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Date: 8/2/2022
HOLYOKE – A recent Pioneer Valley Planning Commission (PVPC) report has shown Holyoke to have 11 of the Pioneer Valley’s 100 highest crash intersections. This includes the intersection of High Street and Cabot Street being listed as number three overall and five other intersections in the top 50.
This report is the fourth edition of the PVPC studying intersections, with the first edition released in 2008. The latest report looks at data from 2015 to 2017. To track data, the Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) designed a comprehensive intersection crash cluster analysis method utilizing geographical information systems (GIS) tools and a weighted average point system based on severity.
The severity of a crash can now be calculated through a new method to determine the Equivalent Property Damage Only (EPDO) criterion as adopted by MassDOT.
The objective of the report is to help local, regional and MassDOT officials identify and update the inventory of high crash locations to help them plan for future transportation improvement projects in the region.
According to the data in the report, there were 61 intersection crashes between 2015 and 2017 at the High Street and Cabot Street intersection with an EPDO of 541. The intersection between Maple Street, Hampshire Street and Chestnut Street was the second highest Holyoke intersection and 31st overall and saw 26 crashes and an EPDO of 286 during the study.
Holyoke Police Sgt. Jim Bartolomei oversees traffic issues for the department and responds to city leaders and resident complaints or suggestions on traffic issues, as the city does not have an established traffic bureau. Bartolomei said most of the intersections listed in the report are already considered “problem areas” for the city.
“The results are from 2015 to 2017 and I would say most of the intersections that were listed are still areas that we try to shine some light on when we’re out in traffic and trying to reduce the number of accidents,” Bartolomei said.
He added that while the numbers based on their own in-house data differ from this report, they are in agreement that these intersections are problematic.
The Holyoke Police Department continues to track their own crash and traffic data to stay up to date with the information. Bartolomei also noted the department receives five grants throughout the year from the state focused on different traffic initiatives including a distracted driving grant, a Click It or Ticket grant and a few others.
The grants are written in a manner that allow the department to deploy officers to problem areas in order to enhance enforcement of traffic laws.
When it comes to addressing these dangerous intersections in the city, some instances show there is only so much that can be done. Bartolomei said as he reviewed the report, he noted that five or six of the intersections listed were categorized as dangerous due to sheer volume.
“There’s just a high number of cars that goes through those intersections. You’re going to have accidents, there’s just no way around it. You can’t avoid that,” Bartolomei said.
Bartolomei added that even if an officer is posted at one of these intersections all day long, they may impact speeding but will not control the number of accidents that naturally occur from the intersections.
One example he noted was the intersection of Beech Street, Resnic Boulevard and West Franklin Street that the report found 48 accidents occurring during the period of study. Bartolomei said the city, MassDOT and members from the Pioneer Valley Transit Authority recently joined together to study this intersection and try to identify a way to change the intersection to make it safer.
Bartolomei said it was identified through the study that there were 11 different entrances to this intersection, and what often ends up happening, is bumper-to-bumper build up and rear-ending accidents. One suggestion was to turn the intersection into a rotary but therein lies the issue: funding for so many areas that may benefit from constructed traffic adjustments.
“To redo something like that is literally tens of millions of dollars, it’s very, very expensive,” Bartolomei said.
That is just one of the realities to some intersections with a high volume of commuters coming through it. Bartolomei noted that the intersection of Cabot Street and Main Street which is listed number 38 in the study with 37 accidents, suffers from the location of a building on a street corner obstructing the view of the street from one side.
With the building obstructing view for drivers, operators can be in danger when crossing the intersection as they cannot see a car coming and rushing through a late yellow light. An issue like this has little wiggle room to improve on the main issue that has caused accidents there, according to Bartolomei.
When a rotary project is suggested as a potential solution to intersection problems, Bartolomei said it goes down on a wish list as there is only so much money available to solve a problem like this.
“That’s a hard thing to do all over the city. We only have so many police cars and so many people and so it’s kind of like putting your finger in the dam and trying to plug on the spot,” Bartolomei said.
Another issue the department has seen that has challenged their traffic enforcement is a lack of staff. This issue is more manageable as Bartolomei said when extra bodies are available during a shift they are assigned as traffic officers to go to the problem areas where there are frequent complaints of speeding or lack of traffic enforcement. Currently the department has a running list of 26 areas in the city to patrol and cannot be everywhere enough due to a lack in staffing.
“We’re running low on patrol and we’re finding it very hard to hire. We are trying to get a group into the academy at this time, and in that time, it hurts us as far as extra bodies for traffic units,” Bartolomei said.