Arlington residents demand safety changes on Park Ave. after series of accidents
ARLINGTON - Neighbors in Arlington are calling for safety measures for pedestrians after another accident on Park Avenue. On Friday, a middle school student was hit by a car, leaving him with a fractured back.
It is the latest in a series of accidents over the last several years. Arlington resident Katie Einstein was in a collision at a Park Avenue crosswalk just last year.
"I had stopped at a crosswalk for a pedestrian and she had made it all the way almost across the crosswalk when I was hit by a dump truck going 40 miles an hour," said Einstein.
Einstein said that neighbors have been complaining about safety conditions for pedestrians along Park Avenue for years. She wants to see the town do something to help residents feel safe.
"There are so many policy solutions that they could be doing," Einstein said. "There are things like flashing lights by crosswalks, speed humps, you can put in bump outs to narrow the roads."
Arlington launches safety improvement plan
The town of Arlington tells WBZ they are working on the problem. The town launched a safety improvement plan at the beginning of the year. They are currently working on assessing traffic data.
Einstein believes that the only way to see any real change along Park Avenue is for the residents to continue to speak out about this.
"This is how change happens in local politics. You need a group of people to come together and vocally ask for change to help protect community members," Einstein said.
Einstein said that she still feels a sense of anxiety when driving along Park Avenue or thinking about her kids crossing an intersection.
