Post date: Jun 07, 2020 2:52:36 PM
Dear Jason, Andrew, and members of the Select Board and the Planning Board,
I am writing to you to ask that the town reconsider the plan to have the bike path connect to Syndicate Road at its northern terminus.
I have lived on Syndicate Road for over 35 years--my driveway is just a bit about 200 feet from the planned connection of the bike path and Syndicate Road--and I have seen firsthand just how dangerous that section of Syndicate Road is, and, therefore, how poor a choice it would be for the bike path to exit there. With the planned alteration to the connection of Syndicate Road and Route 7 there may be some reduction in the danger of collisions with cars and trucks going south on Syndicate Road, but there will be no reduction in the danger of collisions with cars and trucks going northbound on Syndicate Road. Yet that is where the greatest danger lies. The curve in the road just north of our driveway (we live at 360 Syndicate Road) creates a blind spot just before the planned access point, and cars traveling at anything like the usual speed would have no time at all to react to avoid a collision with a bicyclist emerging from the bike path. Is this just a hypothetical? No, it's not. I have personally heard the sounds of the impact of cars hitting the telephone pole that comes right after that blind spot, and have seen the crumpled cars and people bleeding. I can recall four accidents just on the short stretch of road from the blind spot to the intersection with Route 7 ! Indeed, if you visit the location of the planned bike path access point with Syndicate Road and you examine the utility pole just south of it, you will see that the utility pole bears the scars of several such impacts and you will see some car parts still scattered in the underbrush there.
I understand that biking, like any outdoor activity, involves some risk, and that we cannot avoid all risk in our lives. Yes, there is already some bike traffic on Syndicate Road, but at present, there is at least some chance that northbound cars can see the cyclists ahead of them before they get to the blind curve and can therefore slow down to avoid them; with the planned intersection of the bike path and Syndicate Road, there won't be that chance.
It would be bad planning and bad public policy to create a severe safety hazard when there are perfectly good alternatives.
If possible, I would like this letter to be read into the record of the meeting at which the decision regarding the bike path will be made.
Ralph Bradburd
360 Syndicate Road
Williamstown, MA 01267
see also attachment below