Traffic Commission designates Lowell Street as safety zone

In the latest update in a six-year discussion about traffic safety on Lowell Street, the Traffic Commission designated the area as a 20 mph traffic safety zone.

The commission at its Thursday meeting decided to create the 20 mph zone down the entirety of Lowell Street to address residents’ safety concerns. 

Traffic Engineer J. Michael Garvin had opposed the move, saying the average speed on the street was already under 25 mph and the change wouldn’t significantly affect driver behavior.

The only other traffic safety zone in Waltham is along a portion of Moody Street, which Garvin said was unique because of its high volume of pedestrian crossings and significant commercial presence. 

Ward 8 and 9 councilors Cathyann Harris and Robert G. Logan challenged Garvin’s assertions. They argued that as a densely populated area close to a school zone and the Recreation Department headquarters, Lowell Street required a similar designation.

“To say Lowell Street doesn’t experience the same [degree] of pedestrianization as Moody Street is a fallacy,” said Harris.

They said the safety zone designation was a last resort to address residents’ concerns. 

“The fact of the matter is a number of things were proposed … all but one of the multidirection stops were not approved. The speed bumps were not approved. So what does that leave us with?” Logan added. “The safety zone. If we don’t do the safety zone, what are we doing?” 

The commission considered other safety improvements to every intersection on the street. 

These included adding crosswalks at two intersections – one at Brown Street and the other at Wadsworth and Fuller streets; moving stop lines at Myrtle, Robbins and Crafts streets to improve drivers’ sight distance; creating sidewalk bumpouts into the parking lane at Taylor, Cushing, Chestnut and Ash streets to improve pedestrian visibility; installing rumble strips to discourage narrow left turns at Pine, Chestnut and Alder streets; and adding stop signs at Chestnut Street and facing traffic coming from Cushing Street.

Commissioners rejected an all-way stop at Robbins Street for which Harris also advocated. Garvin said the department could technically install an all-way stop because of the intersection’s relatively balanced traffic flow but argued the sign wouldn’t be very effective. 

The commission tabled discussions on speed bumps on the street until after it makes a decision on a general speed bump policy for the city. Harris acknowledged that first responders have expressed a dislike for speed bumps because they slow down response vehicles. 

Commissioners agreed to install additional no parking signs and improve road striping at some locations along the corridor. They asked the Traffic Engineering and Public Works departments to narrow sidewalks to their minimum of 5.5 feet on northern Lowell Street in order to widen the parking lane, which is too narrow for most cars. 

Logan described the current parking lane as “ridiculous,” adding that the change would in fact make pedestrians safer, given that many cars park partially on the curb.

Last week’s Traffic Commission decisions come six months after Harris and Logan held a neighborhood meeting with the Traffic Engineering Department for residents to weigh in on the Lowell Street corridor. The event drew around 100 people, and many residents voiced concerns that traffic on the street was unsafe for pedestrians and residents.

The plans proposed in October primarily involved additional crosswalks and permanent curb extensions near intersections. Mayor Jeannette A. McCarthy has asked the Traffic Commission to consider Lowell Street as part of a broader plan to improve traffic on the South Side.