I live on this stretch of road and am dismayed that we do not have sidewalks. We have heavy commercial traffic due to Stop & Shop, the postal distribution center, Walmart, etc. We also have foot traffic due to the apartment buildings further down Route 62. It is a dangerous stretch of street that I am terrified to cross. I hear trailors putting on their brakes all the time when they take the corner too hard. What can we do to address safety in this area before someone is hurt?

I agree with Melee. North Reading should be a safe place for residents to function normally. This means that the people that live in town should be able to walk, bike or drive safely to local parks and businesses. Those that create unsafe conditions must be cited and there needs to be a safe area for residents to walk. It is a shame that our most densely populated neighborhood is not a safe place for the people that live there and it is outrageous to say that people that live in this area should not have to freedom to move around safely in their own neighborhood.

Hi Melee,

I assume you mean the North Reading CItizens for pedestrian fb page (https://www.facebook.com/groups/265068626725/) or the Local Motion North Reading fb page (https://www.facebook.com/pages/Local-Motion-North-Reading/111144545647392). Both are up and running. I encourage anyone interested in improving pedestrian and bike access in town to visit these pages and join in on the discussion. It is important to show that making the town a safer place for all is important.

"Annually, around 4,500 pedestrians are killed in traffic crashes with motor vehicles in the United States. Pedestrians killed while "walking along the roadway" account for almost 8 percent of these deaths. Many of these tragedies are preventable. Providing walkways separated from the travel lanes could help to prevent up to 88 percent of these "walking along roadway crashes."

"In addition to reducing walking along roadway crashes, sidewalks reduce other pedestrian crashes. Roadways without sidewalks are more than twice as likely to have pedestrian crashes as sites with sidewalks on both sides of the street."

Information was published in the U.S Department of Transportation Federal Highway Administration publication "Benefits of Walkways, Sidewalks, and Paved Shoulders".
http://safety.fhwa.dot.gov/ped_bike/tools_solve/walkways_trifold/walkways_trifold.pdf

I also live on this stretch of roadway. My son waits for the school bus out there, and on more than one occation he has nearly been run down while trying to get on the bus. I would be in favor of sidewalks on both sides. And I wish people would slow down!! Ya right

DB