October 24, 2019 by Carol Britton Meyer
The Traffic Committee met last night to consider 10 requests from residents to address speeding and related traffic safety issues in their neighborhoods, with a good crowd in attendance.
As the amount of traffic increases around town -- reaching 30,000 vehicles a day on Main Street alone -- so do related concerns.
There have been about 430 accidents in Hingham this year, many involving cars in parking lots along with some serious ones on the roads, according to Hingham Police Traffic Sgt. Jeffrey Kilroy at Wednesday's meeting.
Four of those requests relate to the Hingham Centre area, where concerns are mounting about the number of accidents that have occurred at the dangerous Main/Middle Street intersection -- several in the past few years, including a recent SUV rollover-- and the speeding that residents say is occurring in that area.
Leavitt Street resident Melissa Fairfield witnessed the rollover accident. "I've seen people coming from Main Street driving in a curve and whipping around that corner," she said, "as well as speeding on Rte. 228."
Middle Street resident Rachel Condelli, who has three young children, finds it "scary even trying to cross the street to go to the bagel shop or walk over to the park by the fire station with them." She expressed her concerns in an email.
Hingham Centre resident Aimee Glynn shares Condelli's concerns. "I walk to get coffee regularly with a stroller, and the number of cars that do not stop at the crosswalk is alarming," she said. "I believe it's due to the speed at which people are traveling."
Thompson Avenue request
A request to install a crosswalk between 386 and 392 Main St. connecting to Thompson Avenue, where 18 Middle School students wait for the bus and where children cross the street to get to Hingham Rec and the playing fields, was signed by 33 neighbors, most of them Thompson Avenue and Main Street residents. Hingham High School students also cross the street in that area.
A letter written to the Traffic Committee by Athena and Spiros Giannaros and residents of Thompson Avenue, Main Street, and Arnold Road requests in addition to a crosswalk "a blinking light or a solar-powered blinking light" or if that's not feasible, "a sign in the middle of the street signaling cars to slow down."
Kilroy said it's important for parents to accompany their younger children when they are trying to cross the street there, which many do. "It's a dangerous road," he said.
It was noted that there are three other crosswalks within a short distance -- including the one near the curve by Hingham Congregational Church, a fairly new one at Haley Field, and another at Cold Corner at the intersection of Main and Central Streets.
Some residents and Traffic Committee members expressed concern about the crosswalk near the church, which is located near a curve in the road.
Other requests included installing a crosswalk on Leavitt Street near Winter Street in the area of the library where there is clear sight distance from both directions; another in front of Central Fire Station on Main Street; and still another at Crooked Meadow Lane and Main Street as well as addressing speeding concerns on Old County and Grenadier Roads, which are often used as a cut-through from Cushing to Main Street.
Committee member Hingham Fire Captain William Powers spoke in favor of installing a Central Fire Station crosswalk due to that location's close proximity to the playground that's situated behind the fire station.
Pleasant Street resident Chrissy Roberts wrote in an email to the Selectmen that was ccd to Police Chief Glenn Olsson regarding the proposal for a crosswalk near Winter Street on Leavitt: "In talking with friends, I've come to understand that many kids walk and bike this way. It seems to me that a crosswalk would benefit lots of people coming and going between the Centre/high school area and the Square."
False sense of safety
It was noted that sometimes pedestrians and motorists have a false sense of safety when using crosswalks, because sometimes motorists don't stop. A case in point is an accident witnessed by Powers three months ago when a grandmother pushing a baby stroller was waiting to use the Cold Corner crosswalk. A car was stopped at the nearby stop sign.
"Apparently they failed to make eye contact and the woman proceeded and the carriage got jammed underneath the car," Powers recalled. "I've been on the job for 33 years and I was horrified. It was the first time I saw anything like this, and I hope it's my last."
Back to the request for a crosswalk at Crooked Meadow Lane and Main Street, Crooked Meadow Lane resident Meghan McManama explained, with support from her neighbors, the reason why in a letter to the Selectmen that was forwarded to the Traffic Committee.
"With the increased popularity of the Hingham Cracker Barrel [now called 'The Barrel' on a trial basis] store and what appears to be an increase this year in children at the bus stop at the edge of our property, we have become concerned with the number of people we see waiting to cross a very busy road without the safety of a crosswalk," she stated in part.
Old County/Grenadier
A large number of residents from the Old County/Grenadier Road neighborhood attended the meeting and shared their thoughts and their request for "no yellow lines when the roads get paved next year and a permanent decrease in the speed limit from 30 m.p.h. to 20 m.p.h.," Nicole Lovett requested in an email to Kilroy.
The reason some of the neighbors don't want double yellow lines is because they think the lines create a "main thoroughfare" feeling, causing some drivers to travel at higher speeds.
Kilroy, however, pointed out that the purpose of the double lines is "to keep drivers in the right lane." The width of a roadway determines whether double yellow lines will be painted down the middle.
Alice Krakowiak noted at the meeting that statistics show that a pedestrian struck by a car that is traveling at 20 m.p.h. has a 93 percent survival rate while a pedestrian struck by a vehicle traveling at 30 m.p.h. has only a 12 percent chance of survival.
According to Kilroy, roughly 500 vehicles a day travel on Old County and Grenadier Roads. “The 85th percentile speed is 29 m.p.h.,” he said.
The 85th percentile is often used to determine speed limits for roads. The theory assumes that most drivers are reasonable and do not want to get in an accident but do want to get to their destination as soon as possible. Therefore, a speed at which 85 percent of people drive is figured to be the highest safe speed for that road, according to traffic experts.
Up until recently, another neighbor said, residents have "taken matters into our own hands" to address cars traveling at what they consider to be high speeds, putting out yellow plastic "men" with flags to get people to slow down -- some of which have been stolen -- written letters to neighbors they saw traveling at what they thought to be over the speed limit; and calling out to drives to slow down. Recently, however, they sought help from the Traffic Committee.
Wompatuck Road
A request made by residents for a stop sign at the corner where Wompatuck Road meets Kimball Beach and Foley Beach Roads was supported by Traffic Committee members after consideration at an earlier meeting. The next step is to request the Selectmen's approval.
The requests posted on the agenda were considered by the Traffic Committee and will be forwarded to the town's traffic engineer Jeffrey Dirk for his input and recommendations. In some cases trailers will be set out to gauge motorists' speed and warn them when they are driving over the speed limit.
"We all agree these are legitimate concerns," said Kilroy. Speeding issues will also be addressed. In fact, he said that a study of townwide speeding issues is underway.
Traffic Committee member and DPW Supt. Randy Sylvester suggested "taking a look at the entire corridor from Cold Corner to the library."
The Selectmen have the final say on recommendations put forth by the Traffic Committee.