Safe Streets One of the most common local issues I heard about during my campaign was Holmes Road traffic. Residents living on Holmes Road and neighboring streets cited speeding and aggressive driving on this residential way as a chronic problem. Some even described a walk to their mailbox as a dangerous experience.
Since taking office in January I have made Holmes Road safety one of my top priorities. I have urged Chief Riello to increase radar patrols and I'm also working on lowering the speed limit.
Additionally, I sponsored a petition to install "Share The Road" signs on Holmes Road and East New Lenox Road. The purpose of the signs is to educate drivers that cyclists do in fact have a right to be on the road. They are not the same as the "Bike Lane" signs you see on Route 7 near Pontoosuc Lake -- in fact they are just the opposite. They're intended for narrow roads with little or no shoulder and fast moving vehicle traffic. They remind motorists to pass safely and cyclists to ride single file. The petition was unanimously supported by the Traffic Commission and the Pittsfield City Council and the signs are in place thanks to the DPW.
Although Share The Road signs were defined in a MassHighway policy directive in 1998 they are a new arrival in Pittsfield. The signs have been extensively used in Eastern Massachusetts and on the Cape where narrow roads are common.
I consider these signs an interim measure to the real solution, which is reconstructing the roads with proper shoulders. I've initiated that conversation with MassHighway but the fact is it will take years to happen.
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