By Kim Siebert MacPhail
It’s a short distance between the playground and the library, but the difficulty of crossing Mudge Way safely was highlighted in discussions of the Transportation Advisory Committee (TAC) on June 27.
“Every time I walk that way, I try to remember what the rationale is for not having a crosswalk there,” said TAC Chair Bob Dorer. “I can never figure out—as a nimble adult—how to walk across without getting run over if someone happens to be racing around the corner, including—potentially—a police car.
“Is there any rocket science for why we can’t put in a crosswalk?” Dorer asked. “If you put yourself in the position of somebody trying to walk from the police station to the library— or at the library, trying to go over to the playground— it’s pretty hard to do safely.”
Acting DPW Director Adrienne St. John, in attendance at the meeting, responded that the right time to make changes— such as re-striping or adding crosswalks— is when a larger repaving project at the location is being done. Funding for re-pavement of this particular part of Mudge Way was turned down not long ago at Town Meeting.
Selectmen liaison to TAC Margot Fleishman noted that, years ago, the wooden guardrails on the south side of Mudge Way were constructed to keep kids at the playground from darting into the road. However, now that the playground area itself is fenced in and contained, the guardrail is less useful and, in fact, makes crossing to a safe “landing” place more problematic.
“It comes down to safety,” added Jaci Edwards of Bedford Arbor Resource Committee. “Safety for the children.”
“My son is ten and I don’t always feel he can cross safely there all the time,” said Fleischman.
“I don’t like crossing there sometimes, myself,” Edwards agreed.
Loading ...
Exactly how much does some paint, a couple signs, and a notification kiosk in the middle of the road cost? And when is a repaving project even scheduled?