(Photo Courtesy Jeri Levitt) A traffic delineator sign on Centre Street at Lakeville Road.
JP CENTER—New signs planted in the middle of the road on Centre Street to warn drivers to stop for pedestrians were installed earlier this month after an effort by local residents and City Councilor Matt O’Malley.
Called “traffic delineators,” the bright, upright signs note the $200 fine for entering a crosswalk with a pedestrian in it, and can slow traffic simply by being an object in the road. They were installed in front of the Curley K-8 School and at the Lakeville Road and Robinwood Avenue intersections.
“Cars just don’t stop for crosswalks,” said resident Jeri Levitt, who requested the signs from the City.
“We need to be doing more for pedestrian safety,” said O’Malley, who worked with the Mayor’s Office and the Boston Transportation Department to get the signs installed. He said he wants more delineators on Centre Street and also on Washington Street in Egleston Square.
The signs are mounted on flexible poles in case a driver hits them, but bad drivers can wipe them out completely, even though that means crossing the double-yellow line. The sign at Robinwood already was knocked down and reinstalled once, another resident told the Gazette. A delineator installed a few years ago at Centre and Seaverns Avenue was removed after being repeatedly run over.
The delineators are just one of many traffic safety improvements proposed or considered by O’Malley, who considers the topic his “crusade.” He was slated to hold the latest in a series of City Council hearings about traffic safety signage and devices this week.