Weston Committee Orders Pedestrian Safety Study for School Crossing on Wellesley Street

WESTON — May 21, 2025 — Weston's Traffic and Sidewalk Committee ordered a site-distance and traffic study of the Wellesley Street and Newton Street intersection to determine the best location and device for a new pedestrian crossing serving three elementary schools and Landtake Farm. Chair Jay Doyle told engineers from VHB that in 2024 alone, more than 400 children made 75 after-school crossings and more than 600 students participated in field trips at the farm, all crossing a high-speed road with no formal crosswalk and no signal control. VHB engineer Laura said her team would evaluate two options — a rectangular rapid flashing beacon and a pedestrian hybrid beacon — and collect traffic counts before the end of the school year, roughly two weeks away. Separately, BETA consultants presented results of a 67-response townwide pedestrian and bicycle survey showing lack of sidewalks and gaps in the network as the top barriers, with Routes 20, 30, and 117 and Wellesley Street cited most often as unsafe. A Route 117 at Viles Street crossing project is ready for a Select Board memo with a construction estimate of approximately $226,000, while the Planning Board the same evening unanimously approved in principle the Fitchburg Railway Trail plan, clearing a key step toward a multi-town rail trail feasibility study targeted for MPO FY26 funding.