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Date: 2/15/2022
LUDLOW – After an accident at the intersection next to the Starbucks on Center Street, Ludlow residents discussed the safety of the intersection in the Ludlow Community Forum on Facebook before several concerned residents met with the Ludlow Safety Commission on Feb. 10.
To start the discussion, Daniel DesPlaines, the resident involved in the accident gave two suggestions to help alleviate the traffic issues at the intersection.
“Number one we should make that speed limit go down, that should be 20 miles per hour, I think 35 is ridiculous. My recommendation is to put delineators up and eliminate the left turn into and out of Starbucks. We have a package store down the street that is completely shut down where they could turn around down there safely,” he said.
DesPlaines said the changes could reduce accidents at the intersection.
“This is going to be an easy fix that is going to be a little inconvenient for people going for people going into the bank and the other three businesses there, but you are going to eliminate these $6,700 crashes – that is just my vehicle at 15 miles per hour,” he said. “Maybe down the road they can buy a chunk of that package store to make a turning lane.”
Ryan Churchill, a police officer and member of the Safety Committee, said the intersection has been a problem since the Starbucks opened in 2015.
“There was an existing curb cut and we started to see a traffic issue. We knew as soon as the bank came in there it would be permanent. It was at that time we saw that we had to change that intersection, I stood before the Planning Board twice and I proposed bringing the crossover to be two lanes and eliminate or make the People’s Bank exit only, unfortunately in the window we had, we lost,” he said.
In response to DesPlaines recommendations, Churchill said it would be difficult to change the speed limit or add delineators.
“Speed limits are very hard to change because you have to do a town-wide traffic study, the town is currently working off a 1994 traffic study. If we studied one section of roadway, we have to do them all. With delineators, it would be difficult because Starbucks and the other companies take deliveries on an 18-wheeler, which takes up all four lanes to back them out, with the delineators it would be difficult to take deliveries,” he said.
By following DesPlaines suggestions, Churchill said it could lead to accidents in different spots along Center Street.
“This is probably our worst intersection, but Center Street as a whole is difficult, you would be eliminating accidents there but then there is going to be accidents up the street, especially when people are going for their caffeine, which as we know people are a little bit more aggressive looking for their caffeine,” he said.
Churchill recommended inviting an engineer to take a look at the intersection again.
“These are all things we have looked at as a totality of the situation, the problem is there is no easy fix. My suggestion would be to have the town engineer take a second look at that and make a recommendation as to where it goes from here,” he said.
Churchill said the committee will continue to try to advocate for safe changes to the intersection.
“Despite the fact that we have tried to make moves in the past and have been denied that does not mean we are going to stop, something has to give. This [intersection] will not have any less traffic, with growing communities we will see more and 10 years down the road the street could fail,” he said.
The board unanimously agreed to a motion to draft a letter to the town engineer and the Massachusetts Department of Transportation to further evaluate the intersection.