A V14 reader just sent me an email and photo of this sign under the Rt9 overpass over Winchester St. The sign is made rather ingeniously from an old wooden shipping pallet and there was a URL on the side of it – diynewton.com.
I looked up the webs site and it says …
“DIY Newton is a grassroots, guerilla-urbanism campaign. Our streets should be safe for all modes of transportation and yet, the city of Newton has not made bike safety a priority.
Between 2010 and 2020, 328 accidents were reported in the city between a vehicle and bicyclist. That’s an average of three accidents every month.
Our first action is a targeted campaign of signs at intersections that have experienced 3+ collisions AND at least one incapacitating injury to the bicyclist.
We are here to let drivers (and the city!) know that bikes belong on the road too. If Newton won’t make this a priority, we’ll just have to Do It Ourselves!”
… very interesting. I love their whole DIY approach
Saw this sign today – agree with the message but would rather not have scrap pallets strewn about the city to make a point.
@Donald – the pallet is a marked improvement for the aesthetics of the underpass. There was a glacier covering the sidewalk there, through 70° weather, as recently as about a week ago. Of course the whole block is allegedly being redesigned by MassDOT as part of the Needham St. project, so we’ll see how effective that will be in its undoubtedly halffast implementation, adhering to the usual Boston-area MO of immediately dumping cyclists and pedestrians out from somewhat safer infrastructure into a nutsy free-for-all – in this case, the Walnut/Centre intersection.
You really can’t make that bit of newton less attractive.
And I can confirm that riding though there is downright terrifying.
I had no idea there were more than 300 incidents in this 10 year time frame. Just promoting that one fact to high visibility makes the entire effort worthwhile. I wish there was data on what portion of these incidents resulted in “incapacitating injury” to the cyclist.
The good news I’ve found from my own observation is that the overwhelming majority of cyclists adhere strictly to the rules of the road and almost all automobile drivers do there best to give cyclists space by slowing down and carefully maneuvering around them. The bad news is there are still aggressive motorists who do not like sharing the road with cyclists and cyclists who don’t wear helmets, run red lights and play chicken with cars on the roadways. I know because on two occasions I almost hit cyclists who ran red lights at the intersection of Commonwealth Avenue and Walnut Street. I suspect this is one of the intersections that DIY will be focused on.
@Jerry. Are you planning a Tour De Newton this summer??
A friend and I were talking recently about the idea of risk/ reward when it comes to driving. For the driver, there is little risk in getting a ticket if you’re speeding, so you just do it. The reward is getting somewhere a little early (or leaving later and arriving on time). The risk to the pedestrian and cyclist, however, is very high. If you’re hit by a car traveling at 40 mph you’re very likely to die. In a way, incidents at traffic lights are the best possible incidents because there is a lower likelihood of death. I did, however, see an incident near my house that resulted in a cyclist with a handlebar through their leg, so that was pretty bad.
Another part of that risk/ reward calculation is that police are not likely to charge a driver in a pedestrian incident. Example: a cyclist in a bike lane on Walnut St. that slammed directly in a door opened by a passenger while sitting in traffic. The cyclist went to the hospital, the driver was never ticketed.
One interesting suggestion on the Newton Police Reform Task Force report is to get police out of their cruisers and walking around the villages. I know that a key complaint among cyclists is the feeling that police see the world through the windshield, so are more likely to take the side of drivers when one runs over a cyclist. So I’d be curious if, long-term, this kind of thing has other benefits in addition to racial justice.
The problem of all of this (and one that is outlined on the DIY Newton webpage) is that we design Newton for cars and incentivize driving over walking. Consciously, we all know that if we can get more people to walk or bike to their destinations we’ll be healthier and do more for the world’s climate crisis. But there is no way to get there if we have an entire system in place that puts all the risk on those NOT in multi-ton vehicles.
For those who think these homemade signs are unwanted eyesores that detract from the beauty of our fair city, here’s the uncropped photo that was sent to me. I’d say that pallet has improved the scenic splendor of that spot.
@Bob Burke – You’re the second person who’s asked me about this year’s Tour de Newton in the last 48 hours …. so I guess we’d better start making some plans ;-)
That intersection is one of the necessary evils in the “get the heck out of Newton so I can enjoy my ride” portion of a common route.
In fact, I went by there Saturday. I did not notice the sign, probably because I was laser-focused on praying that I do not hit a pothole in that darkened tomb for cyclists under the Rt 9 overpass (I will say that the road at that point is wide enough to mitigate my worry slightly, also helped by the face that cars turning left from Rt 9 West are equally terrified and less likely to try to merge into my backside.
I would agree that anything that helps awareness is welcome, but this is definitely one of those “blow it up and start over” intersections to make it safer for everybody (and yes, I include the entirety of the Newton Corner circle of death on that list). I hope that it is indeed part of the Needham St planning as mentioned above.
I have lived near this intersection for several years, and can say that it is not only a real hazard for cyclists, but for pedestrians on foot as well. Even on the crosswalks on either side of the bridge you need to proceed with extreme caution because of how reckless the cars drive through the intersection (and turn). Many people come through on foot/bike everyday simply trying to make their way under the bridge and across Winchester St. Hopefully this is something that gets addressed with the redesign. As for the wooden pallet, it doesn’t bother me at all if it gives drivers a little more awareness.
I do a 1-2 mile detour on my bike to avoid that intersection. And I do my best not to drive there, too. And walk through, not a chance. Walk over to the stoplight further east on Rte 9.
Thank you, Jerry, for posting about our efforts. It is so exciting to see that our signs have sparked conversation about this important (and overlooked) issue.
@Bob Burke check out https://www.diynewton.com/data for details on how many of these accidents are incapacitating to the rider. 38 out of the total 328 crashes were incapacitating–that’s 12%, far too many. If drivers went slower these numbers would decrease, and if there were less cars on the road it would be even better.
Anyone interested in getting involved please reach out to [email protected]
Thanks again, Jerry!
@Jerry. I’ve been doing the bicyle at the Y, so you never know.
Bike Newton is advocating a cut-through from the Upper Falls Greenway through the DPW yard to Elliot Street. At present, a cyclist can bike to or from the Greenway via Columbia Avenue, but it is rather steep and formidable. You can also cut off Elliot Street at Mechanic Street and find a passage behind the parking lot onto the Greenway. But the DPW yard, which is an object lesson in wasted space, provides a potentially flat passageway. Then a cyclist could cross Route 9 at Woodward, go down a short hill, and cross over to the Greenway, avoiding the Winchester Street underpass altogether.
BTW, I get from Waban to the Upper Falls Greenway, and many a store on Needham Street, by biking across the tracks at the Elliot Stop, crossing the pedestrian bridge over Route 9, and taking the sidewalk on Route 9 for about thirty yards before turning left onto Margret Road. Two blocks later I hit Elliot Street and continue to Columbia Avenue.
Though I know nothing about this group, it’s message is pure. I bike all over the city every day, but those less intrepid and more risk-averse have every reason to hesitate following my example.
@Bob I had no idea that Stop n Shop Path was really called Upper Falls Greenway. Both our boys recently did their first “real bike riding” on that path, after graduating from circles in an empty lot. A cut through sounds like a good idea.
It was many years in the making as Jerry Reilly will readily inform you! It could potentially link up with the path on the Needham side of the river (an old railroad bridge would need repair and the Needham trail is not complete all the way to the Charles). But a certain stubborn political leader across the river has stonewalled it for years, and I got him to budge no more than anyone else who has tried. Go figure.
Just to expand a bit on Paul Levy’s description of the marked pedestrian crossing at Woodcliff Road on Route 9 just to the east of Winchester Street. It takes a bit longer to reach Newton Highlands square, but It’s an infinitely safer alternative to the dreaded underpass It takes a bit longer to reach Newton Highlands square, but it’s infinitely safer. Hit the pedestrian light, walk across Route 9 and continue on Woodcliff up to Center Street. There’s another marked pedestrian crossing at Center. Cross and go up Hyde Street to either Floral or Lake Avenue, both of which lead almost directly into the Highlands village center. I prefer Lake Avenue. I took this route the last time I was on a bicycle about 5 years ago. I would never take the Winchester Route 9 underpass. Hell, I won’t even drive my car on it.
Although the Rt. 9 crossing at Woodcliff is the one our high schooler uses, there is a real danger there every parent and biker should know about: westbound cars turn north into Woodcliff at a blind corner, which is exactly where southbound biking students may be diagonally crossing the northbound lane of Woodcliff in order to make it to the crosswalk which is nearest to the northbound lane of Woodcliff. I have nightmares about what can happen.
There are many dangerous places like this in Newton which are invisible to motorists.
This intersection is right near the Newton Highlands play fields. I was thinking of reporting it to the City because there is no way to cross and I see kids walking or on bikes darting into traffic on Winchester to get to the field almost every evening.
I dont believe this group has any right to put these ugly pallets all over Newton just because they feel the road is unsafe for bike riders. YES, I am for safety for bike riders, pedestrians and even drivers. There has been accidents with cars , not just bikes ! This should be done through the police or public safety people or even our mayor or governor. This should not be decided by some group out there that doesnt like the way Newton is handling there signage for bike riders ! They have the right to put these signs up and people have the right to take them down ! Everyone I know in Newton thinks there ugly and agree , they should not be up all over the place. Get your point across but do it in the right way ! NOT WITH BIG UGLY PALLETS SCATTERED ABOUT THE NEIGHBORHOOD !