Why Is State Law Being Ignored at New Bedford’s Busy Highway Ramps?

What is the point of making a law if it is not going to be enforced? Massachusetts General Law Chapter 266, Section 120 makes clear that trespassing on Massachusetts highways or state property is illegal.

The off-ramp from I-195 West to Coggeshall Street in New Bedford has become a popular place for folks to beg. It has also become a popular place to pitch makeshift shelters and tents. After a rainstorm, drive by and witness wet laundry hanging from tree branches like flags for the encampment.

Beggars cross busy on-ramps and off-ramps to claim coveted, and most likely profitable, perches that give them access to motorists entering and leaving the highway. This has been going on for years, yet no one does anything to stop it.

Massachusetts Fails To Enforce It's Own No Trespassing Law

Massachusetts General Law on Highway Trespassing

The law states that entering or remaining on property (including public or state property like highways, ramps, or maintenance areas) without the right to be there, or after being forbidden to do so by an authorized official, posted sign, or fencing, is illegal.

Encampments Shift Across New Bedford Neighborhoods

The banks of the Acushnet River near Market Basket and the back doorways of the stores facing drivers as they enter the Market Basket complex from Coggeshall Street were popular camping spots. Though beggars still occupy the median strip at the intersection with Coggeshall Street, camping appears to have been eliminated by city officials.

But the problem of encampments is a citywide one with some recent discussion about the need for a sanctioned location.

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State Enforcement Gaps in Highway Reconstruction Zones

How can the Commonwealth enforce traffic laws on the highway surface while ignoring the law as it pertains to the highway ramps? The Coggeshall Street ramps are part of the I-195 reconstruction zone, making trespassing there a further violation of the law.

Tent cities are unsightly, unhealthy, and unlawful. If the state is spending tax money to enact laws and post signs, it should enforce its own rules about trespassing on state property.

I sent a copy of the photo of the tent camp along I-195 to MassDOT's regional office but received no response.