Feb. 25, William Faulkner Meeting Room, Town Hall: Thirty-four residents from the Parker Street neighborhood in South Acton weighed in with their priorities on Acton’s plan to implement safety measures on the street from High Street to the railroad tracks. The town plans to complete Phase I this year, which extends from High Street to Concetta Circle. Tim Whitney of Greenman-Pedersen, Inc. (GPI) presented a slide show of the various options, while Town Engineer Corey York answered questions about the current infrastructure.
Car lanes would be eleven and a half feet wide, with a five-foot bike lane on the southbound lane (heading toward Maynard), and a five-foot sidewalk on the other side. However, the plan for granite curbs concerned bikers in the room, who mentioned the hazard of not being able to leave the road if necessary, due to the high obstacle of the curb. Other options were suggested by Whitney, including a slanted asphalt version.
Parents of school children mentioned the hazard of their children crossing the street near the Independence Road/Concetta Circle intersection to get on their bus before it arrives and extends its stop sign, a practice they’ve been warned against doing. The plan is to install short median strips in the road, plus a raised crosswalk with warning flashers. Due to the blind spots for cars turning left or right out of Concetta Circle, a resident on the corner has been trimming vegetation as a temporary measure to improve the sightlines. The permanent fix will require moving some trees, stone walls, and utility poles, and taking private property.
A long discussion ensued about reducing the speed limit on that part of Parker Street from 35 to 30, or even 25 mph. Whitney noted that the speed limit is set by measuring the speed of what 85% of the vehicles are traveling, so it cannot be arbitrarily changed. In addition to the median islands and raised crosswalks, other traffic calming methods would include narrowing the lanes, and “driver feedback” signs that flash a vehicle’s speed.
An attendee said the project is ninth in priority on the town’s list this year. Nonetheless, preliminary design is scheduled for March and April, with construction scheduled for September to December.
For more information on Complete Streets projects, residents can email: twhitney@gpi.com or engineering@actonma.gov. Residents are also invited to take an online survey at: https://arcg.is/enf1H1. Mr. York said there have been about 120 responses so far.
