Lynnfield St Dunks' Opens, But Still Awaits Traffic Safety Measures

That's what city councilors are wondering in the face of the new Dunkin' Donuts at 79 Lynnfield St. opening its doors this past weekend, but apparently without agreed-upon traffic safety upgrades in place.

"I don't know what happened, but the ball was dropped or thrown away," said Ward 2 Councilor Arthur Athas, who lives down the street from the shopping plaza.

City councilors on Tuesday night directed Building Commissioner Kevin Goggin and Police Capt. John DeRosa, who is the area commander, to investigate the situation and report back to the council as soon as possible, and if need be, shut down the operation for violating its special permit conditions.

Councilors said all those conditions should have been met before the shop opened.

It turns out Goggin, however, already has an answer. Reached the next morning, he explained that the property owner (Linear Retail) has obtained a temporary occupancy permit for the coffee shop with a commitment to satisfy all its special permit conditions within 30 days.

The shop itself, which is Peabody's ninth Dunkin's, is operated by a separate entity. It opened its doors on Saturday, according to Goggin.

He said two of those seven safety conditions have already been met, most visibly installing a traffic island in the Summit Street exit to the plaza. The majority of the traffic upgrades, however, are on Lynnfield Street and the road needs to be shut down in order for the work to be done.

Goggin said Linear is coordinating that schedule with the police and , but added that the property owners are "ready to go."

Goggin said he'll issue a permanent occupancy permit once all the conditions are met, but would be prepared to take enforcement action if the 30 days expired or Linear otherwise failed to fulfill its obligation.