For the past year or so, community activist Robert Solomon has been doggedly documenting problems with accessibility and pedestrian safety especially in Newton Highlands.
Often his TAB columns run too long for this generally-impatient reader. But the richness of his content and passion is incontestable.
In his latest TAB column, Solomon looks at crossing problems along Lincoln Street, but he also offers suggestions.
But Solomon isn’t just someone who complains. He was also the force behind Trolley Operators Appreciation Day, which happened (much to the surprise and delight of Green Line drivers) back in June.
Our community is very fortunate to have people like Robert Solomon. Feel free to suggest other local activists you admire in the comment section below.
Thank you Robert!
Newton Highlands and other areas of Newton have become very dangerous for pedestrians. Both village centers have NO UTURN signs, however almost daily someone does a UTURN, making both lanes of traffic wait for them. I don’t understand how people think they are BETTER than others.
The crosswalks have ghosted, and it is really tough to figure out which ones are active!
We need to be proactive about painting the crosswalks twice a year, and ticket the drivers who pull UTURNS. I have seen the UTURNS done in front of a police officer!
The painting thing is a citywide issue and is mostly the result of the contractor not doing the work. Needless to say certain folks are not happy and I imagine changes to said contract will be happening as it is up next year (I believe). Better lighting would also help, make them LED’s that provide a variable level of light, on cloudy, rainy or foggy days provide more light and on clear evenings provide a bit less. The curb corners are way too rounded allowing vehicles to take them at an unsafe speed. I would also propose a speed table for either the Walnut intersection or a bit further along in front of Bread and Chocolate. We need to not let fire response time dictate how safe we make our crossings. Newton has done this in other locutions as has Cambridge in numerous spots. Cheap shot term fixes could be asphalt curbing like what is used by the middle school in Newton Corner to reduce the turn radi as well as create bulb outs for better crossing slight lines.
Robert’s December TAB Guest Column was originally published in November.
Here’s the original link.
http://www.wickedlocal.com/newton/news/x825428750/Robert-Solomon-Lincoln-Street-in-Highlands-is-a-dangerous-crossing
I serve with Robert on the Highlands Area Council and he’s been an invaluable addition to setting our priorities. He and Rodney Barker have raised accessibility and pedestrian safety issues to high visibility not just in the Highlands, but throughout the City. Handicapped folk have been known to refer to the rest of us as TAB’s, (temporarily able bodied) because we are only one illness or accident away from having some form of debilitating disability. Robert has allowed me to sense what it’s like for him and other handicapped people to deal with serious often life threatening challenges they confront every day like getting across the intersection of Lincoln and Walnut. You have to see it from their angle to appreciate that what they are fighting for is almost always in the interest of every pedestrian, not just the handicapped ones.
And the Trolley Appreciation Day was a great success that was deeply appreciated by all the MBTA employees we tried to recognize and thank. They couldn’t believe that people who use the T would actually do something like organizing a day to thank them for their service.
John_on_Central – can you tell us more about this contractor issue? Are they being assessed any penalties for not doing the work?
I think we need more of the mid-street ped-xing barrels – they make it much easier for drivers to see where they have to be careful. And we definitely need much more enforcement against people making U-turns in places like Lincoln St.
Robert could use all of our help. Help if you can.
https://www.gofundme.com/vanforRobert