1. Can the town leave Lincoln St two-way and just install a sidewalk?

In short, no. There is not enough room in the northern section of Lincoln St to build a (legally required) 5' wide ADA accessible sidewalk and leave the street two-way for vehicles.

2. Can the town just install a narrower (less than 5') sidewalk?

No. ADA requires that newly constructed sidewalks meet certain requirements in order to accommodate all users, regardless of age or mobility. While 4 feet is the absolute minimum allowed, any sidewalk under 5 feet wide must have regularly spaced "passing zones" of at least 5' x 5', making the sidewalk effectively 5' wide under the constraints considered for this project.

3. But I have a sidewalk less than 5' wide outside my home...

When the Americans With Disabilities Act was passed in 1990, it did not require that existing structures (sidewalks) be modified to meet requirements. In fact, it wasn't until 2010 that the law was extended to include enforceable design standards. Additionally, existing sidewalks may be maintained and repaired without requiring them to be modified to be fully compliant.

4. Why does Lincoln St need a sidewalk?

Residents have been asking for a sidewalk on the entire length of Lincoln St for years. Recently, the town collected comments from residents as part of the Complete Streets initiative, and Lincoln St once again received numerous requests. A recent traffic speed study showed that over the course of 48 hours, 15 vehicles travelled down Lincoln St in excess of 50mph. Currently, both pedestrians and bicyclists mix with vehicular traffic in the road.

5. Why not only build a sidewalk?

Due to space constraints, any sidewalk in the northern section of Lincoln St requires a change to one-way vehicular traffic in order to repurpose the space from one travel lane. Once the street is made one-way to accommodate a sidewalk, it becomes easy to build a 10' multi-use path and provide physical separation for bicyclists as well, and the cost differential is minimal.

6. Who is paying for this?

Should the proposed project move forward, the town intends to apply for a Complete Streets grant from the state to fund the project. 

7. Which direction will the town make Lincoln St?

While the project proposal is not finalized, the recommended one-way direction for Lincoln St is southbound (from Lowell to Shawsheen).

8. Will the existing turn restriction from Lowell to Lincoln be removed?

If the project is implemented, yes.

9. Will residents on Lincoln St have to drive farther/longer in order to get to various destinations?

In some cases, yes. TEC, the town's traffic consultant gathered traffic and travel time data, which you can look at here.

10. Where can I find project details?

The current details can be found in the most recent public meeting slides.

11. Who can I contact for more details, or to provide a comment?

You can email the Deputy Town Manager for more information or to provide feedback. Please consider CCing us (walkbikeandover@gmail.com) so that we can follow up on your feedback, if needed.