To the members of the Pedestrian Advisory Committee, March 10, 2025

Last week, a plan for the redesign of Chestnut Hill Avenue was presented to the Bicycle Advisory Committee, which held a hearing to gather public input. As improvements to the pedestrian infrastructure are very much a part of the CHA plan, I wish to share with your committee my initial thoughts:

Improving the condition of Chestnut Hill Avenue for those who bike, walk, and drive (personal vehicles and service vehicles) is a worthy goal. From the perspective of those CHA residents who depend on the street for activities of daily living, improvements to the pedestrian walkway are commendable.

However, problems are evident with other aspects of the CHA plan—particularly the impediments to curb access by vehicles through the installation of bollards/flexposts every 20 feet on residential portions of the street. I urge transportation planners to be guided by these questions in order to improve upon the CHA plan as drafted:

  1. What are the current uses that involve vehicle access to curbs?
  2. How will the addition of impediments such as bollards/flexposts impact those uses?
  3. How many bicycles travel Chestnut Hill Avenue on a daily basis?
  4. How many vehicles—personal cars, Ubers, Lyfts, taxis, delivery vehicles, etc.—use Chestnut Hill Avenue on a daily basis?
  5. How will current levels of use by various transportation modes be factored into decisions as to "the best plan for the greatest number of users" of the Chestnut Hill Avenue of the future?
  6. What is the cost of a "no impediments plan" for curb-to-curb surface smoothing of Chestnut Hill Avenue with enhanced striping to indicate curbside-adjacent bike lanes?
  7. What is the cost of the impediments (flexposts, etc.)-based plan — final design and construction?
  8. What requirements do current and future grants impose on the design of the future Chestnut Hill Avenue? Do those grant-based requirements make it impossible to fundamentally change the plan by, say, removing flexposts while still retaining the funding?

CHA residents are actively gathering signatures in opposition to the draft plan’s placing of impediments (bollards/flexposts) to curb access. Thus, I urge transportation planners:

Let’s not be inflexible when it comes to the flexpost-based plan. Listen to the pleas of those who live on Chestnut Hill Avenue and depend on vehicle access to curbs to meet the needs of daily living—such as package deliveries, drop-off and pick-up of family members and guests, rideshare arrivals and departures, service worker visits, as well as access for police, fire, and EMT vehicles.

Flexpost protections, when applied without regard for the needs of all users of residential streets, are causing a backlash against bike lanes. For that reason, expensive, maintenance-heavy projects with flex posts are being rolled back in places like Boston, Toronto, and beyond.

I urge the Pedestrian Advisory Committee to stay tuned as the Chestnut Hill Avenue plan moves forward. Hopefully, those involved in this and future street redesign projects will take advantage of the lessons to be learned.

John Van Scoyoc, Select Board


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