Chris Lucia, a project engineer with Whitman, Requardt and Associate (WRA) was on hand for a presentation to Franklin City Council Monday night. He discussed possible solutions to pedestrian safety concerns at Washington Crossing.
Lucia said the intersection of Elk Street and Route 8 is above the state average in crashes. He gave the city a handful of possible improves from better warning signal ahead signs and newly painted crosswalks to entirely new signals to replace the aging and outdated system currently there.
Not really on the table are rumble strips because of the proximity of the bridge to the intersection. Turning Elk into a one way wasn't really an option either due to the majority of the traffic on the street is heading away from the courthouse, so the change would cause even more congestion on Liberty Street, Lucia said.
Several options for signal changes were presented, including use of yellow blinker arrows. Syncing the lights at Elk and Liberty streets could help curb motorists trying to beat one light in order to hit the next one, Lucia noted. Changing and updating signs were also suggested.
Piano key crosswalks, audible pedestrian signals like the ones in downtown Franklin, improved street lighting and a sidewalk along Route 8 at Rite Aid were also brought up.
The study showed that the average speeds coming toward the intersection was not significantly above the speed limit.
"Tonight was to show options to council," Lucia said. Depending on the funding available to the city, council could pick and choose what options they wanted to implement. Mayor Doug Baker noted that none of the suggestions would make the intersection worse.
Because the intersection is above the state's average for crash numbers, it could also be a candidate for federal safety funding. "We'll keep an eye out for funds to see what we can get," said City Manager Tracy Jamieson.
Lucia said the intersection of Elk Street and Route 8 is above the state average in crashes. He gave the city a handful of possible improves from better warning signal ahead signs and newly painted crosswalks to entirely new signals to replace the aging and outdated system currently there.
Not really on the table are rumble strips because of the proximity of the bridge to the intersection. Turning Elk into a one way wasn't really an option either due to the majority of the traffic on the street is heading away from the courthouse, so the change would cause even more congestion on Liberty Street, Lucia said.
Several options for signal changes were presented, including use of yellow blinker arrows. Syncing the lights at Elk and Liberty streets could help curb motorists trying to beat one light in order to hit the next one, Lucia noted. Changing and updating signs were also suggested.
Piano key crosswalks, audible pedestrian signals like the ones in downtown Franklin, improved street lighting and a sidewalk along Route 8 at Rite Aid were also brought up.
The study showed that the average speeds coming toward the intersection was not significantly above the speed limit.
"Tonight was to show options to council," Lucia said. Depending on the funding available to the city, council could pick and choose what options they wanted to implement. Mayor Doug Baker noted that none of the suggestions would make the intersection worse.
Because the intersection is above the state's average for crash numbers, it could also be a candidate for federal safety funding. "We'll keep an eye out for funds to see what we can get," said City Manager Tracy Jamieson.
Below are images from the Power Point Presentation
RSS Feed