticket or ask the owner to move the vehicle and not issue a ticket
until the violation reoccurs.
(2)
If unable to contact the owner, have the vehicle towed
at the owner's expense after issuing a ticket.
(3)
Leave the vehicle unmoved and issue a ticket.
