Traffic engineering team comes to Lowell Street to discuss safety improvements

South Side residents came together last Monday at the Waltham Community and Cultural Center to discuss the future of traffic safety along Lowell Street.

The neighborhood meeting was organized by Ward 8 Councilor Cathyann Harris, Ward 9 Councilor Robert G. Logan and Mayor Jeannette A. McCarthy to discuss a set of traffic mitigation plans for the street before approaching contractors for bids. These plans involve making permanent curb extensions to prevent parking at intersections and improve visibility and pedestrian safety. 

These “chokers” would replace temporary delineator posts first installed along the street in 2023.

The plans also involve painting additional crosswalks at street crossings and repainting existing ones. At the request of the mayor, the Traffic Commission voted in September to begin work on that segment of the plan as soon as possible.

A total of 81 residents signed in for the meeting, and Harris and Logan estimated that the event drew a total of around 100 people.

At the meeting, City Traffic Engineer Michael Garvin and City Engineer Robert Winn explained the details of the plan and then opened the floor to public comment and questions.

Although few residents spoke against the proposed improvements, for the majority of speakers, they didn’t go far enough.

“I appreciate these solutions — but these are simple solutions that probably should have happened 25 years ago instead of [now in] 2025,” said resident Brian Coonley.

“[With] no stop signs … this plan is not going to slow anyone,” added resident Saul Blumenthal.

Background

Lowell Street is a north-south road running between Pine Street and Derby Street. It’s the site of a high number of traffic accidents: MassDOT’s crash report database lists 23 incidents in 2024 at or near Lowell Street intersections.

In an email to The Waltham Times, Harris said that she has been campaigning for improved traffic safety measures on the street for the past six years and regularly gets input from neighbors after crashes or encounters with cars speeding down the corridor.

The first traffic study she requested for the street, in 2019, resulted in some additional signage at existing stop signs along the street. Another 2021 study resulted in the street painting and delineators these traffic-choking measures are proposed to replace.

Still, they haven’t been enough to solve the persistent speeding issues and high crash rates. At the last commission meeting, Harris said that traffic along the street has “only gotten worse, not better.” 

Many neighbors shared personal stories at the meeting around Lowell Street’s traffic: witnessing concerning accidents, feeling nervous about allowing kids to explore their neighborhood and feeling like they take their lives into their hands crossing the street.

Emma Tzioumis of Oak Street said her two elementary-school-aged kids have a good idea of traffic safety and know how to cross the street. “And yet I don’t feel safe letting them cross Lowell by themselves,” she said.

Solutions

Neighbors proposed a variety of additional traffic mitigation measures for the street: raised crosswalks, speedbumps, stop signs, blinking light intersections, clearer speed limit signage and increased traffic law enforcement in the area.

Speedbumps and stop signs were both especially popular. “We [don’t have] to just talk about slowing them; let’s talk about stopping them,” said resident Jay Bourgeous. “It’s a simple solution. I think we’re way overthinking it … let’s just try [the stop signs] while they continue this project.”

Especially given the Traffic Commission meets on a weekday at 10 a.m., when many people are at work and can’t attend, this was the first opportunity for many residents to weigh in on the plan.

Many speakers thanked the traffic team and the councilors for the time they’ve put into the issue. “[This meeting] has been the most productive thing I’ve seen in Waltham since we fought to keep Moody Street open for a few months,” said resident Corey Carbone. 

Logan said the turnout really showed a mandate to the Traffic Commission about how big the problem is. “When we’re going to the Traffic Commission, we’re going to the department heads and we’re trying to get improvements. I think a lot of times it’s like, ‘Oh, they get two phone calls and they’re down here trying to get us to do all this work.’ And that’s not it at all. I think that that meeting proved that this is a real matter of widespread community concern.”

Next steps

The Traffic Commission had also ordered a study in September investigating the use of four-way stop signs down Lowell Street at Harris’ request.

“I think it’s going to take a combination of some of these unique traffic implementations. But just very simply: we know how to install stop signs. And I think we are there at some points on Lowell Street,” she said at the September commission meeting.

At the end of the South Side neighborhood meeting, though, the mayor addressed the audience, saying that she’d heard their feedback and wanted to bring it back to the Traffic Commission. She suggested another neighborhood meeting before the completion of the project so that neighbors wouldn’t have to come to the commission meeting to get an update.

After the meeting, McCarthy told The Waltham Times that she thought a meeting like this was necessary to capture the priorities of the people. She foresaw issues with some suggestions. For example, she said the Traffic Commission often has concerns about speed bumps for fire safety reasons — but she said it’s clear the residents want change, and that there are better options available for the street. She said she would spend time going through their comments to put together and “advocate for what I believe is a common sense solution.”

Harris said that, at this point, the plan is in the hands of the mayor, and she’s expecting to see a more comprehensive traffic plan from the mayor submitted at the October meeting. She added that as of the Thursday after the meeting, she has already received calls from constituents saying they’ve seen city traffic officers arriving near their homes to take measurements. 

“This hasn’t moved to the speed that I think the public wants it to be, and certainly … I would have loved to be here sooner,” said Harris. “But I’m not sensing any barriers. I see this kind of government warp speed right now. I’m seeing a lot of activity.”