BCAT News

A digital sign will soon be stationed at the corner of Cambridge St. and Bedford St. to replace the banner that has long hung between two posts in the same spot. Town Meeting approved the change Monday night on the grounds that the new sign would be more aesthetically pleasing and would allow the town to communicate more messages per day than a single cloth banner. 

“I think it will make our town look much prettier in that area. The current banner is outdated and ugly and has limitations,” said Precinct 5 Town Meeting Member Zi Wang. 

The idea came before Town Meeting previously, but members worried there wasn’t enough detail. This time, Select Board Member Nick Priest, who presented the article to Town Meeting, came with more specifics about the size and specifics, and with the support of the Burlington Police Department’s traffic sergeant. 

Traffic Sergeant Peter Abaskharoun said he was not concerned that the electronic sign would distract drivers to the extent that there would be more accidents at the intersection. 

“I don’t believe this sign is going to do anything to drastically increase the crashes [in the area], but it’s already a high-crash location,” he said. “We’re aware of it, we try to address it in other ways, but it’s in no part due to any type of signage down there.”