Selectmen Hear Concern for Pedestrian Safety at Route 126/27

The traffic light at Cochituate Road and Concord Road (routes 27 and 126) has positively impacted the automobile traffic at that busy Wayland intersection, but the Board of Selectmen Monday night heard that there remain some concerns about pedestrian safety there.

Resident Woody Baston told selectmen during the public comment segment of the meeting that his wife had a near miss with a car recently as she attempted to cross Route 27 in the crosswalk. The car, Baston said, turned right from Route 27 onto Route 126 even thought his wife was in the crosswalk and the traffic light was red.

The traffic signal, Baston explained, remains green for turning drivers unless a pedestrian has signaled to cross. At that point, the light turns red, but drivers still have an expectation of turning without slowing down, Baston said, which endangers pedestrians trying to cross.

Baston said he hoped to see a "No turn on red" sign posted at that intersection as a reminder to drivers to notice when the light is red and look for pedestrians. He said emails sent to various town departments revealed that the signs are already available in the towns stockpile.

Highway Director Stephen Kadlik, however, told Patch later that he believes the issue to be one of awareness rather than signage -- a new sign will not guarantee drivers will follow its directive.

In addition, Kadlik said, a "No turn on red" sign would effectively defeat the purpose of the turn lane, but agreed that an additional "Yield to pedestrians" sign could be in order.

Ideally, Kadlik said, drivers simply need to be more aware and careful in that particular intersection.

What do you think about that intersection? Have you noticed a difficult co-existence between cars and pedestrians there? Tell us in the comments.