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Date: 11/29/2022
HADLEY – At its meeting on Nov. 16, the Hadley Select Board decided to request a meeting with Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) after voicing concerns about the safety of Route 9. The board is concerned about the area near the Hadley Juvenile Court where a teenager was hit by a van in October.
The concern mostly focuses on if the HAWK signal light is the most effective way to allow for pedestrians to cross Route 9 at this point. This light is used to stop road traffic, allowing pedestrians to cross, where there isn’t another form of traffic control, like a traffic light.
One of the concerns raised by both the Select Board and the police chief was that not all drivers may understand the signals from the light because it’s not all that common. The light goes from flashing yellow to solid yellow, signaling to a driver to prepare to stop. Then it turns red meaning the driver must stop. At the end of the light cycle, it flashes red meaning the driver should stop, then proceed if the crosswalk has cleared.
MassDOT District 2 Highway Director Patty Leavenworth has been in touch with the town, Hadley Police Chief Michael Mason, state Sen. Jo Comerford and state Rep. Dan Carey about the issue.
Shortly after the October accident, MassDOT sent out a team to “brighten” the area, repainting the crosswalk among other measures, but is open to the idea of coming out to have more of a conversation with the appropriate personnel.
“They’re open to what else could and should be done,” added Mason.
Select Board member Joyce Chunglo noted that the board was originally opposed to the idea of crosswalk there to begin with because of a lack of visibility. She noted that there would be more of a preference for the crosswalk and signal light to be at an intersection where cars are expecting to stop. Because the light is in the middle of a road where drivers are going 40 miles per hour, or more, drivers may not feel it’s safe to stop.
Mason explained that since the October accident, his police officers have been doing more observation and enforcement at this light. When people are pulled over for running the light, they often claim that they didn’t have enough time to stop safely.
Mason added that he’d really like to see the data from MassDOT to see why they chose this kind of signal as opposed to the other options and to see how effective it is.
According to Mason, the town of Hadley has roughly 5,000 residents but roughly 100,000 cars travel through the town on any given day. This makes the traffic situation unique for a small town.
“We have to be unique with the solution we come up with,” said Mason.
Letters of support
The Hadley Select Board also agreed to sign a letter of support for Eversource to build a solar and storage facility at its office on Route 9. This topic, which was brought up at an October meeting, would have solar canopies and rooftop solar that would put clean energy out for Hadley residents, explained Tracy Dyke-Redmond, manager of the Community Solar Resilience Program for Eversource Energy. This letter lets the project move forward to the Department of Public Utilities.
The board also agreed to support the Hadley Snowmobile Club’s efforts to use the Norwottuck Trail in town.
According to Dan Regish, secretary/treasurer of the club, MassDOT is on board with the club’s request, but the Department of Conservation and Recreation is not. Regish and many Select Board members called it a safety issue having snowmobilers crossing Route 9.