Framingham Traffic Commission Authorizes $25,000 To Address Speeding Concerns on Brook Street & Potter Road

By Luke Canavan

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FRAMINGHAM – Last night, Walsh Middle student Makayla Beck attended the Framingham Traffic Commission meeting and presented a civics project advocating for additional safety precautions to be made on Brook Street.

Today is the first day of full-time in person learning for middle school students in Framingham due to the COVID pandemic, and the traffic on Brook Street returned.

Beck started off her Tuesday night presentation by bringing awareness to the dangers of speeding, in general.

“According to the Transportation Research Board, approximately 25,000 children are injured and 100 children are killed in school zones each year,” said Beck.

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Beck also reminded everyone that speeding is not only dangerous for students, but for anyone in the area, including teachers, passing pedestrians, and bikers.

Some potential solutions to the speeding problem that Beck provided were additional lights and signs that are clear from obstruction by trees, as well as a crosswalk that is painted to appear 3-dimensional, which would alert drivers and caution them to slow down.

Beck also proposed more police officers be assigned to Brook Street.

It would provide more safety for the students and allow them to feel more comfortable in front of the school, she said.

It would also provide the department with the opportunity to ticket more speeders, she added.

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Resident Kenneth Hickey spoke up after the presentation, mentioning that Brook Street had recently been repaved but that it was never re-lined. If it were to be repainted, this would narrow the lane and likely decrease speeding.

The Commission thanked Beck for her presentation and commended her for her hard work and dedication to the project.

But the Commission held off any major discussion of Brook Street until they reached their discussion of the budget, later in the meeting.

The Commissioners later approved a motion to put approximately $25,000 toward engineering assessments and recommendations for locations such as Brook Street and Potter Road, where two schools have their entrances.

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Luke Canavan is a 2021 SOURCE intern. He is a senior at UMass Amherst.

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