BU Implements New Safety Procedures on Comm Ave
BOSTON – After two BU students were killed in bike accidents last semester, the school has implemented safety precautions to protect cyclists on Comm Ave. Improvements will include more warning signs, better bike lane markings, and the addition of highway reflectors.
Recommended by a joint-BU-city group, all of the improvements will be done by the city. New signs will include “High Bicycle and Pedestrian Activity Zone,” and instruct drivers to “Share the Road,” and “Yield to Bicycles,” when turning right. The speed limit will be reduced from 30 mph to 25 mph with a yellow caution sign attached above the speed limit sign.
The width of the bike lanes’ edges will be increased from four to six inches, and pavement markings will be painted at intersection crossings with high-visibility green paint. The city will add bike-lane-share markings within the green paint at busy intersections and long crossings.
Highway reflectors will be installed on the exterior of the bike lanes between intersections and more closely spaced before each crossing.
While more precautionary measures are being taken to improve bike safety, there still remains a great risk for further bike accidents, one that will always remain as long as a high volume of bikers and cars ride in the city.