Protesters greet state’s roll out of civilian flaggers

WOBURN – Amid protests from local cops, the state highway department is rolling out its flagmen program this morning in Woburn, where civilians are directing traffic at a work site where in the past paid police details would have been stationed.

“It’s a public safety issue, first and foremost,” said Woburn Police officer Dana Gately, vice president of the Woburn police union as he joined at least 30 sign-holding officers who lined Lexington Street this morning. Some of the off-duty officers heckled the MassHighway workers who set up cones and directed traffic using a Slow and Stop sign. “I make $50,000 a year working nights and weekends,” barked Stoneham cop Joe Ponzo, president of his department’s union. “A lot of these cities and towns can’t survive without these details.”

Cops in Revere and Everett protested at two Massachusetts Water Resources Authority work sites on Friday, where for the first time, no local paid police details were required to direct traffic. In Everett, police detail work pays $42 an hour. In both cities, officers were able to stop the MWRA crew from completing their work.

The new rules, championed by Gov. Deval Patrick, took effect on Friday and instruct the state to use civilian flaggers or electronic signs on roads with a 45 mile per hour speed limit or less. The regulations also affect roads with higher speed limits but light traffic patterns.

The state has trained more than 100 employees in flagging and certified 14 trainers. It plans to use flaggers for highway maintenance work across the state, including other state highway work sites in other parts of the state today, said MassHighway Commissioner Luisa Paiewonsky. She said the department is well prepared to impose the new rules.

“We are very confident the flaggers will be able to control traffic,” she said.

Patrick estimated the state could save $5 million a year by curbing details.

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