Oct 7, 2008 12:42 pm US/Eastern
Police Protest At Work Sites Where Flaggers Used
WOBURN (WBZ) ―
-
-
For the first time, the state used civilian flaggers at seven Mass. Highway construction projects around the state.
WBZ
The state's first attempt to use civilian flaggers did not go smoothly Tuesday morning in Woburn.
Police officers, who normally police protestors, were staging the protest themselves. "It's a public safety issue first and foremost," said a protesting officer. "These are flagmen, and they should be police officers doing this today."
For the first time, the state used civilian flaggers at seven Mass. Highway construction projects around the state. "Nobody is more invested in the safety of work zones than Mass. Highway," said Commissioner Louisa Paiewonsky of the Mass. Highway Depatment. "These are our employees out there. Employee safety is an extremely high priority to us, so we thoroughly review regulations to make sure we can keep our employees, drivers and everyone traveling through the work zone safe."
Tuesday ends the long practice of exclusively using local and state police officers to direct traffic around construction. The loss of this detail work means a loss of income for local officers.
Tuesday, the controversy rose to a new level. In Woburn, Mass. Highway cleared the site they were working at for safety reasons after the protest appeared to get out of hand.
"We are not going away," said Paiewonsky. "We'll continue to use flaggers. If protests create unsafe and hazardous conditions, we will pull the employees to the side of the road, but we have work to do."
Paiewonsky met with Woburn Mayor Thomas McLaughlin and they worked to re-open the work site.
"I don't believe that anyone acted unlawfully at that site," said Harry MacGilvray of the Medford Police Union. "Everybody stayed to the side of the road, inside the white line, which was marked for parking spaces. And it was a lawful assembly, which we had the right to do."
WBZ Video shows at least one protesting police officer following a flagman into the street in front of an oncoming vehicle.
Civilian flaggers will not replace all police details. Whether police officers or flaggers are used will depend on the road's speed limit and the amount of traffic.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
Click to enlarge
Stumble It!
