Medfield Select Board Orders Review of Controversial Downtown Flex Poles After Resident Complaints

MEDFIELD -- May 12, 2026, Medfield Select Board debates controversial downtown flex poles and approves a full slate of contracts. The board spent more than an hour at its May 12 meeting reviewing the town's pedestrian safety pilot project, which installed white flex poles along Route 109 to narrow effective turn radii at intersections serving an estimated 16,000 vehicles per day, with residents at Town Hall and online voicing concern that the posts had lengthened commutes and created dangerous driving angles for larger vehicles. Ken Hull of Beta Group, the project engineer, confirmed the town has been fully reimbursed by MassDOT for the federally funded quick-build pilot and said specific locations, including the Brothers Market corner and the Pleasant Street and Route 109 intersection, could be softened without eliminating pedestrian safety benefits. The board directed Hull to prepare written preliminary recommendations and committed to a follow-up public session. In contract actions, the board voted to sign the standard MassDOT agreement for reconstruction of the West Street and Route 27 intersection, approved a $20,100 Beta Group contract increase tied to wetland permitting on the Adams and Winter Street sidewalk project, and authorized signing a new Medfield Community Electricity supplier contract pending the Community Choice Aggregation Committee's approval of a bid, with the existing multi-year contract set to expire at year's end.