LYNN — The Senior Center and Police Department Bike Team participated in the first Lynn Seniors Mile Walk in order to raise awareness for senior safety on Monday.
Some of the signs at the Lynn Common read “We are seniors, please slow down” and “Please slow down, I’m in a wheelchair.”
Patricia Denbow, of Lynn, said they were walking on Monday to let drivers know to “be aware and slow down.”
“A lot of us have a hidden disability, we can’t walk fast and they need to slow down,” Denbow said.
Mary Joyner said it is hard for her and other seniors to cross the street to go to the library.
“Even if you’re in the crosswalk, they won’t stop,” Joyner said. “It’s also an issue with people driving too fast, they are over the maximum speed rate… Something really needs to be done about it because Lynn is a diverse community and we have a lot of seniors, we have a lot of seniors who are in wheelchairs, and you’ve got to pay attention.”
Having an officer stationed by the library is something that she said she wants to see.
“Why can’t they set up a speed trap for them? You hit them in their pocket, then I think they’ll get it,” Joyner said.
The Police Department visits the Senior Center every month to hear what seniors have to say, Lt. Rick Connick said.
“What we’ve noticed is when we were going there, we did have a lot of traffic complaints from the seniors,” Connick said.
Currently, the Traffic Unit has six state funded pedestrian grants, he said.
These grants are running through September and focus “on the correct use of crosswalks enforcement on operators who are not stopping for people in crosswalks,” Connick said.
The Police Department also has message boards up around the city for traffic advisories.
The Traffic Unit worked with the Department of Public Works for some “environmental designs” to improve pedestrian safety. One of the spots is near Lynn Community Health Center where there is a busy intersection, he said.
“There’s so much parking on the street right there that it’s hard to see people coming out to the crosswalk, so the Traffic Unit worked with DPW for environmental design improvements,” Connick said.
Some of the examples of improvements he gave included prohibiting parking within 10 feet of the crosswalk and bumping curbs out so drivers can see pedestrians trying to cross the street.
Every officer does traffic enforcement as part of their regular duties, Connick said. The department also asks for pedestrians, including seniors, to be aware of their surroundings when crossing the street.
“Make sure you realize that operators might not be doing everything that they’re supposed to be doing, so you have to double-check to make sure that they’re stopping before you walk out into the middle of the crosswalk,” Connick said.
Mayor Jared Nicholson, who joined the Senior Center on the walk, said a big goal of the event was to raise awareness around the challenges seniors face. The city currently has a crosswalk-improvement project at Pleasant Street, which he said is a “particularly dangerous” area for pedestrians.
“Throughout the city, we are able to make sidewalk improvements that help make the city more accessible and walkable,” Nicholson said. “It’s helpful throughout the city to have walkable streets for one, for handicap accessibility is really important for our seniors, it’s also just good for the urban fabric to have people comfortable moving around the city as pedestrians.”
