Traffic commission to seek Commission on Disability guidance on warning signs near 3 Larch Road

Kelly Calkins told the Traffic Commission her 3-year-old daughter is legally blind and hearing impaired and that drivers use Mayflower/Larch as a cut-through from Lexington Street and Cambridge Road, increasing danger in the neighborhood. "My daughter is 3 years old. She's legally blind and hearing impaired," Calkins said, urging the commission to consider warning signage.

Commissioners and staff discussed signage options within the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices and whether a disability-warning sign would require the Commission on Disability's recommendation. Staff said MUTCD contains yellow, retroreflective caution signs for disability situations and that the Traffic Commission should first seek the handicapped commission's recommendation on a specific sign and location.

The Traffic Commission voted to send a communication to the Commission on Disability requesting guidance on hearing- and sight-impaired warning signs for the petitioner's neighborhood and to lay the matter on the table until that commission provides recommendations. Engineering staff offered to review potential temporary locations, and the petitioner was told the item will appear on the commission's March agenda after referral.