I walk on Farrar Road a lot. Several years ago, the town installed
sloping asphalt shoulders to control erosion of the dirt shoulders and
to visually narrow the pavement to encourage lower speeds. The speeds
remained the same, but with the narrower pavement there was no longer
room for 2 cars to pass while walkers were on both sides of the street.
It's hard to walk on the sloped edges now to get off the street when two
cars pass. Not mowing the roadside would make the situation worse. I
think the new striping is worth trying; many people do walk the Farrar
Rd-Oxbow Road- Rte 126 sidewalk loop.
How much to mow is a judgement call. Along the side walk, mowing
prevents bicyclists from decapitation and keeps the path open for
walkers. At the intersections, the aggressive trimming has greatly
improved traffic visibility. Along the roadsides, do we want the margins
to eventually fill up with shrubs and small trees that scrape the sides
of cars and makes it even harder for walkers? Food for thought.
Ruth Ann Hendrickson
(She, her)
On 4/11/2022 7:41 AM, Sara Mattes wrote:
By trimming trees and brush along roadsides, and by mowing, we create
the visual appearance of a wider road.
My observations have been that traffic has sped up when that mowing is
done.
Would we consider NOT doing that aggressive cutting, esp. with the
machine that works on the vertical?
It would be a low-cost, low-tech way of creating a visual
narrowing-save on mowing, no cost of painting.
That is something the RTC could discuss.
Sara
------
Sara Mattes
On Apr 10, 2022, at 8:50 PM, Margaret Olson <[email protected]>
wrote:
By Massachusetts law, the speed limit must be set at the speed at
which 80% of the traffic is traveling. Regardless of signage, people
drive at the speed that appears to be safe. This is why visually
narrowing the road slows down traffic and visual widening speeds it up.
We can not slow down traffic by changing the posted speed limit and
attempting to enforce it. That approach is both illegal and
ineffective. Lowering road speeds is a difficult and frustrating
exercise.
If the new striping on Farrar Road does slow down traffic the town
will be able to lower the posted speed limit. This requires a
traffic study to prove to the state that the speeds on the road are
now slower.
Margaret
On Sun, Apr 10, 2022 at 5:52 PM <[email protected]> wrote:
Oddly the speed limit is 30 mph on Farrar Rd. Perhaps lowering it
to 20 mph with moderate enforcement could improve safety
conditions for bikers and pedestrians.
On Apr 10, 2022, at 5:33 PM, Leslie Turek
<[email protected]> wrote:
People who are considerate drivers will be considerate drivers
with the new striping. And people who are inconsiderate drivers
will probably be inconsiderate drivers even with the new
striping. Might there be a few people who will be influenced by
the striping to take pedestrians and bikes into account?
Perhaps. Not sure how to tell.
Leslie Turek
On Sun, Apr 10, 2022 at 3:41 PM Arthur Gleiner
<[email protected]> wrote:
I think it is working well. I walk, drive and bike on Farrah
and Oxbow Roads, and I feel more comfortable with all 3
activités with the new painted reminders. I will add that
whenever I am in my car and I see a biker or pedestrian, I
think it is my duty to ensure that they do not feel
threatened by my vehicle, regardless of right of way rules.
I slow down, or if needed come to a complete stop to
facilitate this. The extra 15 seconds it takes me to get to
my destination feels more than compensated by the peace of
mind I create for someone else. The new lanes assist in
raising consciousness.
To my way of thinking, too many people are creating
needless stress, burning excessive fuel, and polluting the
air needlessly by careless driving. We would all be well
served by slowing down and being kind. Everyone wins.
Art Gleiner.
Sent from my iPhone
> On Apr 8, 2022, at 7:30 PM, David Clapp
<[email protected]> wrote:
>
> It is ok —certainly not great...but what about making it
one way on Oxbow road and the other way on Farrar road.
diane clapp
>
>> On Apr 8, 2022, at 5:07 PM, Stephanie Smoot
<[email protected]> wrote:
>>
>> The new “unilane” seems to be working well. There is one
shared car lane and two shoulders for non vehicle pads and
bikes. I haven’t noticed any conflicts and It’s a nice
compromise to chopping down all the trees to put in
sidewalks. What do other people think?
>>
>> --
>> Regards,
>> Stephanie Smoot
>>
>> 857 368-9175 work
>> 781 941-6842 personal cell
>> 617 595-5217 work cell
>> 126 Chestnut Circle
>> Lincoln, MA 01773
>>
>>
>>
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