Lincoln School Committee approves slip lane pilot for Ballfield Road

LINCOLN -- March 5, 2026, Lincoln School Committee clears slip lane pilot and exits state school choice. The committee unanimously authorized Superintendent Perry Graham to schedule a three- to four-week April or May closure of the slip lane at Ballfield Road and Lincoln Road, the first step toward a 2027 repaving and pedestrian-safety project presented by Transportation Coalition Chair Margaret Olson, Town Administrator Tim Higgins and consultant John Vancor. Olson cited Federal Highway Administration guidance calling slip lanes "the least safe option" near pedestrian crossings. In a separate unanimous vote, the committee withdrew Lincoln Public Schools from the Massachusetts school choice program for 2026-27 on Graham's recommendation, which he said was not in the district's "operational or financial interests." Members also accepted a $5,000 Ogden Codman Trust gift for the eighth-grade field trip and learned the town's Capital Planning Committee approved $106,000 for classroom presentation system replacements as Article 9.