Renewed pleas to fix road

Nonantum work stalled, officials say

The death this month of a 26-year-old Waltham woman whose sport utility vehicle went out of control on Nonantum Road in Newton and crashed into the Charles River has renewed calls to fix a roadway that one lawmaker calls "a public safety hazard."

Several political leaders said they were outraged after the state Department of Conservation and Recreation told the Globe last week that a plan underway to improve driver and pedestrian safety along a portion of Nonantum Road had been put "on hold" because of recent state budget cuts.

Officials from Newton, Watertown, and Waltham said they have pushed state officials for years to make the winding parkway - long known as a frequent site of serious accidents - safer for motorists, pedestrians, and cyclists. And until recently, that effort had been on track, they say.

"This is not a matter of shortening commute times or improving traffic patterns," said Representative Peter Koutoujian, a Waltham Democrat and one of several area leaders who have worked since 2006 to secure state funding for the project. "This is a public safety hazard."

State Police said Lauren Tsai, a 2004 graduate of MIT, was driving westbound on Nonantum Road when she lost control of her vehicle, which struck the curb and skidded down the embankment into the river. Tsai was found at around 7:30 a.m. on Dec. 13, and was pronounced dead at the scene.

It was at least the fourth fatality in nearly three years on the winding parkway that stretches from Galen Street near Watertown Square to Soldiers Field Road in Brighton.

In February 2006, a Waltham couple died after their minivan spun off the road and hit a pole by Water Street. In June that same year, a Waltham man was killed after his motorcycle struck a van at the intersection of Nonantum Road and Galen Street.

Crash data from the state Highway Department cited in a Department of Conservation and Recreation study of Nonantum Road showed that from 2002 to 2004, there were 46 accidents at the junction of Charlesbank and Nonantum roads alone, or 1.64 accidents per million vehicles - a rate three times higher than similar intersections in the area.

Koutoujian said he wasn't aware that DCR had suspended designing the project until a story in Thursday's Globe West. "I know we've had to cut back on some of our expenses because of the downturn. This cut is penny-wise and pound foolish," he said.

Since hearing of the latest fatality, Town Councilor Jonathan Hecht, who represent's Watertown's District B, said he spoke with DCR Commissioner Rick Sullivan about the critical need to finish the project design, now about halfway complete.

"I think everyone recognizes that this has got to get addressed," said Hecht, who begins serving as a state representative for Watertown and parts of Cambridge next month. "He's looking into it and hoping to find the money to finish the design work.

"We have to do something, this is just going on for too long."

In June, the state approved a transportation bond bill that set aside $860,000 for construction of the project, said state Senator Steven Tolman, a Brighton Democrat, but Governor Deval Patrick has yet to authorize the spending.

Also in June, planners and consultants proposed making several changes to a stretch of Nonantum Road between Charlesbank Road in Newton and Galen Street in Watertown. They included turning the road's four narrow lanes into two lanes, one in each direction; adding a 4-foot-wide median strip; installing new guardrails; and perhaps limiting turns onto or from side streets. The plan also included increasing the distance between the roadway and a path along the river, to help protect pedestrians and cyclists.

Newton Alderman Scott Lennon said he felt "sick" when he heard about the recent fatal accident, but also "angry" and "frustrated" at the DCR for putting the project on the back burner because of budget constraints.

"The whole piece about the design and funding, that's a cop-out," he said. "There are low-cost initiatives they could be doing right now that are not being looked at."

Lennon said the state could reduce the speed limit from 40 miles per hour, use new striping to turn it into a two-lane road, step up State Police enforcement of speed limits, install more guard rails, and prohibit right-hand turns from Nonantum Road onto side streets.

"I understand the economic realities, but it's been talked about for years," said Lennon. "These things aren't new."

Koutoujian said there may be some funding options on the horizon that could salvage the project, provided the state acts quickly.

Koutoujian said he spoke with US Representative Edward J. Markey last week about the possibility of securing money to complete the project from a proposed federal stimulus package that state officials hope would earmark $783 million for transportation projects in Massachusetts. The federal government could make that money available as soon as late next month, he said.

"We've got to be in a place ready" to go if federal funding does come through, he added. "You can't leave it on hold. These projects have to be 'shovel-ready.' "

Christina Pazzanese can be reached at cpazzanese@globe.com.