Use this search box to find articles that have run in our newspapers over the last several years.
Date: 11/20/2023
SUNDERLAND — Jason Schrieber, an urban planner with Stantec, knows firsthand the dangers of the intersection of Routes 116 and 47. He came to talk about safety in the village center and was almost run over by a Cadillac.
“It is technically safe to cross the intersection,” Schrieber said. “But as I can attest, certainly at night and certainly with anxious drivers, you have to look first.”
Schrieber led most of the discussion on Nov. 15 when the Village Center Committee convened a meeting of five major bodies of the town to begin a planning process to improve the intersection in the village center. Discussion focused on gathering information for a meeting with residents in January. The Town Hall officers already knew the cause of the problems, extremely heavy traffic at the crossroads, and some of the measures that may mitigate the risks.
Schrieber waited until late in his comments to mention a roundabout, a traffic calming measure utilized more frequently in recent years by the Massachusetts Department of Transportation. The basic challenge is to control the behavior of the 18,000 drivers passing through the intersection on any given day. Schrieber mentioned a few pros and cons of traffic circles, one of many options for traffic control, and that the problem of dangerously heavy traffic is limited to short periods in the day.
“Usually roundabouts are replacing large arterial intersections,” Schrieber said. The layout reduces the area when a pedestrian may be in danger. “You’re only crossing a short distance, 10 to 13 feet, then there’s a middle island … I can show you reams and reams of data that shows that’s safe.”
The circular option may not be preferred. The local elementary school sits about a half mile from the intersection. An at large member of the Village Center Committee, Elizabeth Sillin, noticed built in difficulties for school children.
“A roundabout doesn’t give a clear time to walk,” Sillin said. “There’s too many walkers there, too many children, and it’s a negotiation.”
The gathered officials acknowledged the intersection itself may not be the primary problem. Routes 47 and 116 flow smoothly into the intersection, promoting unsafe speeds, and the layout of the area doesn’t prompt motorists to slow down or stop. The paved lanes are too wide and promote excessive speeds. The parking doesn’t create a sense of a commercial center.
The bridge over the Connecticut River draws commuter traffic through the intersection, toward Interstate 91 and beyond. Little can be done to reduce that chronic difficulty. Traffic across the bridge, heading south, is also very heavy during peak commuter hours.
Several new businesses recently opened in the area. That indicates the desirability of the locale, Schrieber said, and its importance in the town. The traffic may get heavier as a result, but the new shops offer a place to stop for a soda or coffee. That may prompt commuters to pause in their rush to work in the morning or back home at night.
Hollis Graves, an associate member of the Zoning Board of Appeals, raised objections at several points in the discussion. The South Main Street resident doesn’t see the need for expensive measures.
“It’s like a solution looking for a problem,” Graves said. “Yeah, you can slow it down. Yeah, we want to be more village center … but why do you want to rip that up for millions of dollars?”
Traffic slowing measures may not cost that much. Lorin Starr, chair of the Village Center Committee, agreed with a consensus that the intersection of Routes 116 and 47 doesn’t look like a village center, a place to congregate rather than rush through. A roundabout also wouldn’t contribute to the ambiance of a town center.
Crosswalks are an effective means for slowing traffic, Schrieber said. Hollis pointed out that it’s a long way from the center to the next crosswalk on S. Main Street. Selectboard member Nathaniel Waring observed the positive impact of a crosswalk near the Dunkin’ Donuts outlet, at some distance down Route 116. Waring also commented that signage allowing right turns on a red light enables the rush by commuters through the intersection.
“People are going to turn on red,” Waring said. “Do we want to fight upstream against that or do we want to accept people are just going to do that?”
The meeting of Town Hall officials was the first for the effort to envision a more safe and welcoming town center. A meeting in January will give residents a chance to weigh in. No date has been decided upon.