“The crosswalk by town hall has new, hopefully more visible signs. It will be upgraded to a speed table in the spring, once the water main patches have settled. The speed table will give drivers, pedestrians, and Public Safety experience with this new traffic calming measure. We will then consider whether speed tables are well suited to other crosswalks in town.”
I am genuinely struggling to understand why a traffic table is being presented as the preferred solution for Lincoln Road, particularly given its well-documented drawbacks and the availability of safer, more effective alternatives. Traffic tables carry significant and foreseeable downsides. They can delay emergency response vehicles, create safety hazards for motorcyclists due to abrupt elevation changes, and cause damage to vehicle suspensions, undercarriages, and front splitters—especially once the Table has a few seasons of New England weather has left it in less than optimal condition. Is the Town prepared to accept liability for vehicle damage caused by this installation? If not, why is a measure with such predictable consequences being advanced? Moreover, a single traffic table does nothing to meaningfully reduce overall vehicle speeds along Lincoln Road. At best, it creates a brief bottleneck where drivers slow momentarily, only to accelerate immediately afterward. This does not address speeding behavior along the rest of the roadway and offers no comprehensive traffic-calming benefit. It is also worth noting that traffic tables are not safely traversed at 20-30mph. In practical use, drivers must slow to approximately 15–20 mph to avoid vehicle damage. This creates an inconsistent and potentially hazardous driving environment, particularly for unfamiliar drivers, cyclists, and emergency vehicles. Compounding this concern are ongoing discussions about asking residents to contribute financially to repaving Lincoln Road- work that will likely be necessary sooner rather than later due to the extremely poor patching performed after the water main replacement. If repaving is imminent, would the newly installed traffic table need to be removed and rebuilt? If so, how is this an efficient or fiscally responsible use of public or resident funds? There are proven, safer alternatives that address pedestrian safety without introducing these risks. For example, pedestrian-activated crossing signals, such as the flashing system used at Walden Pond, have been shown to improve driver compliance and pedestrian visibility while preserving road continuity. Why was this option dismissed by the Transportation Coalition, and on what evidence was that decision based? Finally, it remains unclear who would be responsible for the installation, maintenance, and long-term upkeep of the proposed traffic table. What are the projected costs, and how will they be funded? Given these unresolved concerns, it is difficult to justify a traffic table as the best, or even a prudent solution for Lincoln Road. Sarah Postlethwait On Sat, Dec 13, 2025 at 1:44 PM Margaret Olson <[email protected]> wrote: > Everyone, > > We wanted to share with you the results of the Transportation Coalition > survey and give you an update on recently completed and upcoming projects. > > The Survey: > > The survey opened on August 26th and closed on October 13th. 312 of you > responded to our outreach: postal mailing, flyers, and emails. To all who > responded: Thank you! The feedback we received will help guide our > long-term planning. The Transportation Coalition will continue to partner > with the Town's Public Safety Department and DPW on road safety and > maintenance, and to fund as much as possible with a combination of state > Chapter 90 money and grants. > > Resident’s top-rated priorities were additional roadside paths/sidewalks > (82 votes), road maintenance (77 votes), and speed/traffic control (61 > votes). Answers to the question "if you could pick one project to improve > pedestrian or cyclist safety in your neighborhood, what would it be?" > reflected these priorities: sidewalks and speed. The intersection of 117 > and Tower Road and additional bike lanes were the largest group of specific > responses. > > When it comes to taxes to support improvements, 146 of you are opposed, > 129 are in favor, and 27 responded with "maybe". > > Projects: > > The crosswalk at Old Sudbury Road and Route 117 is now complete! It > consists of new pedestrian refuge islands and a pedestrian activated > warning light. This was funded by a Complete Streets grant. Attached is a > picture for those of you who do not often drive along 117. > > The crosswalk by town hall has new, hopefully more visible signs. It will > be upgraded to a speed table in the spring, once the water main patches > have settled. The speed table will give drivers, pedestrians, and Public > Safety experience with this new traffic calming measure. We will then > consider whether speed tables are well suited to other crosswalks in town. > A "speed table" is a traffic calming device consisting of a long, flat > topped speed hump that allows vehicles to maintain speeds of around 20-30 > mph while still slowing traffic for safer pedestrian crossings. Attached is > an image of a speed hump from the Federal Highway Division. > > And, as most of you probably know, the second half of the water main > project on Lincoln Road will begin in the spring/summer. > > The 2A repaving by Mass DOT will not be put out to bid until 2029. At > least some of the 2A crosswalks and pedestrian protections that the Town > advocated for remain as part of the plan. > > MassDOT has informed us that the Route 126 bridge project will start this > coming summer and is projected to finish in the summer of 2031. > > > Margaret Olson > > Chair, Transportation Coalition > > -- > The LincolnTalk mailing list. > To post, send mail to [email protected]. > Browse the archives at https://pairlist9.pair.net/mailman/private/lincoln/ > . > Change your subscription settings at > https://pairlist9.pair.net/mailman/listinfo/lincoln. > >
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