Yesterday, Walk Bike Andover met with Town Manager Andrew Flanagan, Andover Police Chief Patrick Keefe, and other town staff to discuss our call for immediate action to improve pedestrian safety at Elm Square.
TEC, the Town’s on-call traffic engineering firm have already started gathering traffic counts at the Elm Square intersection and MassDOT will be performing their own Road Safety Audit in the coming weeks. We anticipate being a member of the safety audit team as a local bike and pedestrian advocacy group.
No changes to the intersection may be performed before these studies are completed. Janet Nicosia, Director of Facilities, has stated that “MassDOT must approve of any signalization changes. Data is required to present the case for any changes. A professional traffic study includes the components of data needed to analyze the effect of poss[ible] recommendations on vehicular traffic.”
We have been informed that there will be multiple opportunities for public feedback on the study results, any planned intersection changes, and the implementation details as the project progresses. According to Nicosia, “we hope for a mid-June public meeting to discuss facts gathered and hear from residents. Then report and recommendation options reviewed at another public meeting prior to finalizing and formalizing a MassDOT request. Hopefully by mid-July we could have report done and get MassDOT approval.”
Walk Bike Andover calls on the Town of Andover to publicly reaffirm their commitment to prioritize pedestrian and bicyclist safety, as outlined in the Town’s Complete Streets Policy, and to use the results of these studies to identify the changes needed to maximize pedestrian safety, with an acknowledgment that this may inconvenience some drivers. Our most vulnerable residents are those who are on foot and we must fundamentally change the way we think and talk about our priorities in road design.
We ask your support in keeping up the pressure over the coming weeks by continuing to share our petition with your friends, neighbors, and colleagues. We will continue to provide updates as appropriate.