Grant money for 24 RRFBs

[Julia Anne Malakie]

This is great news for pedestrians! Attached is a list of locations that will be getting RRFBs (pedestrian activated Rectangular Rapid Flashing Beacons) through a couple of state grant programs. Finance Committee will be voting tonight to accept the grants. I count five in West Newton, including the much anticipated one at River and Pine that will help kids walking to Burr from north of River St.

But remember, whether it's crosswalks, stop signs, lights or RRFBs, you still need to watch and make sure the car's really going to stop.

Regards

Julia Malakie

Ward 3 Councilor

[Michael Halle]

Sheridan and Derby, Webster and Waltham, Kensington and Watertown, and the previously mentioned Pine and River are all great locations for these new crosswalk enhancements.

--Mike

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> <RRFB Priority Locations.pdf>

[Noa Rensing]

It would be great to have an educational campaign to encourage pedestrians to actually press those  buttons for the blinking lights. Too often, they either wait for a car to stop without turning them on, which kind of defeats the point, or worse yet they just walk into the street without either watching for a car or turning on the flashers. If enough pedestrian/cyclists used the flashers, drivers would become more accustomed to them and (hopefully) be more likely to stop when they'er activated.

Noa

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[Michael Halle]

I agree that education around crosswalks is important for everyone on the street.

One thing that's important to know, though.

The flashing beacons are for visibility only. It's the crosswalk itself that tells the driver to yield to pedestrians.

A pedestrian is not required to use the beacons. And by law, it's the responsibility of the driver to yield at a crosswalk, beacon or not.

Of course everyone on the road should be looking out after both their own safety and the safety of everyone else by looking, being careful, letting other people know their intentions, and acknowledging the fallibility and vulnerability of those around them. That's part of the difference between "should" (for safety) and "must" (legally).

--Mike

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[Mike Ciolino]

Are these for crosswalks that don't already have full traffic lights with pedestrian/bike buttons?

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Mike Ciolino

617-332-9588

LinkedIn Profile

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[Michael Halle]

Yes, the RRFB yellow flashing beacons are just for crosswalks without traffic signals or stop or yield signs.

-Mike

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From: westnewtonn...@googlegroups.com <westnewtonn...@googlegroups.com> on behalf of Mike Ciolino <mi...@verveboston.com>
Sent: Monday, September 8, 2025 6:34:18 PM
To: westnewtonn...@googlegroups.com <westnewtonn...@googlegroups.com>
Subject: Re: [WNewton] Grant money for 24 RRFBs

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[gvoysey]

It occurred to me the other day, not for the first time, that a 4-way at waltham/derby would improve that intersection significantly.  The PRB is nice, but turning left onto waltham from derby is still more of a faff than I'd really prefer...

--graham

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[Michael Halle]

I am not a traffic engineer, but all way stops do need to meet federal warrants. There's more flexibility than with traffic signals though. 

Couple of things. The RRFB beacon at the pedestrian crossing would need to be removed because the intersection would be under stop control. That may or may not work better for people crossing the street.

It's also possible that an all way stop would make Derby and Fairway busier, since it would be safer/easier to cross Waltham St. We see that at Eddy/Eliot now. The real and perceived danger of crossing Watertown St discouraged drivers before. Now more drivers use that route.

Conversely, Waltham St might be a little less appealing, and some traffic might end up on Cherry St.

Whether any of those things are good, bad, or acceptable depends on your view and possibly where you live, drive or walk.  But it's worth thinking about all of them before contemplating a change. 

-Mike

That doesn't argue 

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From: westnewtonn...@googlegroups.com <westnewtonn...@googlegroups.com> on behalf of gvoysey <gvo...@gmail.com>
Sent: Monday, September 8, 2025 7:54:17 PM

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