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Selectmen last night established a pedestrian and bicycle safety committee, formally creating the new group that will work to make Westwood more "walkable" and "bikable."
With their 3-0 vote, selectmen accepted the proposal put forward by a group of residents led by Dave Atkins of Islington. The new committee grew out of a community workshop Atkins organized in early November which identified problematic crosswalks in Islington, and highlighted how difficult and dangerous it can be for pedestrians and cyclists to get from one side of Westwood to the other.
Last night, Atkins said the idea is to "build some structure in town that will systematically consider these things and make opportunistic improvements" - incorporating cycling and pedestrian safety when work is to be done on a given road, for example.
"I think it'd be very helpful to the Planning Board, to the Engineering Department, to various parts of the town, whenever there's a project that they are considering, we'd have this resource to look things over from the pedestrian and bicycle point of view," Town Planner Nora Loughnane told selectmen.
Russell Avenue resident Bill Conley told the board that he, like Atkins, has been knocked off his bike while riding through town.
Westwood has "a lot of narrow, winding roads, and a lot of people using them - running, biking, students from school running cross-country - and nobody to my knowledge has ever put together a comprehensive plan," Conley said. "And I think this committee, working with the neighborhood and the town officials, can do a great service to this town to provide the residents with a way to get through the town safely and easily."
Conley earlier served on the traffic safety task force, established in 1999. The new committee will incorporate that task force.
Coach Lane resident Michael Kraft said that he sees high school kids running on Clapboardtree, Gay and Thatcher streets with no room for both them and traffic. "I only think it's a matter of time before there's a serious accident," he said.
The new committee was warmly received by selectmen.
"It makes a lot of sense to have biking, pedestrian and traffic issues all under the same roof," said Selectman Philip Shapiro.
The committee will strive to improve pedestrian and bike safety through four "approaches": encouragement, engineering, enforcement, and education. The committee aims "to gather input from all parts of town and include town employees/departments in a way that make implementation of recommendations more likely." The group will include residents, one member and an alternate from school PTOs, past traffic safety task force members, and ex officio members such as Loughnane.
Selectmen Chairman Patrick Ahearn said that next his board will need to appoint volunteers to the committee.
After last night's vote, Atkins - who is also the editor of Westwood Blog - said the selectmen's move "really acknowledges how people are thinking about walking and biking in Westwood, and connecting the town."
He said the group's official first meeting will be March 19.
Edward B. Colby can be reached at 781-433-8336 or ecolby@cnc.com.
Selectmen last night established a pedestrian and bicycle safety committee, formally creating the new group that will work to make Westwood more "walkable" and "bikable."
With their 3-0 vote, selectmen accepted the proposal put forward by a group of residents led by Dave Atkins of Islington. The new committee grew out of a community workshop Atkins organized in early November which identified problematic crosswalks in Islington, and highlighted how difficult and dangerous it can be for pedestrians and cyclists to get from one side of Westwood to the other.
Last night, Atkins said the idea is to "build some structure in town that will systematically consider these things and make opportunistic improvements" - incorporating cycling and pedestrian safety when work is to be done on a given road, for example.
"I think it'd be very helpful to the Planning Board, to the Engineering Department, to various parts of the town, whenever there's a project that they are considering, we'd have this resource to look things over from the pedestrian and bicycle point of view," Town Planner Nora Loughnane told selectmen.
Russell Avenue resident Bill Conley told the board that he, like Atkins, has been knocked off his bike while riding through town.
Westwood has "a lot of narrow, winding roads, and a lot of people using them - running, biking, students from school running cross-country - and nobody to my knowledge has ever put together a comprehensive plan," Conley said. "And I think this committee, working with the neighborhood and the town officials, can do a great service to this town to provide the residents with a way to get through the town safely and easily."
Conley earlier served on the traffic safety task force, established in 1999. The new committee will incorporate that task force.
Coach Lane resident Michael Kraft said that he sees high school kids running on Clapboardtree, Gay and Thatcher streets with no room for both them and traffic. "I only think it's a matter of time before there's a serious accident," he said.
The new committee was warmly received by selectmen.
"It makes a lot of sense to have biking, pedestrian and traffic issues all under the same roof," said Selectman Philip Shapiro.
The committee will strive to improve pedestrian and bike safety through four "approaches": encouragement, engineering, enforcement, and education. The committee aims "to gather input from all parts of town and include town employees/departments in a way that make implementation of recommendations more likely." The group will include residents, one member and an alternate from school PTOs, past traffic safety task force members, and ex officio members such as Loughnane.
Selectmen Chairman Patrick Ahearn said that next his board will need to appoint volunteers to the committee.
After last night's vote, Atkins - who is also the editor of Westwood Blog - said the selectmen's move "really acknowledges how people are thinking about walking and biking in Westwood, and connecting the town."
He said the group's official first meeting will be March 19.
Edward B. Colby can be reached at 781-433-8336 or ecolby@cnc.com.
