I am writing this not just as a concerned Northampton citizen, but as a 25-year former safety committee chair who upheld safety standards for a large company. There are damaged guardrails throughout this city that pose a serious risk of impalement to drivers and pedestrians.
On Aug. 24, 2026, a car crashed into the guardrails on Chesterfield Road in the Florence area. The car left the scene before the police officers arrived. When the police officers arrived at the scene, they removed the damaged part of the guardrails from the road. What was left were five exposed I-beam posts. These posts can act as spears, which could cause injury to the public if left unattended.
On Sept. 3, 2026, I brought this issue up to the Northampton Department of Public Works because nothing had been done to service the area around the exposed posts. I expressed to them my safety concern about the exposed steel beams and asked if the city could place some kind of guarding, such as drums, vertical panels, cones or other devices, in the area to protect the public from possible serious injury. Before leaving, I was informed they would bring this up to the director.
Unfortunately, this is not the only safety issue regarding guardrails that I have reported to the DPW. On Jan. 22, 2025, I emailed Donna LaScaleia, Northampton’s former DPW director, about the numerous areas of damaged guardrails on Chesterfield, Reservoir and River roads. There have been at least a dozen damaged guardrails on Reservoir Road alone, with most having exposed I-beams.
After several back-and-forth emails, the last being sent to me on Oct. 15, 2025, from the former DPW director, stated that: “as funding would allow, we will review possible future projects.”
The city has a duty to maintain safe roadways and is currently failing to do so. The city could be held liable for any injury that occurs if it has been informed about the issue and fails to take action. The city has a responsibility to the public to ensure their safety, and if a citizen reports a serious safety issue, they should take action instead of waiting for an accident to happen.
As of Oct. 13, 2026, the city has still not taken action to protect the public from these hazardous steel I-beams.
Wayne Thibault
Florence