Harwich Panel Directs Study of Bell's Neck Trucks

Other Committee · Meeting of October 13, 2026

Harwich's Traffic Safety Committee directed staff to study truck restrictions on speeding-plagued Bell's Neck Road. The committee approved its July 14 minutes unanimously, then heard a petition from resident Martha Smith Blackburn describing delivery trucks, landscapers and electric bicycles speeding through the conservation-area road; neighbor Julia Arkwright said in an email that "she's scared with the traffic and her dogs have almost been hit multiple times." Staff confirmed the road's bridge has never been rated for vehicle weight and floated converting it to pedestrian-only use, pending Select Board action. A motion to restrict through trucking failed to get a valid second because the mover was not a committee member, so staff will research signage instead.

Separately, Winchmere Harbor Drive residents, including Paul McCormick, were told to file a formal crosswalk application for the committee's January 12 meeting. A proposed crosswalk at Depot Road and Route 28 remains stalled because MassDOT requires costly full signalization, estimated at $1.5 million to $2 million.

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Source: the Other Committee meeting of October 13, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.