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Council tables Longwood Avenue pavement‑marking and bike‑lane plan to Aug. 18
Summary
Council delayed a vote on narrowing Longwood Avenue and adding bike lanes to promote compliance with a 25 mph limit, asking for more public input and better engineering drawings; the item was unanimously tabled to the Aug. 18 meeting.
Town Council of Bedford voted on Aug. 4 to table consideration of proposed pavement‑marking changes on a wide stretch of Longwood Avenue so the public could get more information and Hirtan Profit (engineer) could supply clearer drawings.
Bart Warner summarized the history: council had set a 25 mph speed limit for Longwood Avenue at a prior meeting to encourage safety. The engineers proposed reconfiguring pavement to one travel lane each way, a center left‑turn lane and two bicycle/multimodal lanes to visually narrow the road and promote compliance.
Mayor Stanley and several council members expressed concern about the proposed bike lanes, and Councilman Stacy Haley said in his view the bike lanes "serve no purpose" and should be withdrawn. Councilman Todd Foreman pushed for expanded public comment before action. Vice Mayor Updike moved to table the matter and Haley seconded; the motion was unanimously approved and the issue will be revisited at the Aug. 18 meeting.
Warner said the affected segment runs between North Street and Oakwood Street and that pavement there can be as wide as 45 linear feet. He also said the Streets Committee voted on March 3 to revisit the earlier 25 mph decision. The council asked staff to request clearer sketches from the engineers and to provide an expanded public-comment process before the next meeting.
