Letter to the Editor

Parking Could Suffer

Dear Editor,

At its last meeting, the Town Council voted to authorize the Town Manager to prepare a feasibility study for the implementation of a 6-foot wide bike lane on Veterans Road. The Council will review this study at its September 3 meeting.

If this bike land is implemented, no parking will be permitted on Veterans Road. Currently, there are approximately 70 to 80 vehicles parked there each morning. The Bike Lane implementation will also eliminate Snow Emergency Parking on Veterans Road. Two apartments developments will increase the amount of vehicles in the area. Business owners in this area will also be adversely affected, as their customers will have no place to park.

If parking on Veterans Road is eliminated, these cars will end up parking on the streets connecting Shore Drive to Shirley Street as well as on Shirley Street and Shore Drive. Parking is already limited in these areas, so the Bike Lane will result in increased parking congestion in the Beach area. Also, many people park their cars on Veterans Road on Street cleaning days so as not to hinder street cleaning.

There is also an alternate proposal to make Veterans Road one-way. Since this thoroughfare is a major connection from Point Shirley to Revere St., traffic will have to be rerouted to Washington and Pleasant streets and fire engines will be delayed in responding to emergencies. If you think that traffic leaving town is bad now, think about how much worse it will be by placing a bike lane on Veterans Road. This will only make traffic problems worse.

Please contact the Town Council before the Sept. 3 meeting by telephone at 617-846-1742 x1034, or email at: towncouncil@town.winthrop.ma.us and register your opposition to this Bike Lane.

John Stanley

Safety Problem at Deer Island

Dear Editor,

I am writing to inform the MWRA of a safety problem at Deer Island.  A problem that can lead to serious injuries,  but can be easily rectified.

During the past few years the 2.6 mile walking path around Deer Island has be-come a popular destination for not only walkers, but bikers, skateboarders, roller bladders, and joggers.  My wife and I use the walking path on a daily basis, and I use this route occasionally as a biker.

The 2.6 mile path around the perimeter of Deer Island is narrow in many places and is barely wide enough for a biker to pass two people walking side by side. On many occasions my wife and I have been passed by speeding bikers without warning, sometimes on our left, sometimes on our right, and today between us.  On another occasion when startled by a biker, we moved to our right, the biker tried to pass on the right and fell off of his bike trying to avoid us.  This is not unique to us, it is also a common complaint of many people walking Deer Island. If a startled walker moves in the wrong direction, it can lead to a serious injury, or in my case, being on a blood thinner, life threatening.

As an experienced biker, I ride cautiously and when passing walkers from behind, I alert the walkers with plenty of notice that I am passing them on their left, and then proceed slowly past the m.  However, many walkers wear headphones and the warning can’t be heard.

As time goes on, the problem is going to escalate because there will be an in-crease walkers, bikers, and others vehicles. The easiest and safest solution is to instruct walkers to walk in one direction (clockwise), and the bikers travel in the opposite direction (counter-clockwise), from May 1 to Oct. 1 . All that is needed is a sign at the entrances on both sides to indicate this safety directive.

MWRA, act now, don’t wait for a serious accident to happen!!!

Robert E. Hudd