ATTLEBORO - Two arborvitae trees planted by someone unknown, or at least undisclosed, in front of a gate that Bishop Feehan High School hopes to open to traffic from Harvard Street won't ultimately stop cars - but they send a clear message.
"It means don't open the gate," a Harvard Street resident said Wednesday night after a meeting with school officials.
The trees - now about the size of shrubs - appeared a few weeks ago.
They are the latest neighborhood response to the school's plan to open the gate in an effort to lessen traffic congestion at other access points to the campus.
Feehan wants to provide a safer traffic pattern for students, but Harvard Street residents are loudly protesting the plan, as they did in 2001 when a similar proposal was floated.
The Wednesday night meeting was the second school officials have had with residents this summer.
While the school still wants to open the gate, there was some good news for residents.
School officials have decided to hold off on the plan until city councilors, many of whom side with residents, take action on the matter.
"Bishop Feehan High School is not going to try to make use of that gate until we find out what happens with the municipal council," school attorney Edward Casey told about 20 residents who gathered at the school's Mercy Hall.
The school will hold orientation sessions next Wednesday and Thursday, and start classes Sept. 2.
Meanwhile, Feehan President Chris Servant said the school has scaled back the hours it hopes to keep the gate open.
Instead of the 24-hour access that was proposed in June, Feehan is now hoping to open the gate just two hours a day, Monday through Friday.
The gate would be open to inbound traffic only from 6:45 a.m. to 8 a.m. and 2 p.m. to 2:45 p.m.
He said the change shows the school is listening and being reasonable.
"I'd like to think we're good neighbors," he said.
An attorney for the city has concluded the school has the legal right to open the gate without restriction at any time it chooses, but that the city does have a legal option.
Attorney Lauren C. Galvin said the city council could discontinue the part of Harvard Street abutting school property, where the arborvitae now grows, to stop the plan.
However, such an action could prompt a lawsuit from Feehan for compensatory damages, she said.
Casey said the council could seek a public hearing on the matter sometime this fall, possibly in October.
While the school has postponed the opening and scaled back its use, residents are not satisfied.
Opening the gate might make the campus safer for students, but it will make Harvard more dangerous for neighbors, they said.
The answer is still no, they said.
"I see no reason or rhyme to use that street," resident Robert Folan said. "There's no need of it."
