North Ave. ‘flex posts’ gone – for now

By MARK SARDELLA 

WAKEFIELD – They’re gone for the winter, but they’ll likely be back in the spring. 

The controversial “flex posts” that served as a visual barrier between the equally controversial bicycle lane and the automobile travel lane on North Avenue have been removed per order of the Town Council. 

The four-foot-tall flex posts went up just a few weeks ago after the striping was completed for the new bike lane. The original intention was for the bike lane and the posts to make their appearance earlier in the fall, but some work needed to be completed on North Avenue first, resulting in the delay. 

There was talk of waiting until the spring, but Town Councilors Edward Dombroski and chairman Michael McLane, who opposed the North Avenue bike lane, insisted that the flex posts should be installed for a few weeks before the winter to allow residents to experience the true effect and provide feedback. 

The public reaction was swift and every bit as negative as Dombroski and McLane predicted it would be. The northbound and southbound travel lanes have been drastically reduced in width to make room for the bike lane, which did not sit well with motorists accustomed to North Avenue’s wide shoulders. Residents quickly took to social media to express their displeasure, although a few were willing to buck the trend and defend the bike lanes and flex posts. 

The Town Council voted 4-3 last June 24 to go with a North Avenue redesign that included the bike lane with flex posts. Councilors voting in favor of the design were Jonathan Chines, Mehreen Butt, Robert Vincent and Douglas Butler. Opposed were Councilors Edward Dombroski, John Carney and Michael McLane. 

Dombroski brought the matter up at Monday’s Town Council meeting. 

“This was a very bad decision,” he said, noting that he recently witnessed a UPS truck pulled over to make a delivery in the southbound lane and a line of more than 20 cars stuck behind it because there is no longer room to go around. He also said that he saw a dump truck being driven on the double yellow line due to its width. 

Dombroski insisted that emergency vehicles have experienced delays due to the narrow lanes and the inability of drivers to pull over due to the flex posts. He also cited what he called “an absolute disaster” during last Saturday’s Holiday Farmer’s Market at Hall Park when one of the flex posts was hit by a car and ended up in the travel lane, forcing cars to swerve around it or run over it. 

Farmer’s Market manager AnnMarie Gallivan wrote to the Town Council with a first-hand account of Saturday’s incident. 

“While working the market, we heard a large bang coming from North Ave, then another, and another,” Gallivan wrote.   

“A barrier was hit into the road and cars were trying to avoid it while also avoiding the oncoming traffic as they drove into the wrong lane. Some drivers decided it was better just to hit the barrier, which caused some damage to cars, as there are small pieces of vehicle body strewn around the area,” Gallivan added.  

She also shared some additional observations related to the bike lane’s impact. 

“Also during the market, we witnessed an ambulance with their lights on struggling to get down North Avenue heading towards Reading,” she wrote. “No one knew what to do and where to go. The ambulance just went slower – I’d be upset if someone I loved needed emergency services and that help was too late because of these barriers. 

 

“Coming home from the grocery store on Thursday while driving along North Avenue, people came into my lane 14 times,” Gallivan wrote. “What will happen when the Ladder Truck is responding to a fire and has to drive along North Avenue on a beautiful day?” 

Another resident also wrote to the Town Council expressing his concern that there is now no room at all for cyclists heading south on North Avenue due to the very tight travel lanes. 

“There is no shoulder,” he wrote. “How long do you think it will be before a cyclist is injured or killed?” 

McLane agreed that cycling south on North Avenue (where there’s no bike lane) is now “a death-defying act.” He noted that there could have been wider lanes with sharrows on both sides for cyclists. 

Dombroski noted that he had yet to see a cyclist in the bike land, despite advocates’ claim that they cycle year-round. 

We’ve created a greater safety issue in both directions,” he said. “We need to address this.” 

Town Councilor John Carney observed that the changes to North Avenue were created for a very small community of cyclists who pushed for the bike lane. He called it “a dangerous situation. It’s not the right place for it at all. You can’t change a community by putting in a bike lane. We’re not going to turn into Amsterdam.” 

Chairman McLane wanted to leave the flex posts up until the first snow. 

“I want people to experience this,” he said, adding that he had seen a concrete pumper barely fitting in the lane and ambulances having to go slower. 

“These are safety issues,” he said. 

Town Councilor Jonathan Chines had a different take, labeling the complaints about the bike lane and flex posts “anecdotal.” He insisted that a two-week trial was not long enough to gather sufficient data. He said that he has not seen any issues when traveling on North Avenue. He added that the narrowed travel lanes have the benefit of slowing traffic down. 

Councilor Robert Vincent said that the original plan was to put the flex posts up early in the fall and have them taken down well before December to facilitate snow plowing. He advocated taking the flex posts down now and testing them again in the spring under better conditions. 

Dombroski disagreed.  

“Vehicular traffic is year-round,” he said. “The time of year is irrelevant. I don’t need more data. I don’t need a head-on accident.”  

Councilor Mehreen Butt said that she wanted the Police and Fire chiefs to come to the board’s January meeting to provide their opinions on the situation. 

The Town Council voted 5-0 Monday night to remove the flex posts for the winter. By Tuesday morning, they were gone.