I has a scary moment this morning driving past the Angier School and it makes me think there may be something a bit broken in how the traffic and pedestrians are being managed there.
I was driving out-bound on Beacon St (right-to-left in photo). It was school starting time and rush hour so things were quite busy with lots of cars and pedestrians. Just past Collins Rd coming up to the traffic light and crosswalk there’s a short left turn lane. This morning as I came up that stretch the left turn lane was full of waiting cars, the light was green for me, and I was driving quite pretty slowly (< 10 MPH) through that short stretch due to all of the confusion. Just as I was starting to pass the front car and cross through the crosswalk with a green light, someone yelled loudly and I stopped abruptly.
Off to the left in the crosswalk, out of my site lines until that very instant, was a crossing guard who was trying to cross pedestrians in the crosswalk I was going through. The crossing guard glared at me and gestured that I should slow down despite the fact I was going quite slow the whole time.
The problem seems to be two-fold. The guard was crossing people while the light was green for me AND she was completely out of site until the last possible moment before I entered the crosswalk.
I’m not a traffic engineer so I’ll leave it to other to suggest what needs to change but its clear something does.
Have you gone through this intersection as either a driver or pedestrian at school start time? What’s your take on how that all works? Is it me, or is something wrong with the layout of the intersection or the procedure for crossing pedestrians?
That’s a useful observation, Jerry! I would think that either the traffic light should be on manual flashing red whenever the crossing guard’s there, or the crossing guard should wait until the light turns red before allowing students to cross. Hope they do something about it tout de suite.
The door on the traffic control box at Beacon and Grant is often ajar, revealing the four switch options which are:
SIGNAL OFF
POWER OFF
FLASH NORMAL
AUTO HAND
…wonder if that would allow for flashing red in all directions, or only a red-yellow combo?
The alternative of just pressing the walk button and waiting for the light to turn red before allowing students to cross seems a lot easier and much safer for everyone involved. There are a couple of crossing guards on Beacon Street in Brookline holding stop signs and they do just that.
As an aside from the bottom-up (pedestrian) perspective, last week in Egleston Square I almost got run over when a single BPD cop was (unbeknownst to me) hiding in one corner of the 15-lane, half-acre intersection secretly waving 45 mph traffic downhill through a red light right at me while I was in the crosswalk. Boy was he PO’d at me for almost getting hit!
Which is to say, traffic lights set to automatic plus crossing guards/traffic cops don’t mix.
The job of our crossing guards is dangerous and often thankless. Without them, our system of neighborhood schools would simply not be possible.
In general, crossing guards do not direct traffic or alter prevailing stopping/yielding rules. They are there to increase visibility and encourage compliance of traffic regulations for both vehicle operators and pedestrians. In other words, crossing guards should not in general stop a motor vehicle that has the right of way (which is distinct from having a green light, for instance on turns).
At a traffic signal, crossing guards should actuate the pedestrian crossing signal (if any) and wait for the pedestrian crossing light to come on.
You can watch the official training video here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rifzF627emE
There may be some limited exceptions. For example, there are some crossing guards that are ex-police that may have training in directing traffic that are given the OK to perform limited traffic control.
You drove Jerry? No bike? 🙂
@matt lai – you’re mixing me up with someone else I think. Many, many years ago I was a bike commuter for a few years. For the last 20 years or more I don’t bike much.
Probably the confusion is that I was one of the founders and organizers of the annual Tour de Newton. That’s one of the few days I sometime ride if I can.
So in one of the those chance encounter events in the universe I was also a participant in Jerry’s crossing experience at Angier. The situation at Angier is very challenging this year and the whole walking/crossing process needs attention. Back story is that I have been dropping off Max at Angier for the past 5 years and have a great feel for the way things work/don’t work. A month ago I alerted the principal to the observation that the drop off process has been challenged this year and that someone could suffer a serious incident.
I’m not tech savvy enough to add a map to this discussion but if you look at the Waban center crosswalks and crossing guards you will see that there are 3 crossing guards and one button activated crosswalk. That makes 4 crossing points that keep drivers on edge on busy Beacon St. My recommendation is that walkers on the South side of Beacon St should not be allowed to cross until they reach the actual Angier crossing guard in front of the school. This would limit driver encounters with pedestrians. Cutting out 3 crossing points.
Now to Jerry: I had just dropped off Max and was returning home putting me east bound on Beacon St. I had a clear view of everything as I was also a party to the event. The crossing guard simply made a mistake and in my view noticing some walkers coming to her station to cross over to Angier, she then pushed the button on the light, and not waiting for it to change jumped into the intersection with her stop sign in hand. She just made a mistake. As I was cautious from previous drop-offs I was ready and already mostly through the intersection I was able to stop just short of her and the crosswalk. The crossing guard, still thinking she was in the right, continued across Beacon, with the close by line of cars heading west, but turning left, blocking the sight lines for the straight through west bound traffic. That is where I saw and heard Jerry hit the brakes as the crossing guard entered his lane.
The pedestrians had never left the sidewalk and were always safe, but the crossing guard dodged a big accident yesterday.
To @ Mike’s point she knew the process but erred in her actions. The previous crossing guard at that station was there for 38 years prior to her sudden passing last year, and her experience and knowledge was greatly appreciated.
It’s a tough, busy intersection, and I believe it warrants a serious look, and some refresher training.
Formerly an At Large City Council, now running for the Ward 3 Council I’m always willing to assist where I can!!!
Now I’m going to be seeing Jim Cotes everywhere.
Is that him in the next line at the supermarket?
Was that Jim going the other way at that intersection?
Who’s walking past my window? Is it that Councilor Cote again?
Just stay out of my dreams Cote.
@I’ll try Jerry!!!
@all: I was reminded that there is one additional crossing point at the west side of Angier that also crosses Beacon St.
That’s a lot of crossing pedestrians.
Thank you
Jim, are you running???
@nativeNewtonian: Yes, I’m running for the Ward 3 City Council seat. I feel that I can add great representation for my Ward, while also adding value to the City Council. My experience and seniority should allow for a stronger presence in City Hall for the residents of West Newton.
I crossed at this intersection daily going to Angier on my commute to elementary school by T. It was apparently two crossing guards ago. She always waited for the signal and generally I don’t remember any incidents like this.
One could just as easily suggest that cars should take a detour at those hours around the Common and not drive down that block of Beacon Street. Restricting pedestrian access is the wrong answer, IMO, and seems to have no relation to the problem at hand, which was someone using a crossing incorrectly. Drivers should be prepared to stop at all crossings and they should have a good line of sight to do so.
Incidentally, the recent addition of left-turn lanes to prioritize traffic over peds makes mistakes like this far more dangerous, since line of sight is blocked. It’s similar to the problem we have in unsignalized crossings like Centre & Pelham where one lane is stopped and the other can’t see why.
Thank you, James Cote. Our ward needs you back. Desperately. Don’t always agree with your politics but your communication and advocacy for all in ward 3 will make you an outstanding ward councilor
What NativeNewtonian said!
Another issue at the Angier intersection is the pinch point on Beacon Street on the West bound side at the Angier driveway. At that spot, Beacon is so narrow that there is literally not enough width for a car and a bike in the outbound lane to pass at the same time. A car has to cross into the oncoming lane to pass a bike. A dangerous design flaw made during the Angier rebuild (or perhaps a “road calming” attempt). I usually turn my bike into the Angier driveway (not when in session) to avoid it.
Agreed. And yet there’s plenty of room for a cycle track next to the road from the Angier driveway all the way to Dorset! This was suggested at the time of the rebuild, but nobody seemed interested. What we got was very car-centric.
There are a lot more traffic challenges at all our schools this year as the initial guidance from the state which reduced bus occupancy discouraged families from using the bus. The best ways to reduce the possibility of accidents is to encourage walking, biking and using the yellow bus.
We have a very active Safe Routes to School group and the joint Transportation Steering Group which works across city departments, NPS, the school committee and the city council meets regularly. We are continually working to make changes to improve student safety.
We are hopeful that next year more families will feel safe using our buses and that we will see less chaos at student drop off. Families can now sign up for the bus for next year using My School Bucks. There are also maps of each school site on the NPS website that detail where crossings, crossing guards and walking routes are located.
I encourage all of us to try to decrease traffic around our schools during drop off and pick up times. The fewer cars, the safer our students will be.