Mass Avenue and Appleton Update: March 2023
Written by Jes Slavin
March 30, 2023
A conceptual plan made by Stantec could be used to redesign the Mass/Appleton corridor.
Arlington is currently hosting a survey to allow comments on the final designs for the Mass Ave and Appleton corridor. The current design includes dutch-style sidewalk-level bike lanes on Massachusetts Avenue which would provide critical protection for vulnerable road users. They're asking for feedback by April 7th, and your support for continuously separated bike lanes is needed.
In 2020, a bicyclist was killed in this corridor by a driver, resulting in a process to implement short and long-term safety improvements. While some improvements have been installed, a reconstruction project to further protections and close a bike lane gap is now in discussion.
A new plan, with sidewalk-level bicycle lanes, will narrow travel lanes, decrease speeds, add separation between bicyclists and drivers, and will improve safety for all users on this dangerous corridor. It will also preserve the most important parking, and make the corridor into a downtown-like environment to help businesses.
Progress on these plans depends on your support!
Two select board members, John Hurd (up for election in 2024), and Diane Mahon (up for election on April 1st, 2023), and several business owners have again expressed that they oppose this plan because it removes underutilized parking. They have voiced concerns about the parking removal that is required to install the bike lanes and how it may impact businesses along the corridor.
The street is currently dangerous, this project began because of several crashes between people on bikes and drivers. Installing protected bike lanes reflects will help keep vulnerable road users safe and prevent future serious crashes along the corridor. The opposition has an extreme focus on car storage and doesn’t seem to be interested in improved safety for all road users. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to keep our streets safe, and we need to do the right thing, by installing separated bike lanes along the corridor.
This project needs your support!
Please share your feedback on the plans using this google form by April 7th. While sharing your feedback, note your support of the continuously separated bike lanes! We’d also recommend adding that the bicycle lane buffers should be wider to improve safety and that the signalized intersections should have a bicycle and pedestrian head starts to cross the street.
To learn more about this project, and to view the final concept, visit this website: https://www.arlingtonma.gov/Home/Components/News/News/12347/16