By Carol Britton Meyer

A traffic and engineering study to assess the feasibility of converting Beach Avenue between A and L streets to a one-way street was approved by the select board this week upon Police Chief John Dunn’s recommendation.

The timeframe is contingent on securing funding, engaging an engineering firm based on availability, and other details. Once the engineer is selected, the study will result in recommendations that will lead to a public process to consider various options.

Dunn presented the proposal this week, noting the addition of a new Americans with Disabilities Act-compliant access ramp and parking at the A Street beach in 2021, the continued encroachment of the sand dunes onto the road surface, and other safety issues related to pedestrians, drivers, bicyclists, and runners who frequent the area, particularly during the summer.

The recommendation follows a visit to the area by Dunn and the Hull Police Department’s safety officer in the fall of 2021 to discuss the possibility of making Beach Avenue one-way. In 2017, Dunn presented a report to the then-board of selectmen at its request, but did not recommend a change at that time.

However, based on current conditions, Dunn recommended that the select board authorize a traffic and engineering study. The chief also noted, in a memo sent to the board prior to the meeting, that the recent changes in the A Street beach area make it difficult for two-way traffic to “traverse without stopping to allow [for] oncoming traffic” and that the width of the road is no longer adequate for two lanes to accommodate auto, pedestrian, and bicycle traffic, which increase considerably during the summer.

He also noted that a search of HPD records over the past five years show no car accidents in the Beach Avenue area.

Fire Chief Chris Russo told the board that the necessary street width to accommodate fire trucks is a minimum of 18 feet. He also recommended adding fencing to keep the dunes from “invading street space” and a plan “to deal with ice cream trucks and their stopping locations.”

Neighbors also had their say, with some expressing concerns that changing the road to one-way, depending on the direction, could cause residents to lose the benefit of the traffic light at A Street when turning onto Nantasket Avenue. Others support the recommendation.

B Street resident Susan Short Green noted that some of the utility poles on Beach Avenue “are practically in the road” and also expressed concerns about the ice cream trucks that frequent the congested area in the summer.

“I cringe whenever one comes by and kids start running toward them,” she said.

Green also feels that making the road one-way would be an inconvenience for year-round residents.

At the end of the discussion, board member Jerry Taverna noted: “No one has determined yet in which direction the one-way [pattern] would go.”

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