CITY OF PITTSFIELD

DEPARTMENT OF PUBUC SERVICES & UTIUTIES, 100 NORTH ST, PITTSFIELD, MA 01201 413-499-9330

August 3rd, 2022

Honorable City Council

City of Pittsfield
70 Allen Street
Pittsfield, MA 01201

Re: Shared Streets and Spaces Work: North St Road Diet

Honorable Council Members,

At its March 10, 2022 meeting, the City Council referred to my office a petition
requesting an investigation pertaining to traffic and safety of the North St road
diet and bike lane implemented in late June of 2021. As you may recall, this work
was initiated by my department under the Shared Streets and Spaces Program
from the state. This program provided the funds to incorporate a road diet on
North Street, in its downtown segment, from Park Square to Wahconah and
Burbank Streets. The scope of work for this project included a report back to the
city with traffic and safety impacts. This report was completed in May of this year
and is now being presented to the City Council.

In the report, you will find a general overview and timeline of the project, safety
and traffic impacts, results from a user survey and bicycle ridership. I will
summarize these categories within context in this letter.

The goal of this project was to create a safe and calm North Street that could be
enjoyed equally by pedestrians, bicyclists, and drivers, and which also provided
new opportunities, such as space for outdoor dining and zones for the loading
and unloading of goods, to small businesses. Over the project's two phases,
project has implemented changes geared toward realizing this goal, including
two quick-installation parklets and double-buffered bicycle lanes that run on both
sides of the street along a 0.7-mile stretch of the corridor. These bicycle lanes
reduce vehicle speeds and enhance mobility for the approximately 5,500 people 1
who live within walking or bicycling distance to Pittsfield businesses, and
facilitate bicycle access to major regional resources, such as the Pittsfield Amtrak
station and Berkshire Medical Center.

1 "Quick and Creative Street Projects." Barr Foundation, December 2021.

Goals of the design
The design was established with two main sub-goals in mind. First, it must
address the issues caused by uncertainty and partial approach to North St
changes caused by the first iteration of the Shared Streets and Spaces project
started in October of 2020 and ending in May of 2021. The second goal
established aimed at addressing safety concerns for all users within the project
area, especially those most vulnerable, while providing better access for active
transportation and mobility.

To achieve this, emphasis was given to eliminating one travel lane in each
direction and turning the former vehicle lane into a double-buffered bike lane at
sections with on-street parking. Where parking was not present, the bike lane
was installed against the curb with flexible lane delineators installed within the
buffer.

Safety Impacts
As the most important component of this project was safety, the report includes
a deep dive into those impacts. The report identifies a drastic drop in crashes
along North St at a time when the general trend in crashes across Pittsfield,
Massachusetts and the state where increasing.

The report also incudes letters from the Pittsfield Police and Fire Departments as
well as County Ambulance regarding the impacts on safety and relationship with
emergency response within and across downtown North St. It is worth noting
that these entities were consulted prior to designing the work and their input
was incorporated into the final project. Individuals from these three
organizations were urged to provide feedback throughout their interaction with
North St. Ultimately, these three emergency service providers communicated an
overwhelming support for the project, especially through the lens of a safer
street.

Traffic Impacts
The second component of the report focused on the traffic impacts. The aim of
the project was not to promote bicycling and walking at the expense of driving. A
24-hour traffic study was conducted on June 9, 2022. The goals of the study
were to understand how traffic activity, specifically vehicle speeds and volume
capacity, had changed since the shift to one-lane streets, and to discover
whether driving remained a viable transportation option along the corridor.

Speed data showed that 85 percent of all driver speeds fell within 5 miles of the
25-mph speed limit in contrast with a historical higher speed behavior in the
corridor. Additionally, the 24-hour traffic counts indicated that the daily vehicular
traffic volume along North Street is now at pre-implementation levels and, when
compared to historical data from MassDOT, is almost equal to pre-COVID traffic
volumes lagging by 15%, due to pandemic induced lower traffic volumes
everywhere in the country. Despite this return to higher baseline volumes,
volume-to-capacity ratio along North Street never exceeded 0.57 throughout the
study, meaning that North Street's single-vehicle lane is underutilized by 43%.
This indicates that at its peak use, North St can accommodate pre-COVID traffic
with room to spare. According to these findings, the shift to single-vehicle lanes
did not reduce the corridor's capacity to handle traffic flow even as it induced
lower vehicular speeds, enhancing the safety and comfort of all users in the
area.

User Experience
The third component of the report focuses on the user experience. The
responses from an intercept survey continue to reflect the public's divided
attitude toward the project. However, what these responses also demonstrate is
that a clear majority of the public enjoys the current iteration of the corridor and
considers it well designed. Most answers suggested people enjoy using the
bicycle lanes and believe the overall redesign of the corridor has improved
safety, calmed traffic, and improved the walkability and aesthetic of the corridor.

Ridership
The fourth component captured by the report focuses on ridership. Bicycle
activity was recorder using acceptable industry standards for the collection of
active motility ridership by documenting and collecting data and subsequently
extrapolating it to daily, weekly, and monthly estimates. Adjustment factors were
also applied to the data to account for differences in time of day, month,
weekday/weekend, weather, and season.

The results clearly illustrate a favorable trendline towards more ridership after
implementing the project, suggesting a reduced level of stress for active mobility
users.

Room for Improvement

Additionally, the department has identified areas for improvement like better
signage and line painting and markings, the introduction of bike boxes and two
stage left turn boxes as well as more aesthetically oriented lane dividers and
intersection signals for bike exclusive phases.

Conclusion
The report goes into more detail and I encourage everyone reading this letter to
review it. However, the project's primary objective was to redesign a major
downtown traffic artery into a complete street that promised greater access,
safety, and enrichment to residents regardless of their mode or reason for use.
Far from congesting traffic and limiting mobility, traffic data and bicycle ridership
trends indicate that the project's signature double-buffered bicycle lanes have
empowered residents to supplement existing car use with new transportation
options. Speed and crash data demonstrates that traffic has continued to calm
since the completion of the project, increasing the safety of all users. Finally, the
overwhelmingly positive response from local businesses and emergency services
suggests the project's improvements will pay economic, social, and public-health
dividends far into the future. No change comes without growing pains, and
community input will continue to play a vital role in shaping ideal user
experiences along the North Street corridor. The successes of the North Street
redesign will inform and incorporate this community input even as the project
more broadly continues to act as an exemplary reminder that Pittsfield's essential
streets can and should serve everyone.

Com issioner
Department of Public Services and Utilities
EVALUATION

JUNE 2022
 Wahcooah Park
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 I
The goal of this project was to create a safe and calm North Street that could be enjoyed equally
by pedestrians, bicyclists, and drivers, and which also provided new opportunities, such as space
for outdoor dining and zones for the loading and unloading of goods, to small businesses. Over the
project's two phases, the pilot has implemented changes geared toward realizing this goal, including
two quick-installation parklets and double-buffered bicycle lanes that run on both sides of the street
along a 0.7-mile stretch of the corridor. These bicycle lanes reduce vehicle speeds and enhance
mobility for the approximately 5,500 people 2 who live within walking or bicycling distance to Pittsfield
businesses, and facilitate bicycle access to major regional resources, such as the Pittsfield Amtrak
station and Berkshire Medical Center.

FIGURE 2 PILOT TIMELINE

September
Pittsfield received $238,826.50 to
support new bicycle lanes, curb
extensions, vehicle-lane reduction,
and outdoor seating areas, and to February
enhance intersections for improved The Public Works Committee
pedestrian safety and comfort. voted to keep the bicycle
lanes and changes made to
North Street.

~
------2020 ~----~2021 -----

1
June
Implemented
second pilot project.
November
Implemented first
pilot project.

April
Pittsfield received a second grant,
for $162,880.82, to create two
quick-installation parklets for use by
local businesses and restaurants, as
well as for double-buffered bicycled
lanes on both sides of the street
along a 0.7-mile corridor.

2 "Quick and Creative Street Projects ." Barr Foundation, December 2021 .

6 City of Pittsfield North Street Pilot Project Evaluation Report

 c
Although most pedestrians, bicyclists, and
business owners like the new North Street
design, the overall initial response from the
general public to t he improvements along North
Street has been mixed . Some residents voiced
concern regarding the project's rollout process
and the shift to single-lane vehicle traffic .
In sharp contrast to these concerns, the
project enjoys near unanimous support from
police, firefighters, and EMT services. Local
businesses have also found the loading zones
and parklets to be good for business logistics
(such as freighting) and the redesign's one-lane
configuration to have a calming effect on traffic.
Using data harvested from studies and publ ic-
facing surveys, the following pages will first
explore how the public's complex initial reaction
to the project has changed in the thirteen months
since its completion. The rema ining sections will
then measure how shifting user engagement in
light of the project's implementations has resulted
in a more desirabie, interconnected city center.

FIGURE 3 CROSS SECTION OF

NORTH STREET, BEFORE AND AFTER
BICYCLE LANE IMPLEMENTATION

Prior Typical Section

- - .-. ..-..
. .

Existing Typical Section

•

&

City of Pittsfield North Street Pilot Project Evaluation Report 7

 Comm nity Perspective
I s
To better understand user experiences, behaviors, and perceptions when traveling on the North Street
redesign, an intercept survey was conducted on June 2, 2022, yielding a total of 40 responses.
The responses from the intercept survey continue to reflect the public's divided attitude toward the
pilot project. However, what these responses also demonstrate is that a clear majority of the public
enjoys the current iteration of the corridor and considers it well designed. Most answers suggested
people enjoy using the bicycle lanes and believe the overall redesign of the corridor has improved
safety, calmed traffic, and improved the walkability and aesthetic of the corridor.
Since the new treatments were implemented, respondents felt safer and more comfortable walking
than biking on North Street; however, some respondents affirmed they felt safer and more comfortable
bicycling since the redesign, and multiple respondents noted that the new bicycle lane provided
readier access to more places.

FIGURE 4 SURVEY RESPONSE 1 FIGURE 5 SURVEY RESPONSE 2

"I like the •

AGREE "I like the
design
North Street
of North
bike lane." NEUTRAL
Street."
•
DISAGREE

I DON'T
KNOW

FIGURE 6 SURVEY RESPONSE 3

58% of respondents confirmed they felt
safe traveling on North Street;
"North Street feels ... "
74% of respondents confirmed they felt
comfortable traveling on North Street .

•
WALKING •
BIKING
More Easier to get The same
r--Safer comfortable to places as before
2s I
20

15

10

0
City of Pittsfield North Street Pilot Project Evaluation Report 9
 Survey participants were also given
the opportunity to contribute their
commentary on the pilot project.
Here's some of what they had to say:

While residents continue to voice concerns about the project, the picture captured more broadly by
the survey shows a community in the midst of adjusting to the pilot's redesign-and discovering, in
the process, the modal freedom and increased access provided by the pilot's reallocation of space.
Additional calming treatments along North Street can help to further realize the pilot's key objective
of offering a safe, inviting street to all road users.

10 City of Pittsfield North Street Pilot Project Evaluation Report

 Bik Riders
One of the North Street pilot's major objectives was to include improvements that encouraged
residents to engage in active transportation modes, like walking and bicycling, alongside car transport.
To realize this goal, the project provided dedicated street space to these vulnerable users in the form
of double-buffered bicycle lanes.
To assess how bicycle ridership numbers have changed since the completion of the redesign's second
phase, the City took manual bicycle counts on 15 days between June 2021 and May 2022. The data
collected was used to extrapolate wider ridership trends in the corridor.

FIGURE 7 ESTIMATED MONTHLY BICYCLE RIDERSHIP SINCE

IMPLEMENTATION OF DOUBLE-BUFFERED BIKE LANE

Double-buffered bicycle lane implemented

8,000

7,000
----- Winter ----~

6,000

5,000 ---
-------
4,000 __ Trend\ine -------:-=~-----

3,000

2,000

1,000

0 --~---------------------------------------

JUN JUL AUG SEP OCT NOV DEC JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUN
~----2021----~ L . . , _ _ _ _ _ _- 2022 - ------'
Figure 7. Extrapolated bicycle ridership data based on manual counts. Months in which counts were not taken were
estimated based on the previous month's counts using the adjustment factors in figure 8. Source: City of Pittsfield

The monthly trendline of bicyclist numbers illustrates the steady upward climb of bicycle ridership
in Pittsfield. There's a noticeable jump in ridership during the summer months immediately after
the double-buffered bicycle lanes were implemented; in particular, the June 2022 ridership count
estimated 6,000 more people traveled by bicycle than in June 2021, when the double-buffered bicycle
lanes were implemented .

12 City of Pittsfield North Street Pilot Project Evaluation Report

 ,
Using the National Bicycle and Pedestrian Documentation (NBPD) methodology, the collected data
was extrapolated to daily, weekly, and monthly estimates. Adjustment factors were also applied to
the data to account for differences in time of day, month, weekday/weekend, weather, and season .
(Pittsfield's climate experiences long winters and short summers; the estimated ridership counts in
figure 8, which begin to dip in October and rise again in May, reflect these seasonal constraints .) The
adjustment factors were also used to estimate counts for months in which counts were not taken.

FIGURE 8 EXTRAPOLATED BIKE RIDERSHIP DATA FROM MANUAL COUNTS

Manual Counts for
Count Date Month 2-Hour Period Daily Weekly Monthly Annually
6.7.2021 Jun-21 7 53 375 1,607 13,393
Estimated
Jul-21 7 53 438 1,938 14,904
Counts
8 .25.2021 Aug-21 28 163 1,361 6,028 43,056
-
9.20.2021 Sep-21 20 233 1,667 7,143 64,935
10.22.2021 Oct-21 21 130 926 4,103 68,382
11.18.2021 Nov-21 14 86 721 3,088 51.471
12.22.2021 Dec-21 7 39 322 1.428 47,588
1.13.2022 Jan-22 5 28 _L 230 1,020 33,991
2.16.2022 Feb-22 8 44 368 1.474 49,123
-
3.25.2022 Mar-22 8 76 545 2.416 34,508
4 .13.2022 Apr-22 14 82 681 2,917 26,515
5.9.2022 May-22 32 210 1,500 6,643 60,390
--
Estimated
Jun-22 32 210 1,750 7,500 62,500
Counts

Figure 8. NBPD Monthly Adjustment Factors that were applied to the manual two-hour counts taken between June
2027 and May 2022. Source: National Bicycle and Pedestrian Documentation

FIGURE 9 BIKE RIDERSHIP ADJUSTMENT FACTORS

Long Winter, Short Very Hot Summer,
Climate Region Summer (Pittsfield) Moderate Climate Mild Winter
JAN 3% 7% 10%
FEB 3% 7% 12%
MAR 7% 8% 10%
-
APR 11% 8% 9%
-
MAY 11% 8% 8%
JUN 12% 8% 8%
JUL 13% 12% 7%
AUG 14% 16% 7%
SEP 11% 8% 6%
OCT 6% 6% 7%
NOV 6% 6% 8%
DEC 3% 6% I 8%

Figure 9. Seasonal adjustment factors were applied to the manual counts taken between June 2021 and May 2022.
Source: National Bicycle and Pedestrian Documentation

City of Pittsfield North Street Pilot Project Evaluation Report 13

Crash Data
The pilot's decision to rededicate one lane of car traffic for the use of bicyclists was not solely made
to encourage multimodal transportation. It was also part of a concerted effort to calm area traffic and
increase safety for all users in the area.
To observe how safety in the North Street corridor has changed alongside the pilot's double-buffered
bicycle lanes, City crash data was collected and documented using police reports. The data was then
analyzed to review crash trends before and after implementation.

FIGURE 10 TOTAL CRASHES BY MONTH

Stay at
6 home orders Double-buffered
5 ---- bicycle lane
implemented

L_ _ _ _ _
4

3 -

0 --~~----------~-------------------------------~~---J~------­
~ru~m~~n~~m~ru~ru~m~~n~~m~ru~
I
~------------ 2020 2021 2022
Source: City of Pittsfield

Figure 10 shows a general downward trend of total crashes. This downward trend continued even after
the addition of the double-buffered bicycle lanes along North Street, suggesting that these lanes, far
from hindering area safety goals, align neatly with them. In comparison, during the same period, the
rest of the City and the State of Massachusetts experienced upward trends in total number of crashes
(figure 11). As working from home became more prominent and traffic patterns changed, traffic
fatalities also increased at the state and national levels. In 2020, approximately 35,766 fatalities 3 were
reported nationally, a 6.8 percent increase from the previous year.

FIGURE 11 TOTAL CRASHES FOR STUDY AREA, PITTSFIELD, AND MASSACHUSETTS

Study Area In Pittsfield Pittsfield Massachusetts
Year
Total Crashes Total Crashes Total Crashes

2020 29 727 100,726

12021 19 897 124,353

Source: City of Pittsfield; Mass DOT

3 Nat ion al Highway Traffic Safe t y Adm inistration: https://cras hstats .nhtsa .dot.gov/Ap i/Public/ View Pu blicatio n/813266

City of Pittsfield North Street Pilot Project Evaluation Report 15

Traffic Data
•
a e IC

Although a major function of the pilot project was to increase transportation options for area users,
the aim of the project was not to promote bicycling and walking at the expense of driving. A 24-hour
traffic study was conducted on June 9, 2022; figure 12 shows the locations where counts and speed
data were collected. The goals of the study were to understand how traffic activity, namely vehicle
speeds and volume capacity, had changed since the shift to one-lane streets, and to discover whether
driving remained a viable transportation option along the corridor.

FIGURE 12 LOCATIONS OF TRAFFIC COUNTS AND

SPEED DATA COLLECTION, JUNE 9, 2022

City of Pittsfield North Street Pilot Project Evaluation Report 17

 FIGURE 13 85TH PERCENTILE SPEEDS AND DAILY (24-HOUR) TRAFFIC
COUNTS FOR EACH LOCATION ALONG NORTH STREET
"'C.r:. "'C.r:. "'C "'C "'Cu "'C u
§ ..... c c c ·- c ·-
§il)~ Q)
::J ::J ::J:t: ::J:t:
coo~ o:2:p 0 0 0 IU 0 IU
..c . . .
..QCVl ..0~
..o-cc
.r:. ClJ QJ
..o-cc
.J::.Cl.JQ) ~~"'C
..... ·- QJ
.r:.m"'C .!::.1- Total
...... · - Q) £>- ...... >-
-ecu~ "5CI>~ .... -o QJ ::J -o Q) '-0 =IU ::J= Daily
OQ.QJ OO.Cl.J OCI>Q. oCI>o. 0 IU
Location Z(J)C.. (J)(./)0.. ZL(J) (./)L(./) zo (J)0 Traffic

North Street between

Market Street and 23 24 15 19
Depot Street/
3,716 4,970 8,686
mph mph mph mph
Fern Street

·-

North Street between

Bradford Street 25 27 20 22
and Linden Street/
4,140 6,141 10,281
mph mph mph mph
Maplewood Avenue

North Street between

29 28 24 22
White Terrace and 4,991 6,196 11,187
Orchard Street mph mph mph mph
I I I
FIGURE 14 VOLUME-TO-CAPACITY RATIOS AT AM & PM PEAK HOURS
Volume-to-Capacity Ratios Volume-to-Capacity Ratios
Location (AM Peak) (PM Peak)

North Street/South Street

at West Street/East Street 0.38 0.57
r---

North Street at Columbus

Avenue/Eagle Street 0.22 0.33
-
North Street at Wahconah
Street/Burbank Street 0.29 0.32

18 City of Pittsfield North Street Pilot Project Evaluation Report

Speed data showed that 85 percent of all driver speeds fell within 5 miles of the 25-mph speed limit.
Additionally, the 24-hour traffic counts indicated that the daily vehicular traffic volume along North
Street is now at pre-implementation levels and, when compared to historical data from MassDOT, is
almost equal to pre-COVID traffic volumes . Despite this return to higher baseline volumes, volume-
to-capacity ratio along North Street never exceeded 0.57 throughout the study, meaning that North
Street's single-vehicle lane is underutilized by 43 percent. According to these findings, the shift to
single-vehicle lanes did not reduce the corridor's capacity to handle traffic flow even as it induced
lower vehicular speeds, enhancing the safety and comfort of all users in the area. In certain contexts,
the inclusion of the bicycle lanes has made traffic more efficient, as Public Works notes that emergency
vehicles frequently use those lanes to bypass cars and reach their destinations faster.
FIGURE 15 ANNUAL AVERAGE DAILY TRAFFIC BETWEEN
2019 AND 2021 FOR NORTH STREET
Mass DOT H.1s t onca
. I D at a l C"t
IYO f P"tt
I s f 1e ld Dat a
I _l

Location 2019 2020 2021 2022

North Street between Bradford

12,155 10,016 9,849 10,281
Street and Linden Street

Lan te e
nc
A recurring concern voiced by City residents was that the implementation of the double-buffered
bicycle lanes might hamper routine snow removal during the winter months, leaving the road unusable
to cars. The bicycle lanes leave the streets open for cleaning, however, and the Department of Public
Services Highway Division reports that winter maintenance on North Street has not drastically changed
since their implementation. Instead, the Highway Division cites parking as the biggest impediment to
snow removal in the winter months. as storms can strand cars in spaces for long periods of time.
Though the double-buffered bicycle lanes do not deter winter maintenance, the Highway Division
noted that the pilot project's bumpouts and center islands have made snow removal slightly more
difficult. In response, the City has placed orders for several small equipment to allow City workers
to clean bumpouts and center islands. This equipment will also help the Highway Division with snow
removal during the day.
 June 15, 2022

Ricardo Morales, Commissioner of Public Utilities

175 Wahconah Street
City of Pittsfield
P.O. BoK 752 70 Allen St.
Pittsfield, MA 01201
Pittsfield, MA 01202

413 499.2527
Dear Commissioner:
www.countyamb.com
I would like to take this opportunity to give you an emergency provider's assessment

to the North Street lane changes, specifically the addition of the bicycle lanes. Initially,

this was a big change for our staff that responds up and down North Street daily and

with change comes trepidation after being unchanged for so many years. We have

since discovered our trepidation to be unfounded and find the new traffic

configuration to have no negative impact on our responses and in has had some

positive benefit to us.

lri the past we often had difficulty maneuvering North Street during emergency

responses, due to the two lanes being occupied with passing traffic and parked cars

that made it difficult for vehicles to pull to the right to make room for our emergency

vehicle. With the new configuration, vehicles now have the bike lane to pull into to

allow us to pass during those situations. We also view it as much safer for the bicycle

and e-scooter riders that now have a much wider and safer path to travel on . We have

also not seen any increase in accidents involving motor vehicles or other mobile

devices since the pattern change. Any negative issues we observe are almost always

rooted in the behavior of drivers that do not follow the pattern that is well marked

and should be very familiar by now. Occasionally, we see cars that driver down the

bike lane or inappropriately using it as a turning lane but that is a result of people not

following the direction rather than a design flaw.

I hope this information helps in your overall assessment of the lane changes in

downtown. Please feel free to reach out to me with any questions .

. Andrews, NRP
President
local & long Distance
24 Hour Service

Advanced Life Support

Ambulance and
Choir Car Service
 CITY OF PITTSFIELD
POLICE DEPARTMENT
POLICE HEADQUARTERS, 39 ALLEN STREET, PITTSFIELD, MASSACHUSETTS 01201 (413) 448-9700, FAX (413) 448-9733

OFFICE OF THE CHIEF OF POLICE (413)448-9717

PROFESSIONALISM • ETHICS • INTEGRITY • SENSITIVITY • ACCOUNTABILITY

June 30, 2022

Commissioner Ricardo Morales

Department of Public Services and Utilities
City of Pittsfield
100 North Street
Pittsfield, MA 01201

Re: Traffic Patterns on North Street

Commissioner Morales:

The Police Department's Traffic Division has conducted an analysis of roadway safety in the
Downtown area, considering recent changes to the traffic pattern.

In the past five years we have not had any fatal or serious bicycle/pedestrian crashes. The
changes on North Street have had a positive impact regarding crashes. Although the single
lane has caused traffic to slow, it has simultaneously made pedestrian crossing safer.

These changes have had a positive impact regarding traffic incidents. The new pattern has also
caused a decrease in speeding. Vehicles are no longer given the opportunity to change lanes
and pass slower vehicles due to the elimination of the second lane of traffic. Most of those
incidents had previously occurred in the evening and nighttime hours due to decreased traffic on
the roadway. From a traffic and safety standpoint, the results of the change have been
successful.

;;;:); .My~
Michael J. Wynn
Chief of Police

WYNN_ North St Traffic_06-30-2022.docx

Morales, Ricardo

From: Sammons, Thomas

Sent: Wednesday, June 22, 2022 9:51AM
To: Morales, Ricardo
Subject: FW: Bike Lanes

From: Sammons, Thomas

Sent: Wednesday, June 22, 2022 9:50AM
To: Sammons, Thomas <tsammons@cityofpittsfield.org>
Subject: Bike Lanes

Ricardo,

As controversial as the bike lanes are, I wanted to let you know how the responses from Headquarters on Columbus Ave.
have been. There has been enough time for the officers stationed at Headquarters to give good feedback. The consensus
is that the bike lanes give vehicles a place to move to during a code 3 response. Before if both lanes were full of cars at a
stoplight there would be a delay until the cars found a safe place to move to. Now vehicles can simply stage in the bike
lane until the response has passed.

Thomas Sammons
Fire Chief

Fire Department
City of Pittsfield
74 Columbus Avenue
Pittsfield, MA 01201
P. (413) 448-9765 C. {413) 464-6480
tsammons@cityofpittsfield.org
www .cityofpittsfield.org

1
CC29

April 28, 2022

To the City Council of'the City of Pittsfield: -

The Committee on ftd__{fi c..

to whol!l was r:~f~rrec:l th~ p~tition frQm 'Councilor t<alinowsky to inv~stigate Sj!fety i~su~s
With the Aew bike lanes anc.ith~e· cha~ge ~n traffic .Pattern on
North $tre~t

having considered the same, report a.nd reconimen4 :that

the petitio.ri 't:Je referred to the Ccrmmissioner of Pt.~bl.ic Services

and the Pittsfield Police Department for a report

Voted Qnanimously ·s/O

RE!spectfllUy s~m~tted,

•MarkT. Brennan

Chairman