During the week of March 23-27, 2026, the Melrose Pedestrian and Bicyclist Committee (MPBC) and volunteers from the Lincoln School PTO hosted city officials on a series of street safety observation walks during arrival and dismissal at the Lincoln School on West Wyoming Avenue. The occasion for the event was Massachusetts Safe Routes to School (SRTS) Crossing Guard Appreciation Day, celebrated on March 25. We used these sessions to observe on the ground how Lincoln School parents, students, crossing guards, and staff navigate street safety challenges on what data shows is Melrose’s most dangerous street for vulnerable road users (VRUs)–those who lack the protective metal shell of a passenger vehicle.
We compiled our observations, and the feedback these sessions generated, into a report which can be downloaded and shared here. Our report contains a number of recommendations for improving safety in the West Wyoming/Lincoln Elementary corridor, keeping three principals in mind:
- The most important factor in determining the likelihood and severity of crashes is vehicular speed. All approaches and countermeasures must focus on promoting safe, school-zone appropriate speeds.
- It is crucial to maintain clear “sight lines” in and around school zones. The presence of parked cars and other obstacles near areas where children frequent — such as playgrounds and crosswalks — makes those children harder to see by blocking drivers’ lines of sight. Physical barriers to illegally parking on and around crosswalks should be considered, and parking prohibitions must be clarified and enforced.
- “School zones” do not exist only during arrival and dismissal. The area around Lincoln Elementary is one of the most residentially dense neighborhoods in the city, and the school is a hub of activity throughout the day and on evenings and weekends. While it is critical to devote the highest intensity of resources (such as crossing guards) to arrival and dismissal times, the best safety approaches in this area will be ones that work 24/7.
