The town continues to work on Canton Street's traffic problem even as the Norfolk County Commission set a deadline for a four-community public hearing on the matter.

At the County Commission office in Dedham yesterday, the three commissioners voted to delay a public hearing on changes to Canton Street from July 18 to Aug. 22.

Norfolk County Director Dan Matthews said the towns of Canton, Dedham, Norwood and Westwood requested the postponement so attorneys could have more time to submit and review materials. The three commissioners agreed, but said it would be the last postponement.

"I don't want to delay it after that day," said Chairman Peter Collins.

Westwood wants to prevent drivers from using Canton Street to bypass traffic at the interchange of Interstates 93 and 95. The three neighboring towns opposed Westwood's original plan to bar through traffic on Canton Street with a cul-de-sac.

The latest proposal from Westwood would allow only southbound traffic on a portion of Canton Street just north of Oceana Way in Norwood.

County Commissioner Francis O'Brien said at the meeting he wants the towns to understand the commissioners have the final decision on whether to alter Canton Street, which is a county way.

Westwood selectmen have argued they have the authority to make changes to the road.

At a Monday night meeting of the Traffic Advisory Committee in Westwood Town Hall, residents on Everett Street and Forbes Road unveiled their plan for traffic safety to supplement the Canton Street proposal.

Canton Street, Everett Street and Forbes Road essentially form a triangle. Everett Street and Forbes Road meet before Everett Street leads to University Avenue in Norwood. University Avenue then runs back into Westwood, where developer Cabot, Cabot & Forbes has proposed the $1.5 billion Westwood Station, a 4.5-million-square-foot office, residential, retail and hotel complex.

Basically, the plan would close Everett Street and Forbes Road at their intersection, thereby prohibiting drivers from using the roads to avoid the cul-de-sac or one-way portion of Canton Street. If Everett Street and Forbes Road were blocked at their intersection, a driver could not use them to get around a one-way or closed Canton Street.

"The idea is that if someone is trying to get off Canton Street to cut around to Westwood Station, it wouldn't work. They would go right back to Canton Street," said John Harding, a Forbes Road resident.

The town has suggested using speed humps and raised intersections to slow traffic on Forbes Road and Everett Street, as well as turning prohibitions.

Chris McKeown, the town's project manager for Westwood Station and Canton Street, said the town would look at the residents' proposal, but did not promise in-depth consideration.

"Closing those streets is a fairly radical approach," McKeown said.

Though Harding did not raise the possibility at the Traffic Advisory meeting, he told the Daily News Transcript that residents sue the town if Westwood Station received a special permit before the traffic issues on Canton Street, Everett Street and Forbes Road are resolved.

Town officials have said the Planning Board would not issue a permit without a traffic solution.

The Canton Street saga began on a regional level in March, when Westwood selectmen voted unanimously to temporarily close the road with a cul-de-sac and make the change permanent if successful. Residents on Canton Street had complained that, since the installation of a slip ramp in 2003, traffic had increased to dangerous levels as drivers bypassed the interchange of I-93 and I-95.

In addition to opposition from Canton, Dedham and Norwood, residents on Everett Street and Forbes Road feared the change would push traffic onto their streets, despite assurances from selectmen that alterations to one road would not harm traffic on another. Other residents in Westwood dislike how a closure would limit their ability to drive between Canton and Dedham.

Faced with the seemingly impassable opposition, Westwood delivered the one-way plan at a traffic advisory meeting earlier this month.

Daily News staff writer Greg Duggan can be reached at 781-433-8355 or by e-mail at gduggan@cnc.com.