Here is a follow-up to my post about the traffic design wars in Newton, MA. The issue was returned to the city's legislative body for review and consideration. I guess that was deemed necessary because any changes would require additional spending authorizations.
We neighbors received the following email from the city DPW reporting the results. I offer it without comment.
We neighbors received the following email from the city DPW reporting the results. I offer it without comment.
As most of you are aware the Board of Alderman voted to restore the intersection of Cypress
Street and Centre Street to its original configuation. As a result, the city will be commencing
the following construction activities in Newton Centre.
Dates: August 19, 2013 thru August 30, 2013 (M-F, possible Saturday work)
Time: 7:00 AM to 7:00 PM
Activity: Intersection work (Cypress at Centre)
In addition, the city will be conducting the following roadway milling operations.
Date: August 18, 2013 (Sunday night)
Time: 5:00 PM to 5:00 AM
Activity: Roadway milling
During all construction activities there will be adequate police details to handle traffic and
pedestrian flow.
We thank you for your patience during this construction phase.
Boy, local politics at work. This strikes me as a really short-sighted and extremely wasteful process and decision. Yes, the lack of public communication at the start of the project was not ideal and could have been handled better. The city could also have conducted an inexpensive trial with signs and sandbag bump-outs, as they did on nearby Daniel Street prior to the construction there. But, that's all spilled milk at this point, and people seem to be getting used to the new configuration. So, now that the work is done, why not wait a few months and just try it out, to see how things go, with a concurrent comment process. At best, you get a chance to really trial something and hear from more citizens - and may even find that things work. At worst, you undo the intersection after the trial period of, say 3-5 months. What would be the harm in that?
ReplyDeleteTrials are unattractive, inaccurate and sometimes unsafe. They're good at stopping projects, not necessarily good at proving them.
ReplyDelete