traffic

According to a press release posted on the Norfolk County Commissioners website, the board has unanimously denied the request by Westwood to modify Canton Street. The press release includes no details on the rationale behind this decision, but last year, the issue was the subject of some controversy at a public hearing where Canton selectmen spoke in opposition to the modifications based in part on larger concerns about the influx of traffic that could be generated if and when Westwood Station is built.

The proposed changes are part of a process that included dozens of meetings with residents and development of an engineering proposal that--regardless of the future of Westwood Station--was designed to slow down traffic and improve public safety in the Westwood neighborhoods. Full details on the plans for traffic calming in the Canton-Everett-Forbes area are available on the Town of Westwood website.

No local media has covered this story yet. I am biased, as a Westwood resident who would like to see Canton street turned in a safer street that would allow pedestrians and cyclists to navigate without fear for their lives, but I can also understand the road serves vital transportation needs between Dedham, route 128, and Canton. A previous proposal to "dead-end" Canton Street at 128 drew massive criticism from Dedham residents who use East Street to get onto the highway. The criticism from the public hearing--as reported above--indicated opponents felt Westwood had not done enough engineering study or planning--but from what I can see, there have been YEARS of thought put into this, coupled with an effort to address the concerns of residents all along the way. Following the reation to the initial ideas in 2007, a whole series of public meetings and engagement with an engineering firm resulted in the current plan. Traffic study data can be downloaded from the town website.

Regardless of how ANYONE feels about Westwood Station, this is a project that needs to happen. I hope the County Commissioners will provide more details on the basis of their denial of this request as I'm sure the matter will now wend its way into the legal system--generating more expense, more delay, and no progress for those who see Canton Street as an extended off ramp from 128...

This Wednesday, the Norfolk County Commissioners will hold a public hearing on proposed changes to Canton street related to Westwood Station development. According to the Canton Citizen, Canton selectmen will attend and oppose these changes because they lack adequate data about traffic. Traffic data compiled as part of the Canton-Everett-Forbes traffic calming study can be downloaded from here. The full set of documents posted to the Westwood town web site is available here. The Planning Board from Westwood will also attend. Might be worth missing an episode of "So you think you can dance..."

The hearing will be held in the Main Courtroom of the Norfolk County Superior Court, in Dedham, at 7:00 PM on Wednesday, September 30, 2009.

[Thanks to Anne McIntyre for bringing this idea to my attention...]

We've all seen those "Slow down, family neighborhood!" signs and wondered if they had any effect. Traffic engineers would probably say signs have NO impact at all and the only way to "calm" traffic is to modify the roads, but the Town of Needham is trying something different.

Signs designed by kids, described as "emotionally intelligent" because they invoke more of an empathetic reaction than negative, impersonal commands, may help to subconsciously remind speeders of WHY they should slow down. Needham has deployed a number of these signs which are inexpensive to create and wildly popular with residents.

They are definitely a better idea than this article I found about residents putting out life-size cardboard children near the road to scare cars.