DCR extends Arborway comment period

A proposed bicycle-oriented redesign of the Arborway between Murray and Kelley Circles that would replace the historic rotaries with modern roundabouts has had its public comment date extended to March 20.

Created and advertised as a plan to create and improve bicycle facilities on the Arborway, the plan would replace Murray Circle with two smaller, modern roundabouts, replace Kelley Circle with one roundabout, and redirect regional traffic to the Arborway’s central lanes in order to turn the side carriageways into one-way local-traffic roads and bike lanes. The comment period has been extended from March 6.

“We’ve received a lot of interest from the community and a lot of great feedback. DCR wanted to make ensure that people had ample time to provide comments,” state Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) Press Secretary William Hickey told the Gazette last week.

The plan presented would create bike lanes separated from traffic by concrete barriers. It would also create safer pedestrian and bicycle crossings at both rotaries, in part by reducing on-street parking on the Arborway. The plan also proposes removing almost all traffic lights, which would be redundant in the new design.

Modern roundabouts differ from the historic rotaries in scale and navigability: roundabouts are smaller, with more traffic calming and safety measures like mountable rings around islands and raised pedestrian crossings.

DCR meeting presentations, including maps and design plans, are available at bit.ly/DCRarborwaybikeplan2015.

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