Pedestrian safety at issue in Swampscott

SWAMPSCOTT – Like many residents, Jim Badger crosses Humphrey Street most days in the summer to walk along Kings Beach. But for the last month, Badger said he has had second thoughts after being nearly hit by drivers who do not see him in the crosswalk.”I’ve maybe had one incident since 2011, and this year had four within a month,” Badger said last month. “At this point, I still go. My wife is worried, but I don’t want to be a shut-in in my house because I can’t cross the street in my neighborhood.”Pedestrian safety and traffic along Humphrey Street and Kings Beach are of perennial concern to police and residents. But Badger and a group of fellow Swampscott residents provide a new urgency to pedestrian safety.Badger is legally blind; so when he steps into the street, he can’t rely on his own ability to see an oncoming vehicle or potential hazard. He has to rely on a driver’s ability to see him. And that’s not been happening lately, he said.But Badger said there are ways that infrastructure improvements, technology and – most importantly – public education can help ensure that he is seen when he steps into the street. And he is joining other Swampscott residents on the town’s Disability Commission to ensure that these aids are recognized and implemented – for the benefit of everybody. “Anything that we do to make the community better for the disabled will make it better for the elderly, for children, for everybody,” said Trish Malphrus, chairman of the commission.Malphrus and commission member Linda Fistel said they have been meeting for about two years to discuss issues facing disabled persons in Swampscott, but an official Disability Commission did not form until September. The commission is essentially a voice for the disabled, advocating for and educating town residents and decision-makers about how to accommodate those with disabilities.Simply walking from Town Hall to the beach last month with Malphrus, Badger and Fistel revealed, however, that they have some work cut out for them.Malphrus, who uses a motorized wheelchair, had to zoom along the side of Burrill Street for a few feet before moving onto the sidewalk because the crosswalk at the corner of Burrill and Monument Avenue didn’t end in a curb cut.Then there was the pedestrian light in front of Incognito Revealed hair salon, where Badger said he has almost been hit several times within the last month.Traffic stopped in both directions when the pedestrian light changed, and the trio used the crosswalk to safely cross, and then re-cross, the street.But Malphrus couldn’t, again, get off the street after crossing because there was no curb cut, although there was a ramp. And when southbound traffic stopped for a woman who was jaywalking, an accident nearly occurred in the northbound lane. However, there was an open parking space into which a car was able to swerve and avoid rear-ending the car in front of it that had slammed on the brakes as the woman walked into the street.Badger suggested several improvements to the light: increased enforcement by police to catch those speeding through the crosswalk; cameras at the intersection to catch offenders who go through the pedestrian light; and design solutions – for example, raising the level of the crosswalk so that it becomes a sort of speed bump – flashing LED pedestrian lights, or more signs.But he and other members of the commission said that the best thing to do is educate people that there are disabled persons in the community whose safety depends on others obeying laws.Malphrus said the state has had to repeatedly fix the audible pedestrian light at Burrill and New Ocean streets.”They don’t know if it’s broken or someone’s tampering with it,” Fistel said.”The volume level changes, which is why we think somebody’s tampering with it,” Malphrus added.Public Works Director Gino Cresta praised the commission for keeping him and police officers informed about the needs of the disabled. He said the town is scheduled to repav