Newton’s Public Facilities Committee met on Wednesday to discuss the recent redesign of the Day Street, Fuller Street, and Commonwealth Avenue intersection to improve safety for pedestrians, bicyclists, and drivers.
Newton’s Director of Transportation, Ned Codd, presented to the committee on the danger the intersection’s new configuration poses to the public.
“It’s sort of an obsolete and outmoded intersection design, we checked the crash history, 16 crashes in 10 years, three injury crashes, one serious bicyclist injury,” Codd said.
Codd outlined the changes made to the intersection, in particular the shortening of pedestrian crossways and shift towards two conventional T-intersections on Day Street and Fuller Street with Commonwealth Avenue.
“I’ve gone out a bunch of times to observe, and drivers do seem to be driving it more slowly, in particular that movement from eastbound Commonwealth Avenue to Fuller Street,” Codd said. “The crosswalk is much narrower—it’s a more direct pedestrian pathway along the south side of Commonwealth Avenue.”
However, committee members raised concerns regarding the public’s adjustment to the new traffic design, particularly the newly integrated turn lane, which they felt could become a safety hazard.
Codd responded by detailing the additions made to the road to indicate the change, such as signage for the turn lane.
“If you need to get over into the through lane to continue on Commonwealth Avenue eastbound, you have the signs and pavement markings that signal that to you,” Codd said.
Ward 4 Councilor-at-Large Cyrus Dahmubed shared community concerns about neighborhood accessibility from Day Street due to the new intersection design, expressing hope for an alternative design that keeps safety in mind without impacting access.
“There’s no way to enter and exit the neighborhood,” Dahmubed said. “Previously, the way was that you could take a right from Day Street up to Fuller and exit that way, but now you can’t do that.”
Robert Alperin, a Newton resident, addressed the committee on behalf of 200 neighbors, expressing a shared opposition to the reduction of street access.
“Our proximity to the Boston Marathon is a gift,” Alperin said. “These annual gatherings are an essential part of the fabric of our close-knit community, and they’ll be greatly diminished, perhaps extinguished by the loss of the Fuller-Day access.”
Newton’s Public Buildings Commissioner Josh Morse responded with an apology to the community on behalf of Mayor Marc Laredo’s administration, acknowledging the urgency of a resolution.
“We recognize that the communication, certainly the collaboration, early on in this process could have been better, and I think we would be in a different position right now, had it been better,” Morse said.
With the pressure from the community to have a redesign implemented by Marathon Monday, Codd and Commissioner of Public Works Shawna Sullivan proposed that additional concepts that balance vehicle and pedestrian access, ADA accessibility, and community input could be ready in the next couple of weeks.
“Our ultimate goal is to get this done before Marathon Day,” Sullivan said. “I cannot commit to that at this time, but that would be our goal.”
The committee then voted on a motion to hold the discussion, which passed unanimously.
