Route 107 Corridor Study Review
Note: the opening paragraph was edited to remove construction start date, due to misinterpretation of the information from MassDOT.
What are these marks on Highland Ave and intersecting streets? That’s the big question all over social media.
These seem to be surveyor markings related to the Engineering Phase of the Route 107 Corridor project.
The final report for the corridor study was published in November 2016. It’s 210 pages, with lots of diagrams to better understand the proposed changes, some of which I have included for clarity. Please feel free to read it yourself, and focus on your areas of concern for Highland Avenue. I read through the study, and will try to give an overview, to help get everyone back in focus on this project, as it works it’s way through the engineering design process.
Let’s begin with the goals of this road project. It isn’t simply to repave Highland Avenue with no regard to future growth along this corridor. The 3 goals are:
· Improve mobility, connectivity and safety for all transportation modes and users within the Route 107 study area (reduce congestion, make it safer for everyone, improve pedestrian, bike and transit facilities)
· Support local economic development goals (improve traffic operations to support additional development, improve access to all areas by all modes of transportation)
· Improve the quality of life for residents and businesses in the Route 107 study area (improve attractiveness of corridor, minimize air quality impacts, provide fair and equitable treatment for Environmental Justice populations)
A note about this information: this is a study that is now about 5 years old. If new standards have been adopted regarding any aspect, this information will differ from the final engineering design. But the basic concept of the road and changes to intersections and amenities will remain.
MBTA Bus Access: In this study, improvements were aimed at improving service along the corridor, both time on bus and bus stop access. Bus stops were paired for return trip and will have adequate pedestrian and bus stop amenities. Some bus stops will be eliminated because of low volume of ridership and short distance to neighboring stop. All bus stops are placed for maximum visibility for pedestrians and cars, moving some to the far side of intersections or driveways. All will be ADA compliant.
Pedestrian Access: All new sidewalks will be made on both sides of Highland Avenue, adding sidewalks where none exist. All will be 6’-8’wide, depending on the available space. Curb extensions will be used to make crosswalks safer. New crosswalks will be added, including pedestrian signals. All will be ADA compliant.
Bike Access: Currently, biking conditions along the entire corridor are at a Level of Traffic Stress of 4, meaning that biking is only suitable for “fearless adults”. Bike lanes will be added on both sides of Highland Avenue. Along the busy section from the Lynn Line to Dalton Parkway, the bike lanes will be protected and buffered, meaning that there will be curbstone, or other obstruction to cars, and buffer areas from grass or large paved areas. According to the study’s public survey, 60% of respondents were interested in cycling, but concerned about safety. Adding safe, well designed bike paths will reduce traffic on Highland Avenue.
Traffic Study: the 2015 study was projected to the year 2035 to determine future demands on the roadway. Proposed developments in Lynn and Salem were reviewed, the at that time proposed Cinema complex traffic was reviewed, and changes to regional travel demands, based on the Central Transportation Planning Staff’s regional traffic demand model, were all added to the study. Zoning along the corridor was also considered, with added housing and businesses throughout. In addition, the closing of Lynn Hospital and expansion of Salem Hospital were included in the projection.
For the specific areas listed below, I included a Level of Service (LOS) value, if it was included in the study. Level of Service is rated A-F, with A being the best, free-flowing traffic at all times. F is forced or break-down flow, with every car moving in lock-step with the car ahead. Usually, level D and above is considered acceptable. Traffic timings were done during the morning peak (7:15 – 8:15AM) and the afternoon peak (3:30 – 4:30PM), as well as the Saturday midday peak (12:15 – 1:15PM). Number of vehicles, speed, vehicle queue observations, and intersection capacity analysis was calculated. The worst intersections for Level of Service (LOS) were Marlborough Road/Traders Way, Hawthorne Square Mall (on Saturday), and Willson Street (AM peak).
The study also looked at MassDOT data for Crash Rates. This found that the worst intersections (above average crash rates) were at Marlborough Road/Traders Way and Jackson Street/Dalton Parkway.
Intersection Improvement Details
For our purposes, I am focusing on the section from the Lynn line to the intersection with Dalton Parkway. From Dalton Parkway to North and South Pine Street, the road improvements will be a part of the Boston Street Corridor Project.
The study split this section of 107 into 3 sections to make the design easier to communicate: the Lynn Study Area, the Retail Study Area, and the Northern Study Area.
Lynn Study Area
Chestnut Street to the Buchanan Bridge – Since I don’t want to focus too much time on this area, the design includes 2 auto travel lanes (1 in each direction), a bike lane on each side, parking on each side, and 10’ crosswalks on each side. Left turn lanes at intersections will be added, bus stops will be moved for safety and visibility.
Retail Study Area
This area runs from the Buchanan Bridge to Willson Street. The basic design will keep 4 lanes of traffic, 2 in each direction. The existing guardrail will be eliminated and the median will be used for planting. There will be new 6’-8’ sidewalks on both sides of the road, more crosswalks, a protected, buffered bike lane on both sides, and improved intersections, traffic signals, and cross lights. All traffic lights will use optimized traffic signal timings and improved coordination along the corridor. MBTA bus stops will be moved and some eliminated. The general idea is to keep traffic moving, but slow it down in certain sections which result in speeding and improve safety for pedestrians and bike riders.
Highland Ave at Walmart Driveway: Southbound (towards Lynn), the right turn lane into Walmart will be eliminated. Traffic counts show that this can be a shared southbound and right turn lane. The northbound bus lane will be pushed back toward Lynn to provide a level landing for both exits from the bus. Note the extension of the median at the northern side of the intersection. This will provide some safety for those crossing at this crosswalk. Under 2035 build conditions, this intersection is expected to operate at LOS B or better (reasonably free flowing traffic).
Highland Ave at Olde Village Drive: this intersection will see general safety improvements, such as added/improved sidewalks, paved landing area for MBTA bus stop, improved crosswalks, with the extension of the median at the new crosswalk at the northern side of the intersection for pedestrian safety,and management of shrubbery for improved visibility. Under 2035 build conditions, this intersection is expected to operate at LOS A (free flowing traffic).
Highland Ave at Barnes Road/Ravenna Ave: This may be one section that has changed since this study was done, so please be aware. Crosswalks will be added in all sides of the intersection; new and improved sidewalks on both sides of Highland Ave; the MBTA bus stop will be moved to the far side of the Barnes Rd intersection and the far side of the Ravenna Ave intersection. Extension of the left turn lane from Highland Ave to Barnes Road is recommended, but no suggestion of length was made. Under 2035 build conditions, this intersection is expected to operate at LOS B or better (reasonably free flowing traffic).
Highland Ave at Swampscott Road/Dipietro Ave and Highland Ave at Marlborough Road/Traders Way: This is the big question mark! There were 17 different options to handle traffic along this route, because the traffic study found that almost 50% of the cars entering Highland Ave from Swampscott Rd turn onto Marlborough Rd and vice versa. The idea is to find a way to reroute this traffic to avoid Highland Ave and the need to cut over 3 lanes of traffic to get to the left turn lanes. The proposal in this study was to force cars traveling from Marlborough Road to ultimately Swampscott Road to use Traders Way and First Street. In addition, cars traveling from Swampscott Road to Marlborough Road would do the same. This would be accomplished by disallowing traffic turning right onto Highland Ave from either Swampscott Rd or Marlborough Rd to enter the left turn lane for the Marlborough or Swampscott Rds. Traffic approaching either side of the intersections from Highland Ave would continue to be able to turn onto Swampscott Road or Marlborough Road. You can see in the diagrams below that lane barriers (in blue) would be installed to enforce this traffic pattern. Though not shown, significant signage would be needed to route traffic appropriately.
I need to restate that this approach met with a lot of push back when the study was released. The big question is whether there is a better solution that does not put more traffic on Traders Way and First Street, or whether this is the best solution. In the latter case, what are the road improvements for Traders Way to better handle this traffic, and what is being proposed for this small section of First Street from Traders Way to Swampscott Road. The addition of the traffic circle at Swampscott Road and First Street has significantly improved traffic throughput, and this was not a part of the original study. Does this improvement help with the traffic flow for this zig-zag? One thing to think about is by diverting this zig-zag traffic from Highland Avenue, fewer cars will be approaching the traffic circle on Swampscott Road from Highland Avenue at high speed, which has been a complaint recently.
Highland Avenue at Hawthorne Square Shopping Mall: improvements include removal of the right turn only lane on Southbound lane (turning right into Pep Boys/Dunkin Donuts), and using a shared straight/right turn; optimizing traffic signals; improving sidewalks, adding crosswalks; shifting the bus stop for better access. Under 2035 Build condition, the intersection is expected to operate at overall LOS D or better (Speeds slightly decrease as traffic volume slightly increase.)
Northern Study Area
The Northern Study Area is from Willson Street to Boston Street. In general, this area will have 3 automobile travel lanes: one in each direction, and a middle lane for left turns along the corridor. There will also be a bike lane in each direction and improved sidewalks and crosswalks.
Freeman Road/Crowdis Street Transition area: this is the area of Highland Avenue that will transition from 4 lanes of traffic to 3 lanes of traffic, with the middle lane for left turns. A problem in this area, as far as restriction of width is the pedestrian bridge between Crowdis Street and Valley Street. Northbound Highland Ave (toward downtown Salem) will continue 2 vehicle travel lanes up to Willson Street. Before Willson Street, the right lane will become a right turn only lane onto Willson Street. The straight only lane will continue on Highland and become the through lane traveling North.
Traveling South toward Lynn, there will be one lane of traffic, opening out to two lanes just beyond Crowdis Street.
Though there is no mention, the diagram looks like left turns from and into Freeman Road and Crowdis Street will not be allowed. This needs clarification form DOT.
In addition, the bus stops at Crowdis Street on both sides of Highland Avenue will be removed.
Highland Avenue at Cherry Hill Avenue/Willson Street: Northbound, there will be one through lane and one right turn only lane into Willson Street. Southbound, a through/left turn lane and a through lane are recommended. The 2 through lanes would continue, but merge into one lane before Valley Street in order to narrow down the road for the pedestrian bridge. Once past the pedestrian bridge, the road opens out into two lanes just beyond Crowdis Street.
Likewise, traffic coming from Willson Street will have a left turn only and a left and right turn lane. These 2 left turn lanes will enter 2 southbound lanes on Highland Avenue and, as stated above, will merge to one lane before Valley Street to get under the pedestrian bridge.
The study noted that this pinch at the pedestrian bridge may be able to be avoided if the bike lane can enter the School Grounds opposite Valley Street and continue to Willson Street and reenter Highland Avenue. This seems like a really good option to investigate. It also enables students who ride their bikes from the south end of Highland Avenue to enter the school property earlier.
Under 2035 Build condition, this intersection remains LOS E on Saturdays (unstable flow; operating at capacity) and LOS D or better on weekdays (approaching unstable flow; Speeds slightly decrease as traffic volume slightly increase). Pedestrian and bike access are greatly improved.
Highland Avenue at Salem Hospital Lower Driveway: A new traffic light is recommended for this intersection, which will not only help with traffic leaving the hospital, but will make pedestrian crossing so much safer. There will be an added left turn lane from the southbound lane into the Hospital Driveway. Currently, this intersection operates at LOS E or F under 2035 No Build or LOS D or better under 2035 Build condition. With both of these improvements, the traffic light and the left turn lane, the intersection will operate at LOS B or better (reasonably free flow). Crosswalks will be added on both sides of the driveway and across the driveway.
Highland Avenue/Essex Street at Jackson Street and Dalton Parkway: Northbound, there will be a right turn lane onto Jackson Street and a through lane. Southbound, there will be a left turn lane into Jackson Street and a through lane. The islands between Jackson Street and Dalton Parkway will be extended to make crosswalks and sidewalks safer. Under the 2035 Build condition, the intersection is expected to operate at LOS C or better (stable flow; at or near free-flow).
This is a general overview, which highlights some solutions to existing problem areas with the current road. What do you see that is missing? What questions do you have moving forward?
