The Melrose DPW has recently announced they are planning design and paving work on Main Street, between Mt. Vernon St and Sylvan Street. This key community corridor currently lacks, among other things, crosswalks with bumpouts, and designated lanes for bicycles. The current layout, with its wide travel lanes and underutilized street parking, creates a "freeway" environment, encouraging speeding and discouraging walking and bicycling. We are asking the DPW to ensure that they address these issues as part of their redesign.

Street safety features such as protected bike lanes and shorter crosswalks have been shown to reduce speeding while improving safety for all road users, as well as to encourage more people to use walking/bicycling for commuting and short trips. This leads to a virtuous cycle: more walking and biking, reduced air pollution, reduced traffic, greater safety, and more community engagement here in Melrose.

The Melrose Pedestrian and Bicycle Committee has performed an initial study of the area and has developed a set of design recommendations for the City. The street has enough capacity to accommodate substantial safety improvements, while maintaining travel lanes wide enough for bus/truck use and enough on-street parking to easily satisfy existing demand. These features have been deployed in other neighboring communities, and all around the world, to great success.

We have heard time and time again from residents who want to walk and bike more, but who do not feel safe or comfortable doing so. Let's embrace what makes Melrose so special, and make sure our walkable, bikeable little city is a safe and encouraging place for all road users!