Redesign of Boston Street - 25% Design Stage
This morning, Ward 4 Councilor Tim Flynn and I were updated on the Redesign of Boston Street. Earlier, Ward 2 Councilor Madore and Ward 6 Councilor Riccardi were updated. All 4 wards share the Boston Street Corridor. This is a really exciting redesign of a main corridor and entrance into Salem.
The information was presented by the designers of the road project, VHB, along with the city engineering department and traffic and parking department. The project runs from Essex St to just beyond the Peabody line (in order to add sidewalks across from the cemetery, from Aborn to just before Linden). It will also include Essex Street, from Dalton Parkway to North Pine and South Pine Streets.
The project will use the Complete Streets model, which will provide safe, accessible sidewalks, and bicycle lanes. Sidewalks will be brought to grade on both sides, eliminating areas that currently require steps from the sidewalk to the street. Bike lanes will be separated from the street by curbstone and grass, and will be located alongside sidewalks.
All MBTA bus stops will be ADA compliant. Some bus stops will be relocated to more optimal locations.
All crosswalks will be ADA compliant. Signaled crosswalks will be added to the intersection with Aborn Street, which has been a safety issue. The crosswalk area will be shortened as well by bumping out the curbs on either side.
Travel lanes on Boston Street will be 11 feet wide, with a 4 foot shoulder in most areas, which will safely allow travel at 30 MPH. The combined travel and shoulder lanes will allow ample room for emergency vehicle access.
As many trees as possible will be retained. And there is opportunity to plant more trees along the corridor.
The design includes changing the direction of travel on Pope Street and Proctor Street. The intersection of Pope Street and Boston Street is a high crash area, as drivers attempt to take a left hand turn from Pope to Boston Street while traffic is heavy in both directions trying to make green lights. To make this area safer, Pope Street would become one-way away from Boston Street, and Proctor would enter the Boston Street/Bridge Street. Alternatively, a traffic light could be installed at the Pope St./Boston St intersection. This would allow for safe left turns from Pope Street, but could cause traffic to back up into the Essex Street intersection on Boston Street. There will be a Public Meeting regarding this particular change very soon, so residents in the area should begin thinking about how this change in traffic direction will affect their travel and safety.
As part of the redesign of the Boston Street/Essex Street intersection, the Choate Statue will be moved from the median to a newly designed space in the grassy area between Dalton Parkway/Warren St/Warren Ct/Essex St. This will allow a better design of Essex Street on both sides of Boston Street, with separate, safe bike lanes from Dalton Parkway, through to N. Pine and S. Pine Streets, connecting with the new bike lanes on Boston Street. Moving the statue is also a safety concern, as those who wish to look at the statue up close currently need to stand in the middle of the street.
The cost for this project is $10 Million. Now that it is at the 25% complete design phase, it can be submitted to Mass DOT. Mass DOT will then hold a Public Hearing, which should be in a month or two. The project will then move through the rest of the design phases, and work will finally begin in about 4-5 years. Total time to complete the project is about 2 construction seasons, conservatively. Utilities will most likely need to be replaced, including water mains.
We also briefly discussed the Bridge Street project which will be starting in May or June. This project, completely separate from the Boston Street project, will include crosswalks at the Bridge Street/Boston Street intersection, and sidewalks and separate bike lanes from Boston Street to Flint Street along Bridge Street.
Upcoming meetings to watch for:
Bridge Street Project - this will be scheduled in the next few weeks to update residents on the project
Switching the one-way directions on Pope Street and Proctor Street - this will also happen in the next few weeks in order to obtain feedback from the residents of those streets especially.
Public Hearing on the Boston Street Redesign - in the next few months, scheduled by Mass DOT.
