Chief goal of Centre St. plan is pedestrian safety
The article “ ‘Road diet’ backlash in W. Roxbury” (Metro, Dec. 3) failed to provide much-needed context around the proposal to remove two lanes of vehicle traffic on Centre Street in West Roxbury. The primary goal of the so-called road diet design is pedestrian safety.
Study after study has shown that these designs — two traffic lanes, with a third, center lane for turns — are a safer alternative to four-lane roads; the evidence is so clear that the Federal Highway Administration describes them as a “proven safety countermeasure” to four-lane roads and a “low-cost solution that addresses safety concerns and benefits all road users — a win-win for quality of life.” What’s more, the AARP promotes road diets to improve safety.
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Studies also have shown that these types of road diets do not negatively affect business or significantly increase or divert traffic, and can even benefit emergency response times.
Giving a voice to our neighbors in opposition to the plan is important, but failing to mention the fact that the proposed design is a data-driven, pedestrian-focused solution to safety on Centre Street was a major omission.
Evan Judd
West Roxbury
Crossing four lanes of traffic is dangerous
I was disappointed in the article about changes to Centre Street traffic in West Roxbury. The opening line of the article leaves the impression that the proposed “road diet” is mainly intended to remove two lanes of cars so that we can have two lanes for bikes. The idea of reducing the current four lanes of vehicle traffic to two was inspired by the death of a pedestrian, Marilyn Wentworth, on Feb. 5, and is not centered around bicycles.
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The 16 parking spaces that would be lost are due to “daylighting” — removing one parking space from the end of a block so that pedestrians are more visible. The bicycle lanes would be an added benefit if we do reduce the road width, but they are not the primary reason to do it. Crossing four lanes of traffic is dangerous. It’s a fact.
Pamela Haran
West Roxbury