Route 16 Walk & Talk 5/31 and other news
Ellery Klein, WalkMedford
WalkMedford Multimodal transport News:
Join us on May 31, 2023 at 5:00 pm (5:15 greet, 5:30 walking groups) for a Walk & Talk on Route 16 with WalkMedford and Senator Pat Jehlen!
For more info and to RSVP, click this QR code:
Mystic Valley Parkway* divides Medford into north and south, yet walking or biking options across this road are intermittent, not always accessible, and inadequate and/or unsafe. The Mystic River Path is still incomplete and not fully connected to other multi-modal paths in the area, including the Clippership Connector, due to begin construction this summer/fall.
People walking to and from the park are often frustrated by the lack of attention to pedestrian infrastructure and safety crossing Route 16.
This event is a follow-up collaboration with the Route 16 Coalition, and Somerville Alliance for Safe Streets, as we try to reach across town borders collaboratively, to push the state-run DCR to respond to local needs. We are asking DCR and our state delegation to think more broadly about safety and connectivity for walking, biking and accessible routes for those outside the car. We want to push our city leaders and state delegation to have vision and funding for what a people-centered network of DCR parkways could be.
We’ll meet at 5 pm at the Community Gardens at Winthrop St, greet everyone at 5:15 PM, and set off on two walking routes, one to the John D Hand Pedestrian Bridge, the other to the Auburn St. bridge at Whole Foods. If there’s time, you can return and take the other route.
Note: We are seeking walking leaders for this event, so please reach out to Ellery Klein at safewal...@gmail.com if you are interested in helping lead a small group to discuss and point out issues.
* “A parkway is not a road, but a park with a road in it. Parkways are first and foremost recreational resources enjoyed by hundreds of thousands of users daily. The earliest parkways were developed to create “ribbons of green” to connect open space and to provide recreational travel ways within the parks and reservation system.”
- 2007 DCR Historic Parkway Preservation Treatment Guidelines
FINALLY! …The Clippership Connector is out to bid!
After a wait of many years, the DCR Clippership Connector is out to bid, and according to Medford’s planning department, we hope to see construction begin in late summer or fall. This is a short path that will connect the river paths along our middle schools and Hormel stadium to Medford Square, on off-road paths, and it will not only expand our connectivity to the greater Boston area, but is an essential tool in expanding active transportation to and from school for Medford students, who currently have to walk and cycle along the narrow and dangerous Riverside Ave.
The next step will be pushing MassDOT to complete the last connection that could go under Craddock Bridge, so that people can avoid the crossing on Main Street/Medford Square and stay along the river.
Medford Safe Routes to School News
-The Energy & Environment Office coordinated with Safe Routes to School and local walking parent leaders for a city-wide boost of Walk & Bike to School Day on May 4, 2023. Many students from several elementary schools, the middle school and the high school participated. Click the link to read more!
To continue on this success, current parent leaders will be meeting with our state coordinator, Vivian Ortiz on June 14 at 9 AM, to build more central communication and promotion of SRTS efforts in Medford.
If you are interested in being a parent leader and helping grow the numbers of children walking and cycling to school, email Ellery Klein at safewal...@gmail.com.
New Pedestrian Crossing Signs
You might have noticed new Pedestrian Crossing signs in the city streets.
WalkMedford helped traffic engineer Todd Blake decide on locations for our new mid-street Pedestrian Crossing signs, which help raise awareness of people walking and act as a physical traffic calming feature in the roadway.
Please keep an eye out for these signs. If you can, speak to your local business owners about how these signs keep their customers safe. They are invited to keep an eye on them, and if willing, to help move signs out of the street before a big snowstorm to keep them safe for plowing, and move them back after plows have finished their work.
Winthrop Street Bike Lanes for the High School and West Medford!
-The Traffic Commission met on April 11, 2023 to discuss plans for the Winthrop St. bike lanes. In the end, original plans proposed by Todd Blake were altered after this meeting, to allow for more on-street parking in response to neighborhood concerns. However, the new lanes will be an improvement over the previous road, and are designed to incentivize traffic speeds closer to our 25 mph citywide limit. The work will be painted this spring by Eversource.
With over 400-500 vehicles entering and exiting the MHS driveway each morning and afternoon, creating pollution, congestion, and unsafe streets, we hope that this is a key step in making safer roads, and expanding the number of students that reach school on foot or on bicycle.
State and Federal News
Wellington Circle
The Wellington Circle study continues its work on reforming this intersection. To see video updates and submit comments, see: https://www.mass.gov/info-details/wellington-circle-study-event-videos
From MASSDOT:
“The MASSDOT Beyond Mobility team held 11 community activations across the state to directly reach out to residents and capture feedback on the priorities of our transportation system. We received a total of 2,543 responses for this phase of outreach. The findings noted in the fact sheet linked below will shape the visions and goals documented in the Plan that help guide the future transportation system of the Commonwealth.
A summary factsheet of outreach responses has been posted on our website. Find out more about the survey results at https://beyond-mobility-massdot.hub.arcgis.com/#participate”
Ways to Take Action for the safety of people walking, cycling and existing on our streets
….can you take a few moments to make a difference with some simple click and sign action items?
Petition to stop front blind spots from Consumer Reports:
As pedestrian and cyclist deaths continue to soar in the US, Consumer Reports has taken note of the danger, and stepped up to sound the alert on one of the major causes: lack of regulation of size and shape of passenger vehicles. Automakers in the US have been allowed to balloon the size and weight of vehicles, as well as the height of the front hoods, with deadly results.
Please click, sign and share to help raise awareness of this issue:
https://action.consumerreports.org/20221116_stop_blindspots
Sign to support federal action on more safe walking and biking infrastructure nationwide:
We all want safer streets, but we need more focus on safe networks, and funding to do it.
A new bill in Congress, the Sarah Debbink Langenkamp Active Transportation Safety Act (HR 1668) seeks to make it easier for states and local governments to build them.
Sign here to send a message of support to your federal representatives.
Sarah Debbink Langenkamp was a U.S. diplomat and mother of two boys who had been evacuated from Ukraine in the summer of 2022 only to be violently killed by a truck driver weeks later while riding her bike back home after dropping off her kids at school. Her tragic death has highlighted the worsening trend of traffic violence and has sparked calls for change. This bill is named after Sarah in remembrance of her life and service and with hope that we can prevent further unnecessary fatalities on our streets.