Westwood Residents Weigh in on Traffic Concerns

On Wednesday night, the Champagne Meeting Room of the Carby Street Municipal Building was overflowing with concerned residents for a neighborhood traffic meeting regarding the areas of High Rock Street, Dover Road, Conant Road, Country Lane and Lorraine Road.

“This overflow crowd demonstrates how important this issue is,” said Town Administrator Mike Jaillet.

The main issue of concern from many of the residents is that these areas serve as cut-throughs off of High Street, which, during the morning and evening hours, becomes very clogged with traffic.

Jaillet explained that this has been a problem that has been talked about for years, but the conversation has been more intense in the past few months. He also told residents that it is nearly impossible to eliminate some of the cut through traffic, but what officials can do is devise a plan to make it so people travelling through these neighborhoods are travelling at safe speeds.

One thing that the town will be working on, according to Jaillet, is synchronizing the traffic lights so the flow of traffic is smoother. He said that a grant of $300,000 has been applied for to do this.

Jason DeGray, Senior Project Engineer of Beta Group, Inc., presented his findings to the crowd of concerned citizens, and noted that traffic congestion along High Street, also known as Rte. 109, is the clear driving factor behind people using the side roads as a cut-through route. Wednesday’s meeting was a chance for residents to work with Beta Group to devise a plan to help fix this, essentially by making the cut-through not quite so fast.

A main concern by the residents is that the residential areas are ones that are filled with school aged children, with bus stops scattered throughout the neighborhoods.

Beta has come up with conceptual preliminary plan that involves discussion with residents affected. The Town of Westwood has agreed to consider addressing these concerns through the development of a traffic calming plan with several conditions.

Conditions:

1. Independent study validates cut-through concerns and the applicability of traffic calming measures
2. If justified, any traffic calming program implemented will not cause problems elsewhere
3. Majority of residents directly express approval of the traffic calming plan
4. It is recognized that there is currently no funding mechanism identified to implement a plan

Studies done by Beta Group showed that in the morning and evening peak hours, the cut through is faster. Data revealed that the weekday morning peak period occurred from 7:15 a.m. to 8:15 a.m., and the weekday evening peak period occurred 5:15 p.m. to 6:15 p.m.

It is most notably faster in the morning, with the time difference being five minutes, if using the Dover Road cut through, the study showed. In the evening, there is a 42 second difference.

In the three roads listed in the study, which include High Rock, Dover and Conant Road, drivers were traveling between seven and 11 miles per hour faster than the state speed limits during peak times. Studies also showed that 94 percent and 83 percent of cars (morning and evening) are using the area as a cut-through.

The following are some possible measures recommended by Beta Group to deal with the problem:

1. Simply striping the road, which some roads already have. “When you drive down a road you drive in the level you feel comfortable at that moment. You do it subconsciously,” said DeGray. “Simply striping the center line and shoulder gives a perceived notion that the area is skinnier because it is.”
2. Curb extensions
3. Mid block crossings
4. Chicanes
5. Gateway: Physical landscape or structure on edge of the road that gives a visual queue you are entering another neighborhood.
6. Mini traffic circles (not rotaries) that are a center island in middle of intersection
7. Speed hump issues: not speed bump, more gentle sloping device. Still practiced, but favoring speed tables which is a hump that has been elongated
8. Speed cushions or speed lumps: table that is intended to serve emergency vehicles which have a higher wheel base
9. Raised intersection
10. Dynamic speed displays (tells driver how fast they are going reduces speeds)

After DeGray explained the study and the possible solutions, the crowd was split into several groups to brainstorm ideas.  The largest group was of residents from Conant Road, Country Lane, Sunset Ave, Lorraine Road and Lynn Road.

The residents were heavily involved and voiced their opinions openly to DeGray and Kin Ho, who is a Senior Associate from Beta.

Mary Sennot, of the Massachusetts State Police, said that when she leaves Country Lane, she will have cars coming close to her and she is sick of it. One idea was using a four-way stop, but this idea was not recommended by those at Beta.

Editor's Note: Due to a reporting error, the above paragraph originally stated that Mary Sennot was a Westwood Police Officer. 

“From a traffic engineering standpoint, no,” DeGray said when asked if the four-way stop was a good option. “There are definitely things that can be done, but a four-way stop is not something I’d recommend.”

DeGray explained that with 500 cars heading in one direction, and only 30 heading in the other, it is against what a four-way stop is all about.

“It will actually make it more unsafe,” Ho added. “People will either blow through it or cause more collisions.”

Other residents noted that they just need to make the cut-through a bit more convenient, because currently it is such a quick route that it just won’t stop. Ho explained that the most cost effective way is by using a speed hump, but the residents didn’t have price in mind. They just want what is going to be safest for their families.

“Whether it is a speed hump or a raised intersection, we need to have this done safely,” said Ho. “Our job is to make sure whatever you want is designed and done safely.”

The ideas gathered by citizens in each group will be reviewed until a master plan is created. On June 14, at a location to be named later, the plan will be voted on. Ballots will be handed out between households, and 70 percent of ballots must be in favor of the plan.

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