Setting the Record Straight on North Avenue Improvements

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The Daily Items’ front-page story “North Avenue Bike Lanes, Flex Posts Coming Soon” on 9.11.2024 contained a number of misleading statements and failed to describe the past two years of public discussion regarding the many public safety benefits of the North Avenue re-design, which has been publicly available on Wakefield’s website for more than a year.

The Item’s article is misleading for two reasons. First, the article states: “In the next few weeks, the roadway lanes will be narrowed and re-configured to accommodate a 5-foot wide bike lane and a 3-foot buffer zone on the east side of North Avenue”.  In fact, the travel lanes for cars and trucks will be striped at 11.5 feet each to bring them in line with the Federal and Massachusetts’ road width design standards; NOT only to create the bike lane.

The North Avenue re-design is based on the “Complete Streets” engineering model that will make the road safer for motor vehicles, bicyclists, and pedestrians on one of the most heavily used roads in Wakefield. Wakefield adopted a Complete Streets policy in 2017. The North Avenue redesign will be one example of a complete street; including the first bike lane in town.

For years, North Avenue has had excessively wide travel lanes (ranging from 14 to 16-feet wide) that encouraged faster driving speeds often in excess of 40 MPH. It lacked sufficient pedestrian crosswalks and was widely considered hazardous for bike travel even by experienced bike riders. The wider sidewalk has significantly improved pedestrian safety and comfort. The main travel lanes will be striped at 11.5 feet wide, which is still wider than the more common standard width of 11-foot lanes used in the Massachusetts DOT roadway standards (www.mass.gov/dot), Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and the standards used by other professional road design agencies.

The Item article is misleading for a second reason; it lacks a serious description of the number of Town Council meetings where the project was thoroughly vetted, including input by the Police and Fire Departments.

Town Council reviewed the North Avenue project in December 2022 and gave the green light to Bill Renault, Town Engineer, to move forward with re-designing the road. At this meeting there was ample discussion about the new design, including the northbound bike lane and widening the sidewalk for pedestrians.  At the June 24, 2024 Council meeting there was additional discussion by the Council and a vote taken to re-affirm the new road layout.   The Council majority voted to include a wider, 10-foot-wide sidewalk (already under construction), 11.5 foot general travel lanes, a 5-6 foot northbound protected bike lane (the Council requested that the vertical, flex posts be included), and a 3-foot buffer zone between the main travel lane and the bike lane.

In short, the redesign is safer for all users of North Avenue, whether you are in a car, on a bike, or on foot. However, some members of the Town Council chose to overlook the expertise of Federal and Massachusetts’ road design standards and the robust discussion of multiple public meetings. They want to return to a road design that is car-centric, encourages speeding, and excludes any consideration of bicycle safety and reduced pedestrian safety.

Councilors Dombroski and McLane voted against the North Avenue re-design at the June 24, 2024 Council meeting because they opposed the protected bike lane reviewed by the Council in previous meetings.  It is telling that Dombroski said “There are places you should be biking and other places are just too dangerous.”  What Dombroski and McLane have willfully ignored is that it is the old design – with excessively wide lanes and no bike lane or buffer zone – that has made North Avenue “dangerous.” All of the Federal and Massachusetts road design guidance – including making the lanes conform to the 11-foot standard, striping a bike lane and the placement of seasonally removable flex posts - have been proven to increase the safety of all road users; conflicts are reduced because the movement of drivers, pedestrians and bicyclists are more predictable. These same designs are being used in cities and towns across the US.

The North Avenue project is a WIN-WIN for a safer road for motorists, pedestrians, and bicyclists. Residents and road users should embrace these changes to make the lake environment and the town a safer and more vibrant community overall.  Public safety means all road users.

John Crisley

Founding Member, Safe Streets Wakefield

www.safestreetswakefield.com