TRAFFIC AND PEDESTRIANS

There have been several accidents at the Route 1/Middle Road/Hanover Street intersection and the Village will add many additional cars. What is the plan to improve this difficult intersection?
The developer understands that this is currently a dangerous intersection and has committed to dramatically improve the intersection at the developer's cost. Traffic engineers grade intersections, and this intersection currently operates at a grade "F" (failing). The developer's improvements will make the intersection a grade "B". As most residents have noticed, Mass Highway has placed a temporary traffic light at the intersection that will be removed once the Route 1A Bridge reopens. In addition to the developer committing to installing a permanent traffic light at the intersection, there are a number of other improvements necessary to create a safe intersection for the long term. These include:

  • Reconstructing Route 1 from the north side of the Little River to 750 feet south of the intersection of Route 1 and Middle and Highfield Roads for a total distance of 1,850 feet.
  • Widening the Route 1 northbound approach to provide an exclusive left-turn lane onto Middle Road and a shared through/right-turn lane.
  • Widening the Route 1 southbound approach to provide an exclusive left-turn lane onto Hanover Street and two general-purpose travel lanes.
  • Widening the Middle Road eastbound approach to provide an exclusive left-turn lane and a shared through/right-turn lane.
  • Installing a traffic signal at the Village entrance that will mechanically coordinate with the proposed traffic signal at the Route 1 intersection.
  • Extending the sidewalk on the west side of Route 1 along the Village frontage to connect to the existing sidewalk that leads to the MBTA station.
  • Adding a new sidewalk southward across Middle Road that connects to the sidewalk extension referenced above and to the existing retail establishment south of Middle Road.

    All of these improvements can be visualized in detail in Figure 19 of the traffic study that can be found by clicking here.

Newbury Elementary School on Hanover Street is busy with traffic when school opens and is dismissed. How many cars will be added to the road in front of the school during the morning drop-off and afternoon pickup times?
The estimated increase in traffic on Hanover Street during these times will be as follows:

  • Morning school drop-off period: 18 cars (less than one car in three minutes)
  • Afternoon school pick-up period: 45 cars (slightly over one car in 1.5 minutes)

Where are walking and biking paths being proposed, and are they open to the public?
The developer, working with the DEP, Conservation Commission, Planning Board, and local resident groups, is proposing to construct passive walking trails along the Little River and to provide a connection to the MBTA station utilizing the existing utility corridor. All of these paths would be open to the public. In addition, the Village will contain small plazas and a Village green, all of which are open to the pubic as well.

What will be the impact on MBTA train service since there will be an increased number of people living near the train? Will more trains be added?
The MBTA service to the local station has adequate spare capacity to easily accommodate the increased ridership from the proposed development. The added ridership will not cause an increase in the number of trains.

Will train crossings be integrated with signals?
The train crossing will not need to be integrated with the signals. The temporary signal on Route 1 and Hanover Street currently does not integrate with the train crossing.

What traffic and pedestrian improvements are you proposing on neighboring streets such as Hanover, Middle, and Highfield?
The Village traffic access pattern has been specifically designed so that the vast majority of traffic will access the site from Route 1, thus minimizing additional traffic on neighboring streets. In order to minimize the impact of any increased traffic the following improvements, in addition to those described above, will be made to improve safety in general and slow traffic:

Middle Road/Highfield Road

  1. Adding three-way stop at the Middle Road/Highfield Road intersection.
  2. Posting new "No Truck" signs on Middle Road and Scotland Road in both directions before the Highfield intersections to prevent trucks from turning onto Highfield (existing signs are on Highfield and are noticeable only after a truck has turned onto Highfield).
  3. Posting a sign on Scotland Road directing vehicles toward the Village via Parker Road and Route 1 instead of using Highfield and Middle Roads.
  4. Clearing brush at the intersection of Highfield and Middle Road to improve site lines and safety.

    All of these improvements can be visualized in detail in Figures 20 and 21 of the traffic study that can be found by clicking here.

Hanover Street

  1. Relocating and installing crosswalks at both access drives to Newbury Elementary School. The crosswalks will include properly-designed wheelchair ramps at both ends, as well as a change in color and texture of the crosswalk to highlight the crosswalk and slow traffic.
  2. Installing a stop sign at both school driveways.
  3. Narrowing the pavement at both of the school driveways to slow traffic and highlight the school area.
  4. Installing two electronic radar signs, one in each direction, which posts the speed limit and flashes the speed of each oncoming car as it approaches. This is a proven speed-reduction device.
  5. Installing 4-way stop signs at the intersection of Hanover Street and Green Street to further slow traffic traveling on Hanover Street.

    6. All of these improvements will be posted shortly on a plan to help visualize them.

Will there be signals at the entrance to the Village on Route 1? When driving down Route 1, will I have to wait at two separate signals in close proximity to each other on Route 1?
There will be two signals, one at the entrance to the Village and one at the intersection of Route 1 and Middle Road and Hanover Street. Although there will be two signals on Route 1, they will be timed so that if they are red, a car on Route 1 will stop at only one light. Also, the signals will utilize advanced video traffic detection technology and will only activate if cars are waiting to leave or enter the Village.

Why are there two entrances on Middle Road? Will there be left turn lanes?
The entrance on Middle Road closest to Route 1 is a required second means of egress for the commercial portion of the Village. There will be no right turn permitted out of this driveway, thus reducing traffic from the commercial portion of the Village from using Middle Road. There will be a dedicated left turn lane from Middle Road into this access driveway. Although relatively little traffic is expected to turn left from Middle Road into the development, this left turn lane is provided so that through traffic on Middle Road is not impeded. The other entrance on Middle Road will serve primarily as a second access point for the residential portion of the Village.

How many cars will be added to Middle, Highfield, and Scotland Roads? How will these intersections at these roads be affected?
The Village will generate the following additional vehicle trips on adjacent roads:

Middle Road

  1. Morning peak hour: 19 cars (less than one in 3 minutes)
  2. Afternoon peak hour: 40 cars (one car in 1.5 minutes)
  3. Saturday midday peak hour: 43 cars (slightly over one car in 1.5 minutes)

Highfield Road

  1. Morning peak hour: 25 cars (less than one car in two minutes)
  2. Afternoon peak hour: 30 cars (one car in two minutes)
  3. Saturday midday peak hour: 28 cars (less than one car in two minut

Scotland Road

  1. Morning peak hour: 31 cars (about one car in two minutes)
  2. Afternoon peak hour: 52 cars (less than one car per minute)
  3. Saturday midday peak hour: 54 cars (less than one car per minute)

The operation of the intersection of Middle Road and Route 1 will, of course, be substantially improved both in terms of safety and efficiency due to the reconstruction of the intersection and the addition of traffic signals. The Middle/Highfield intersection and the Highfield/Scotland intersection will operate substantially the same as they do now.