Brookline Residents Launch Petition For Safer Streets

BROOKLINE, MA — A group of Brookline residents and Town Meeting Members have launched a petition asking the Select Board to work toward safer streets for cyclists and pedestrians.

The petition would increase the Transportation Division’s funding by increasing parking meter rates in the town from $1.25 an hour to a rate closer to Boston’s, which is currently $2 to $3.75 an hour depending on location.

"Brookline prides itself on being a very walkable, bikeable, and transit accessible town,” says the petition. "Yet Brookline has a problem with motor vehicles crashing into cyclists and pedestrians.”

The petitioners pointed to several recent pedestrian crashes, including the incident that killed 63-year-old Patty Arellano on Nov. 5, 2021 and the hit-and-run involving Driscoll head secretary Kim Longmore in Nov. 2016. They also noted that, in 2019, the Brookline Police Department reported 52 pedestrian crashes and 47 cyclist crashes.

Although Brookline has policies in place to improve pedestrian and cyclist safety, including the Traffic Calming Policy and Complete Streets Policy, there is a significant backlog of safety related requests, including 37 requests for safety-related improvements and 25 petitions for traffic calming actions.

"In short, if we want our Transportation Division to be able to implement the policies Town Meeting and our community at large supports, we need to increase its operating staff and budget,” says the petition. "It is unlikely that Town Meeting will vote to fund additional staff and materials without an additional source of revenue.”

"The Town should run a short-term pilot with an increased parking meter rate to determine the impact on local businesses,” it continues.

Select Board Vice Chair Raul Fernandez has already expressed his support for increasing parking meter rates to better fund the Transportation Department.