The intersection of Silver Hill Road (left) and Weston Road, which takes a sharp turn to the right heading south.
The Y-shaped intersection of Weston and Silver Hill Roads will go from one stop sign to a three-way stop in the spring.
After several families in the neighborhood approached the Board of Selectmen, the board had a traffic study done and also consulted with Lincoln police. Those observations concluded that a three-way stop would be safer for drivers, pedestrians and bicyclists.
Currently there is only a stop sign (which replaced a yield sign some years ago) on Silver Hill Road heading into the intersection. Traffic has increased in recent years by commuters going back and forth from Route 117 and Trapelo Road to access Route 2 and I-95.
“With the sharp turn of the road and design of the road, you almost have to go into the opposite lane of travel to make that turn” from Silver Hill Road to Weston Road northbound or vice versa, Chief of Police Kevin Kennedy said. There have been a couple of accidents at the intersection in recent years that are known to police, “although that’s not to say there couldn’t have been more accidents and near-misses,” he said.
“Given the number of vehicles and the speeds on that road, an all-way stop would be an improvement… it doesn’t feel safe right now,” said Silver Hill Road resident Audrey Kalmus.
The additional two stop signs and road stripes will be installed when the weather warms up, and there will be temporary fluorescent flags and/or an officer at the intersection to alert drivers about the new controls.