Community Corner

Bikes Lanes Proposed for Major Waltham Roads

The Traffic Commossion will meet on Dec. 19 to review the proposals.

Several Waltham residents have proposed bike lanes for several major community streets, according to Traffic Commission documents. 

The Waltham Traffic Commission will meet on Wednesday, Dec. 19 to discuss three seperate proposals for bike lanes on South Street, Moody Street, Winter Street, Bacon Street, Totten Pond Road and Beaver Street, according to commision documents. The meeting will begin at 10 a.m. at City Hall.

The requests come in the wake of recent deaths of cyclists in the Boston area. 

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South Street requests (source: Traffic Commission documents)

  • WHAT: Three Waltham residents are seperately requesting bike lanes be installed on South street. 
  • REQUESTER: Adam Eisler, a Brandeis University graduate student, Cody Carlson, a South Street resident and Emily Szczypek, a School Street resident. 
  • WHY: Cody, in a statement to the Traffic Commision, said cyclists are currently forced to use the sidewalk because motorists speed down that road. He believes new bikes lanes would improve safety for area residents. 
  • Eisler believes installing bike lanes would help avoid crashes involving cyclists and motorists, while Szczypek believes they would increase awareness of cyclists and reduce carbon emissions from vehicles. 

COMMISSION RECOMENDATIONS

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  • The Commission has recomended that shared lane markings and similar signs be installed on South Street instead of a bike lane. 
  • South Street is not wide enough to accomodate separate bike lanes, Waltham's Traffic Engineer, J. Michael Garvin, wrote in a memo to the comission.

MOODY STREET/MAIN STREET REQUEST

  • WHAT: Installation of a bike lane on Moody Street/Main Street
  • REQUESTER: Adam Eisler
  • WHY: He believes it would help university students transport themselves around Waltham and avoid crashes with motorists.

COMMISSION RECOMMENDATIONS

  • The traffic engineer has recommended denying both requests for bike lanes. Moody Street is too narrow to accomodate bike lanes and Main Street's current traffic markings are too complex to allow for a separate bike lane, according to Garvin.
  • Instead, Garvin has recommended installing shared lane markings on South Street between Main Street and the railroad tracks. 

WINTER STREET/TOTTEN POND ROAD/BEAVER STREET/BACON STREET REQUESTS

  • WHAT: Request for bike lanes to be installed on Winter, Beaver and Bacon Streets as well as Totten Pond Road.
  • WHO: Emily Szczypek
  • WHY: To increase awareness of cyclists and reduce carbon emissions.

COMMISSION RECOMENDATIONS

  • Garvin has recommended approving bike lanes for Totten Pond Road and Winter Street after they are restriped in the future. Garvin recommended denying bike lanes for the three other roads, but supported shared lane markings and signs for South and Beaver Streets. Garvin, in his statement, said Beaver, Bacon and South Streets were not wide enough for bike lanes.


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