Letter to John Bean, Arlington DPW

The members of the East Arlington Livable Streets (EALS) Coalition and residents throughout the neighborhood would like to extend our gratitude to you and the Department of Public Works for replacing the yellow crosswalk bollards along Mass Ave in East Arlington and in select locations throughout town. Your quick response to the numerous e-mails and other comments is especially appreciated for it shows that your department responds quickly to the safety concerns of Arlington’s citizens. A number of people have already expressed to us how much more comfortable they feel with the bollards back in place at the Grafton, Marathon, Varnum and Lafayette crosswalks and at the Everett intersection along Broadway. As of Saturday Feb 20, there is still no bollard at the Mass Ave crosswalk at Wyman Street. This is an important crosswalk that provides improved access to the businesses along that stretch of Mass Ave (Walgreens, Dunkin Donuts, etc) and to Spy Pond Park via Pond Lane. It is the only legal crossing between the traffic signals at Linwood and Franklin streets, a ¼ mile stretch of busy roadway. In order to avoid a net gain of bollards to be removed before storms, we suggest that you consider moving the bollard at the Mass Ave/Lake Street intersection to Wyman. Because Lake Street is a signalized intersection with an exclusive pedestrian crossing phase, there is limited value to having the bollard there vs. an unsignalized location where compliance by motorists is frequently lacking. We also feel that the “Yield to Pedestrians” message sends a confusing message to both drivers and pedestrians and makes a legal ambiguity that could lead to conflicts if a car stops for a waiting pedestrian while the light is green, thinking the pedestrian has the right of way. Thank you again for finding a nice balance between the safety needs of the hundreds of residents who cross Mass Ave on a daily basis and the limited resources at your department during the winter storm season.

Sincerely, Phil Goff and Chad Gibson, co-chairs East Arlington Livable Streets Coaltion

Cc: Brian Sullivan, Town Manager Jack Hurd, Arlington Board of Selectman