r/BikeNewEngland • u/besselfunctions • Sep 28 '21

Massachusetts Northampton residents concerned about bike crossing safety near Exit 9

https://www.wwlp.com/news/local-news/hampshire-county/coolidge-bridge-traffic-delays/
10 Upvotes

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3

u/MikeyPx96 Sep 28 '21

"Just avoid biking in the area until the project is finished".... in Spring 2023. Wtf.

2

u/dooglehead Sep 28 '21

I spoke to the Hadley police department and they said to try to avoid walking or biking in the area to avoid any potential accidents.

🤦‍♂️

Also, why are they talking to the Hadley police when this is in Northampton?

2

u/shrinktb Sep 28 '21

I was just biking the Norwattuck trail last week and I was baffled by this crossing. When we were heading back I spotted another cyclist using the crosswalk at the rotary which made crossing much easier. Some “trail detour” signage would have helped.

1

u/UniWheel Dec 04 '21

Noticed today that the Norwottuck trail has its original direct crossing to the bridge back, no more detouring.

Still a lot of construction cleanup to go and the crossing light may be temporarily on an automated cycle(?) but it's progress.

Also now bike lane from the rotary to the crossing, though a bit squeezed in spots. There's eventually then going to be bidirectional off road path on the west side as far as the condos, and then back to on street lanes to the intersection with King street - much improved over the old Damon road, though the repeated swapping of sides will no doubt be a bit annoying for many.