Poor Sight Lines Nix Crosswalk At North Adams Intersection
Neighborhood residents' efforts to see a crosswalk installed at Bradley and Church streets have taken another blow.
The Berkshire Eagle reports an initial engineering assessment performed this month has confirmed city officials' original conclusion: The sight lines at the intersection are not sufficient to safely install a crosswalk.
The assessment, performed Sept. 7 by Stantec Consulting Services Principal Jeffrey Johns, found that there was insufficient visibility from both the south and north sides of the intersection on Church Street for a lone, marked crosswalk.
That assessment was performed at the request of the City Council, which wanted clear answers after years of uncertainty regarding the proposed crosswalk.
The crosswalk at the intersection was approved by the Traffic Commission in 2015, but the city never followed through with installation. Only recently — after a renewed push by neighborhood residents — did the City Council learn that the previous city administration had decided a crosswalk would be unsafe at Church and Bradley Street.
The speed limit on Church Street is 30 mph, which guidelines suggest requires a stopping distance of at least 250 feet. But from the north side the view is obscured by a curve in the road and from the south is limited by the cresting of a hill.
Outside of these parameters, the federal report found that crosswalks installed alone at intersections did not reduce pedestrian accidents.
The Stantec assessment recommended that the city could consider "other engineered enhancements," such as advanced warning signs that would alert a driver to the upcoming crosswalk.
Neighborhood residents remain optimistic that something can be done to improve safety at the intersection.
The crosswalk is listed, again, on the City Council's agenda for discussion Tuesday night.