Walk+Bike+Roll Randolph

If you are trying to cross Main Street by Kimball Library, you now have a little extra help. Thanks to a grant from AARP, a flashing pedestrian beacon known as a Rectangular Rapid Flashing Beacon (RRFB) is now in place and operational at that crosswalk. Walk+Bike+Roll Randolph (WBRR), a local group advocating for safer conditions for walking and bicycling, secured the grant funding in 2025. The Town of Randolph agreed to work with WBRR on installation of the RRFB. 

The Town incorporated installation of the RRFB with other sidewalk work planned for the intersection of School Street and Main Street. Local contractor WB Rogers did the curb and sidewalk work, and the Randolph Highway Department installed the beacon poles and equipment with help from Harmony Electric to make the final connections. Kimball Library Director Amy Grasmick had this to say about the new beacons, “We’ve heard from library patrons about a lot of near misses in the Main-School St intersection. It’s so great to have a safer way to cross the street.” 

RRFBs are included in a list of “proven safety countermeasures” identified by the Federal Highway Administration. They have been shown to significantly increase pedestrian safety and are used widely in Vermont and in the U.S. The solar-powered beacons are activated by pushbutton and flash for a set amount of time before turning off. They do not have the same weight as a traffic signal but are meant to catch the attention of drivers so that they stop for people trying to cross the road. 

WBRR has been working over the past several years to make improvements to the safety and comfort of people walking in the downtown. They participated in the local committee that developed the Town’s Walk/Bike Master Plan, they successfully wrote a grant application to secure funding for the feasibility study of sidewalks on Weston St., Park St. and South Main St. to Shaw’s, and they worked with the Town’s deputy tree warden to secure grant funding for new trees in the downtown. They are collaborating with Chandler to offer a free Ebike lending library from August 5th through the 19th. More details about how to sign up to try an ebike will be available soon.

In addition to the RRFB, the AARP grant funding was used to purchase additional in-street pedestrian signs (the ones seen around town at key crosswalks) and to purchase the pedestrian safety flags now located at two Main Street crosswalks. 

WBRR is always interested in feedback on ways to make Randolph safer and more attractive for people walking and bicycling. They currently have a survey out to gauge how the public feels about the RRFB and the other AARP-funded initiatives. The survey can be accessed online at https://forms.gle/vFPZCZyBCyPASoPx7.

Pre-schoolers using the new flashing beacon at the Main St. crosswalk by the Library.