20 Salem Intersections to Become More Pedestrian-Friendly

SALEM, MA – Salem, with a nationally recognized Complete Streets Policy, is about to become even safer for pedestrians. Later this week, 20 pedestrian crossing signals around the City will have their walking time adjusted to make it easier for all pedestrians, but especially older residents and those with disabilities, to cross the street safely. The timing changes are not expected to add to traffic congestion, but will provide enough additional time to make crossing busy intersections more safe.

Mass in Motion Salem, the Salem Lions Club, WalkBoston, and the City of Salem’s Electrical Department, Disability Commission, Age Friendly Community Working Group, and Complete Streets Working Group have been working together over the past year to check the existing timings on all pedestrian signals and identifying those that need changes.

“We’re proud to have a nationally-regarded Complete Streets Policy that recognizes our roadways and sidewalks need to be safe, accessible, and designed appropriately for all users, including pedestrians,” said Mayor Kim Driscoll. “By adjusting these crossing times, we are taking another step forward to ensure our community is even more walkable, which is critical for quality of life, public health, economic vitality, and our environment. I also want to thank the Salem Lions Club for their support for this initiative and for their pledge of a donation to help fund the implementation of these timing changes.”

“Salem is working toward Age Friendly Community designation by the World Health Organization and signal timing, street lights, transportation, and curb ramps are areas where we need to make sure they work for all residents, as the population of Salem ages,” said Patricia Zaido, former executive director of The Salem Partnership and co-organizer of the Age-Friendly Community effort. 

“It is really a quality of life issue for those that are older or disabled,” added Mas in Motion Program Coordinator John Pelletier. “They should be able to get across the intersection without worrying that the traffic light might turn green on them.”

The federal signal timing standard for pedestrian crossing speeds was updated in 2009 with an aging population in mind. Average walking speed recommendations were reduced from 4.0ft/sec to 3.5ft/sec but many communities did not have the time or funding to reevaluate their signals and adjust the timing to meet the new federal standards. While many of Salem’s signals, including new signals installed after 2009, do meet the new standard, the review identified twenty key crossings where the older signals still needed timing adjustments.

Next steps include identifying opportunities to implement concurrent timing with a leading pedestrian interval (LPI) at some of the larger and more complicated intersections.  Concurrent timing with LPI is used in Cambridge and New York as well as parts of Boston. This timing scheme has the walk signal turn on in the same direction as auto traffic about 5 seconds before the green light so pedestrians have a head start crossing the street.  This phasing has been proven to increase safety by reducing jaywalking and increasing crossing time for older or disabled pedestrians. Other benefits include reduced wait times for pedestrians, drivers, and cyclists. The City is also beginning to implement more visible crosswalk designs to improve safety and anticipates piloting diagonal crosswalks in some four-way intersections in the year ahead.

About Mass in Motion Salem, a Program of the Office of Mayor Kimberley Driscoll

Mass in Motion Salem works locally to increase opportunities for Salem residents to eat better and move more in the places they live, learn, work, and play.  Salem is among 52 cities and towns throughout the Commonwealth that are part of the MA Department of Public Health’s Mass in Motion Municipal Wellness and Leadership Program.  Mass in Motion Salem is working to implement Safe Routes to Schools, expanded access to the Salem Farmers, and Winter Markets, school garden initiatives, and infrastructure evaluations that will make the healthy choice the easy choice for residents of Salem.

Mass in Motion Salem is funded in part by North Shore Medical Center and Partners HealthCare with additional support from the Massachusetts Department of Public Health.