Acton Starts Central Street Bike Safety Project

ACTON, MA — Acton's Central Street is getting a slight makeover that cyclists will love.

Central Street is the site of Acton's latest pilot program to improve safety for cyclists and all other users of the road. As part of the town's Complete Streets initiative, Acton is developing the 2.2 mile section of Central Street between Main and Elm Streets that connects South Acton to the West Acton Town Center.

The purpose of Acton’s Complete Streets Policy is to accommodate all street users by creating a street network that meets the needs of individuals utilizing a variety of transportation modes, not just cars.

Along those 2.2 miles, the street rises and falls with the terrain, making it difficult for people riding bikes uphill to travel at a comfortable speed with faster-moving cars.

The project adds bike lanes in the uphill sections of the street, also called “climbing lanes,” to provide people biking in the travel lanes with a dedicated space to climb the hills. The travel lanes in the downhill direction will have shared lane markings to reinforce the shared nature of the lanes to drivers. The bike symbols and signage are expected to be completed soon.

The project is still underway as the signage and the entire scope of planned paint markings have not been installed yet.