The crosswalk on Palmer Avenue from the bike path to Goodwill Park has been completed, but the Bicycle and Pedestrian Committee is concerned about safety at the crossing.
Deputy Director Steven Cadorette said last month that the crossing was completed just before the Fourth of July, but that a signal light will be placed at the crosswalk at the end of summer. The installation will happen after the busy summer traffic dies down.
“We did not want to work on that road and disrupt traffic,” Mr. Cadorette said.
When the committee met on Wednesday, July 3, committee member Timothy M. Shea said that there are safety concerns about the angle of the gradient from Goodwill Park down to Route 28.
“A child could pick up speed going down the path and rocket out onto route 28,” Mr. Shea said.
He said that a bright yellow, bumpy pad, or a mustering pad, had been considered at either end of the crossing, but was ultimately not included in the final design.
Mr. Shea said the Department of Public Works manages the path to and from Goodwill Park, while the Massachusetts Department of Transportation regulates crossing standards across Route 28.
Vice chairwoman Pamela Rothstein asked if it is possible to place a barrier, or a diversion, to slow traffic down.
Mr. Shea said that any kind of a fence, gate, or channeling barrier would require an extension and relocation of the crosswalk.
“I mean, I don’t know what other people have heard,” Ms. Rothstein said. “But everyone I’ve talked to, everyone who has seen it, has expressed concern about this.”
She said that there should be a way, if it means installing a pad or some other feature, to give pedestrians and cyclists a place to stop before crossing. She said that the committee initially requested a flashing light up the street from the crossing to alert vehicle traffic about the crosswalk, but the design was rejected.
Mr. Shea asked if signage saying “Cross,” or “Don’t Cross” would be sufficient. Ms. Rothstein said that it would not be. Most bicyclists simply cross the street, and some are not paying attention.
Mr. Shea said that another alternative is extending the mustering area and moving the crossing further down the road to add in a fence. This would force bikes and pedestrians 20 feet farther down alongside the road, Mr. Shea said, and then make a left-hand turn.
Committee member Chris McGuire said that a previous design of a crossing gate where the Shining Sea Bikeway crosses Ter Heun Drive—a physical obstruction at the bike path—was widely hated. But it was intended to force cyclists to dismount and wait.
“There’s no universe in which people should not get off their bike at this crossing,” Mr. McGuire said. “The idea is you want people to enter from a stop.”
Mr. McGuire again emphasized that an obstruction should be used at the Goodwill Park crossing, but said that the department of transportation did not like the idea of a line of people beside the road waiting to cross.
Committee member Katherine Jansen said that traffic calming measures like signs or flashing lights should be added, as people tend to speed through the light at Jones Road and Palmer Avenue. But she said that the friends, or the Friends of Falmouth Bikeways, had said that they might pay for a fence or a gate at the crosswalk if a design was implemented.
Chairman Scott Lindell said the previously used gate at the Ter Heun Drive crossing was removed because it was not effective. Cyclists simply went around the gate, causing an even greater chance of a collision.
Ms. Rothstein asked if there is a way that the committee can involve the public in a conversation about safety concerns and solutions at the crossing.
Mr. Lindell said that people have already been pretty vocal with DPW director Peter McConarty. He said that the next step is to summarize the committee’s concerns and send it to Mr. McConarty, the town manager, and select board liaison Edwin (Scott) P. Zylinski.
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(1) comment
at the entrance they should have something like what they have a disny but a lot wider to accomadate bikes and out of wire like a security fence, so they have to slow down to enter and also make a slight turn, also flashing lights coming both ways on the road with ridged roads to slow vehicle down, stop doing things without doing them thoroughly.
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