Arlington residents got their first look at concepts for a dangerous intersection on the Minuteman Bikeway in East Arlington when town officials presented a concept plan a public forum Wednesday evening.

The Lake Street-Minuteman Bikeway intersection has seen many crashes and even more close calls between cyclists, pedestrians and cars over the years. In 2016, the Arlington Transportation Advisory Committee recommended a signal be installed at that location.

The proposed plan has three goals: make the intersection safe, predictable, and efficient for everyone who crosses the intersection.

“We call it a ‘10 percent’ concept plan,” Town Engineer Wayne Chouinard said before the meeting. “We did not want to go too far into the design without the input from residents and users.”

Chouinard is a member of the design review committee overseeing the process.

Approximately 60 community members listened and took notes as Jason Sobel, a consultant engineer from Green International Affiliates Inc., showed an areal photo of the intersection with the plan:

Full Signal Control

In addition to adding signals for drivers and pedestrians, Sobel presented a traffic signal for bikers, with bike signs in the middle of the red, yellow and green light. The bike signals would be parallel to walk signals, he added.

Also, the signals at the Lake Street and Minuteman Bikeway intersection will coordinate signals at the Lake Street and Brooks Avenue intersection. The goal, Sobel said, is to create an effective system, especially for rush hours.

Improve Signage

As of now, there is nothing at the intersection that alerts bikers and drivers that “hey, you are crossing a major street,” Sobel said, plus there is no clear indications of which lane is for bikers and which one is for pedestrians.

The proposed plan includes widening the Bikeway towards the crossing, from 12 feet to 25 feet. The goal is to indicate to bikers that they are approaching an intersection. Another proposed improvement is adding new signs of bike lane on the pavement and cement sidewalks, so pedestrians and bikers understand which lane they should use.

To make the distinction clearer, the plan also includes adding small islands in the middle of both sides of the Minuteman Bikeway, maybe a small landscape.

Another element to the plan includes adding landscape to the intersection, such as benches and streetlights. Considering people use the path all year round and it gets dark in the winter when many commuters are still walking and cycling on the bikeway, Sobel said, adding streetlights will increase visibility and make the intersection safer.

Residents' reactions

After the presentation, community members voiced their questions and suggestions to Sobel and town officials. Some asked the town to conduct an up-to-date survey on the traffic of the intersection, since the last one was conducted in 2015.

Others worried about the duration of the light. Their concern is if the red lights are too long, people who use the intersection – pedestrians, bikers and drivers alike – will ignore the signal.

Some bikers, such as Todd Spivak, 33, of Arlington, recommended adding a raised curb on the bikeway at the intersection for bikers to rest and step up during red lights.

“Especially during initial years, when we do not know how [well] the signal will work, having some paved rubber kind of material that is high enough to step up will be beneficial,” he said.

After the meeting, residents wrote down their recommendations and put it into a suggestion box as they leave.



The Design Review Committee will go through these recommendations and come up with a “75 percent plan” and present it to the public on late September, said Town Manager Adam Chapdelaine.