New Pedestrian Crossing Warning Sign
This week a new warning sign went up at the Framingham MBTA station, notifying commuters that it's illegal crossing the tracks. The sign is part of the continued attempt by the MBTA to notify users that this is not a legal crossing.
However, nobody was paying attention to the sign. I saw many commuters continue to cross the tracks. The sign is barely noticeable for most people crossing the tracks from the Banana Parking lot. When commuters approach the tracks they look both ways, and not at any sign on the fence
The law being referenced on the Framingham track sign 160 s218:
It's interesting that the law specifically mentions "walks" and "stands." It appears that it's perfectly legal for users to run or hop across the tracks. (Don't try to challenge that!)
I feel that the MBTA has a couple of options to reduce pedestrians from crossing the tracks:
- Open up the new Parking Lot - In April, the new parking lot in Framingham will open. At that point, the pedestrian access point by the Concord Street will close. Until the lot opens, the MBTA should create a pedestrian path that users can follow and open up the gate by the pedestrian over path.
- Change the Peak Trains to use Track 1 - By moving the peak trains to use the inside track, most pedestrians will not be crossing the tracks. Those that park on Waverly Street would simply use the pedestrian bridge since that would be the easier route to use.