It may soon be safer to use five crosswalks in town.
At the request of Police Chief Dennis King, the town’s Traffic Safety Advisory Committee on Oct. 22 identified the first five intersections to get rectangular rapid flashing beacons, or RRFBs, thanks to a grant the chief had obtained.
RRFBs alert drivers that a pedestrian is waiting to cross the street. A pedestrian presses a button to illuminate two rectangular yellow “indications,” each with an LED-array-based light source. When activated, RRFBs flash at an alternating high frequency to grab drivers’ attention.
According to the Federal Highway Administration, RRFBs can reduce pedestrian crashes by up to 47% and increase the likelihood that a driver will yield by up to 98%.
RRFDs “have been very successful in other communities and in this community,” said TSAC Chair Gary Hebert. .
The five intersections the TSAC settled on are:
— Atlantic Avenue at Smith Street.
— Atlantic Avenue at Gerry Street.
— Atlantic Avenue at Community Road.
— Lafayette Street at Birch Street.
— West Shore Drive at Jersey Street.
That final list was a slight tweak to Hebert’s initial recommendations based on historical crash data from 2014 to 2024.The committee decided to include Atlantic Avenue at Community Road instead of Atlantic Avenue at Barnard Street in part due to the higher speeds vehicles tend to travel entering and exiting in the town in the vicinity of the Jewish Community Center, Epstein Hillel School and Temple Sinai.
Hebert stressed that additional intersections could receive RRFBs in the future, with Pleasant Street at the Starbucks plaza and Atlantic Avenue at Commercial Street flagged as other intersections that could benefit from the technology.
In addition to the number of reported crashes in the area, another consideration was the amount of sunlight and tree cover in the area, as the devices run on solar power.
In the context of discussing the possible locations for RRFDs, Hebert noted that “at some point in time” the town might want to consider lowering the speed limit as drivers enter the Atlantic Avenue shopping district in the area of Commercial Street to 15 mph. On-street parking makes the road “extremely tight” in that area, leading to regular issues with sideview mirrors getting “nailed,” Hebert said.
Old Village crosswalk concerns
During the meeting’s public comment period, Village Street resident Pat Adams flagged an ongoing issue with children and adults continuing to use an old crosswalk still visible near the Village School rather than using a new one in a safer location nearby.
Adams wondered why the town’s Department of Public Works had not made it a priority to paint over with black paint the lines of the old crosswalk before school started in September.
While her top concern was pedestrian safety, Adams reported that the situation also periodically backs up traffic in the area as well-meaning drivers stop at the old crosswalk, which has the unintended effect of blocking the new crosswalk.
DPW Director Amy McHugh, a TSAC member, assured that blacking out the old crosswalk is “on the list.” But she added that more important to making the area safer is educating children about where they should and shouldn’t be crossing the street.
TSAC member Rick Smyers noted that he had stopped by the intersection and spoken with the crossing guard, who confirmed that the continued use of the old crosswalk needed to be addressed.
That prompted a discussion about measures, like putting up a stretchy orange plastic fence or barrels, that could be considered to redirect pedestrian traffic temporarily, until the old crosswalk is painted over.
McHugh said that her department had begun to explore posting a sign in the area like one currently at the Veterans School but that it would take some time to have it custom made.
