Political Notebook: Scanlon takes note of traffic issues on Kelley Boulevard in North Attleboro | Local News

He said he’s been working with town and state officials to secure funds for road improvements in the area, which is next to the Plainville town line. At a public meeting on the proposed development, residents cited traffic woes in the area, fearing they would only be made worse by the development.

“The towns of North Attleboro and Plainville have entered a regional partnership to improve the Route 152 and Route 106 intersection in an effort to unlock new housing and economic development in the two communities,” Scanlon said.

“While both towns support new growth and investment in this transit-served area, the current road conditions and lack of pedestrian and cyclist accommodations make this area unattractive for new growth,” he said. “With the support of an FY23 One Stop/MassWorks grant and funding through other avenues, both North Attleboro and Plainville will be able to solve our traffic issues. Please know that your state delegation and I are committed to working as your advocates to fix our roads whether this project happens or not.”

U.S. Rep. Jake Auchincloss is out with a new glossy mailer to his constituents highlighting federal funding for a slew of projects in his congressional district which includes the Attleboro area. The freshman Democrat cites various projects in Norton, Plainville, Attleboro and North Attleboro.

The accompanying map of the district does appear to place a $1.5 million sum for the dredging of the Ten Mile River firmly in the bounds of the city of Attleboro, although the project is actually near and dear to North Attleboro officials who want to mitigate flooding along the river’s banks. Of course, even folks who’ve lived in the area for years sometimes have a hard time pinpointing Attleboro, South Attleboro, North Attleboro and even Attleboro Falls.

The beleaguered Massachusetts Republican Party seems to believe it has a winning issue in opposing driver’s licenses for undocumented residents. With the overwhelmingly Democratic Legislature overriding Gov. Charlie Baker’s veto of a bill allowing the undocumented to get licenses, state GOP Chairman Jim Lyons has sent out a number of press releases blasting the vote. Former state rep. Goeff Diehl, a candidate for governor, has backed a ballot question that would repeal the law before it goes into effect next year. And now GOP gubernatorial hopeful Chris Doughty of Wrentham has weighed in with a statement that he and his lieutenant governor running mate Kate Campanale want to ensure no one in the state illegally qualifies for public assistance.

“Sadly, the legislature seems to want to make our state even more of a magnet for those in the country illegally, something which already costs the state $2 billion per year,” Doughty said in a press release. (His campaign cites former Gov. Deval Patrick as a source for that figure.) “The Doughty administration is not going to just allow that to happen. Our taxpayer funded benefits will only be for our legal residents, so we are going to seek increased verification,” said Doughty, adding he also supports repealing licenses for “non-residents.”

Recent polling shows the state’s residents almost evenly divided on the issue.

State Rep. Steven Howitt, R-Seekonk, is touting the fact that the recently passed $350 million bond bill to assist cities and towns includes funding for some local projects.

The bill will provide communities with $200 million to help maintain local roads and bridges under the state’s Chapter 90 program including $551,445 for Norton, $611,127 for Rehoboth, and $587,853 for Seekonk. The bill also includes $150 million in additional funding for several transportation-related municipal grant programs.

The bond bill was enacted by the House on a vote of 155-0 on Thursday and by the Senate on a vote of 38-0 the same day. It is now before Gov. Charlie Baker for his review and signature.