Medfield board hears concerns over downtown 'flex posts' after pilot narrows crosswalks

Medfield — Select Board members and residents spent the bulk of the May 12 meeting debating a downtown pedestrian-safety pilot that has placed freestanding “flex” posts and reconfigured crosswalks to shorten crossings and calm traffic.

Ken, an engineer with Beta Group, told the board the project was funded through a shared 'streets and spaces' grant and designed as a quick-build pilot. He said the changes — painted buffer zones, realigned crosswalks, flashing beacons and the flex posts — were intended to reduce pedestrian exposure and to encourage drivers to slow. “The flex poles … are perfectly okay for emergency vehicles to run over them and then they just bounce right back,” Ken said, adding that the posts are removable for winter plowing.

But many residents said the posts have created new hazards and harmed the downtown’s character. “I just find them, yes, very distasteful to the eye,” said resident Colleen Tierney, who also raised concerns about drivers of larger vehicles and school buses being forced to encroach on opposing lanes. Veronica Movill, another resident who spoke online, urged the board to lengthen pedestrian crossing times if the town shortens crosswalk distances.

Board members acknowledged trade-offs between visibility and vehicle maneuverability. Pete, a Select Board member, said the project’s goals — shorter crossings and better sight lines — remain important, but asked Beta to identify specific posts that could be removed or softened to ease turning radii for buses and larger vehicles.

Beta agreed to revisit the layout and propose adjustments. The board also flagged several longer-term items for study, including timing changes to downtown traffic signals and whether to restrict right turns on red at some intersections. The board and Beta suggested a follow-up public session once recommended adjustments are identified.

What happens next: Beta will reexamine problematic posts and intersections and provide preliminary recommendations for the Select Board and the town’s pedestrian-and-traffic-safety committee to review. The pilot’s receptacles are already in place in the roadway; the quick-build nature of the pilot means some elements can be removed or relocated without major construction.

Reporting note: Board members said the original grant reimbursed the town for the pilot installation, and that removing posts would not automatically trigger grant repayment.