The first meeting of the Mt. Gilboa Working Group, formed to identify solutions to the traffic hazards on Westminster Avenue, was held on Thursday, May 3. Participants included 14 neighborhood residents, with representation not only from Westminster but also from Lowell Street, Park Ave Extension, Westmoreland Avenue and Montague Street. Also participating were three members of the TAC, including Elisabeth Carr-Jones who led the two and a half hour working session.
The discussion focused on defining goals for the Working Group and selecting appropriate measures to address these goals.
The list of possible measures originally proposed by the TAC was narrowed, accordingly, with group members also suggesting some additional or modified measures.
The Working Group participants agreed to four major goals for Westminster Avenue:
1.) decreasing overall speed,
2.) discouraging excessive speeding;
3.) increasing protection at the dangerous eastbound curve; and
4.) increasing pedestrian safety.
They then selected a list of short-term measures that could be implemented immediately after the Board of Selectmen votes approval. Examples of these would be chevrons to mark the curve and a speed advisory sign.
A second list was comprised of longer-term measures, for example, traffic-calming devices such as speed tables and intersection reconfiguration.
Some of these might still be within the town operating budget, while others would require capital planning and Town Meeting approval.
The outcome of this first Mt. Gilboa Working Group meeting was the identification of about a dozen potential measures that, implemented together, are likely to represent the most feasible and effective solution to address traffic hazards on Westminster Avenue.
These measures are now to be studied more thoroughly by the Working Group, the TAC, and appropriate advisors before final recommendations are made to the Board of Selectmen.
The next scheduled meeting of the Mt. Gilboa Working Group is May 17.
In the meantime, Working Group members will conduct individual tasks aimed at further evaluating the proposed measures.
At a community meeting scheduled for May 24 at Peirce Elementary School, the Mt. Gilboa Working Group will report to the neighborhood on the status of its efforts.
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