Kevin Sullivan
On Monday night, the Belmont Select Board will consider two changes along Concord Avenue that some residents say are pitting seniors against cyclists. (See below for a link to the agenda.)
The proposed changes could alter the protected bike lane created last summer. Town leaders say the lane was designed to make the road safer for drivers, cyclists, and pedestrians by moving bike riders to the right of parked cars along the curb. But now, the town is considering abandoning the new design at two key spots: near Underwood Street and in front of the U.S. Post Office building.
The Select Board discussed the possible changes at its June 26 meeting.
The first change would create accessible parking to provide better access to the Belmont Veterans Memorial at Clay Pit Pond. The Transportation Advisory Committee, or TAC, presented three possible locations for an accessible parking spot. Two options would be along Concord Avenue and the other would be on Underwood Street.
Residents at the meeting quickly became emotional.
“I’m gonna cry,” said Carole Williams, a Belmont Town Meeting member (Precinct 3). “Not one of you knows what it’s like to sit in a wheelchair.”
Williams advocated for a spot on Concord Avenue which would require moving the bike lane to the left of parked cars, so she and others wouldn’t have to dodge bikes to get to the sidewalk.
“Move the darn bike lane, and have them go around. End of story!” she said.
Margaret “Peg” Callanan, Town Meeting member (Precinct 7), felt the issue was dividing town residents.
“I’m really disappointed, saddened and appalled quite frankly that there is a discussion that … pits veterans against cyclists,” she said.
Town leaders say any change to the roads requires compromise.
“We are looking to find a balance,” Select Board Member Mark Paolillo told The Belmont Voice. “We are not looking to pit anyone against anyone else.”
Mary Lewis, Town Meeting member (Precinct 1), told the Select Board that she is the daughter of a World War II veteran, but is also worried about kids who ride their bikes to school.
“We have to consider that just as it is dangerous for the veteran to get out [of the car], it is also dangerous for children on their bicycles,” she said. “It’s bad enough to be doored as an adult, but a small child could go flying out into traffic and be run over immediately.”
TAC recommended putting the accessible spot on Underwood Street, so it wouldn’t interfere with Concord Avenue traffic or require changes to the protected bike lane.
But during the most recent Select Board meeting another option emerged: to carve out one to two accessible spaces along the grass on Underwood Street, and reverse the one-way flow of traffic, so it spills out onto Concord. Under this plan, visitors using the accessible spot would be able to access the Memorial without crossing a street or a bike path.
The Select Board referred the matter to the Middle and High School Traffic Working Group. The group met Friday and voted 4–3 to approve that plan, according to working group member Lawrence Link. The Select Board will consider that recommendation Monday night.
Meanwhile, during the June 26 meeting, the Select Board voted 2 to 1 to remove the protected bike lane in front of the Post Office after hearing concerns that it was a dangerous spot to exit your car.
“I think it’s unsafe, especially for seniors,” said Paolillo, who voted to change the bike lane, along with Select Board Member Roy Epstein. “We’ve gotten more complaints there than anything else we did [on Concord Avenue].”
Paolillo has supported the new bike lane and the plan to create better bike access throughout Belmont. But he said this change will improve overall safety.
TAC Chair Dave Coleman disagrees.
“The perception is that they [seniors] are scared of getting out of their car, it is a very subjective statement,” he told The Belmont Voice.
Coleman said that people aren’t used to checking before they get out of their car. He said if drivers got into the habit of looking over their shoulder when exiting their vehicle, everyone would be safer.
Select Board Member Elizabeth Dionne voted against removing the protected bike lane, because she worries about cyclists weaving in and out of parked cars to accommodate a change.
“I don’t love the new Concord Avenue bike lane. I never have,” she told The Belmont Voice. “But if you increase complexity, you increase the opportunity for conflict between bikes and cars.”
Most residents and town officials we contacted did like one change that came with the protected bike lane. By narrowing the road for vehicle traffic, motorists tend to reduce their speed. This is known as traffic calming.
Dionne hopes the town will soon test out another idea: adding cameras to some traffic lights to discourage drivers from running red lights and speeding through town. She says that probably won’t be considered until the spring.
Even though Coleman didn’t agree with removing the protected bike lane in front of the Post Office, his group did come up with a plan. TAC will recommend to the Select Board Monday night that the town shifts the bike lane to the left of parked cars from the Post Office parking lot to the Belmont Center underpass.
He says the biggest challenge the town faces to improve traffic safety comes down to one thing: money. And he believes everyone’s heart is in the right place.
“There are no bad guys here,” he said before hanging up the phone. He spoke to The Belmont Voice while on vacation in Turin, Italy, where he says drivers are much more attentive to cyclists.
“Tomorrow I will be picking up a bike and going into the hills of Italy to ride a bike,” he said wistfully.
For details about the Select Board meeting on Monday, July 10, 2023, see the agenda on the town’s website. It is a hybrid meeting, and the agenda includes information about attending in person or online.
