New Study Makes Predictions For Route 9 Traffic
Route 9 is crowded and congested. Of course, that's not news to the thousands who travel the roadway each day.
But what may be surprising is how quickly traffic on Route 9 could reach unacceptably bad levels if nothing is done to ease the crunch of cars, according to a new report by the Central Massachusetts Regional Planning Commission.
CMRPC, based on years' worth of traffic data, estimates that the average numbers of cars traveling along the major east-west thoroughfare each day is between 29,000 to 55,000, depending on the section.
Under full build-out, in which all developable properties along the corridor are constructed, it could add more than 120,000 vehicles to the road.
That, according to CMRPC principal planner Vera Kolias is a "worst-case scenario," but it points to how vulnerable the road is to future congestion unless some changes are made as to how the road is used.
Wait Problems
CMRPC studied traffic in three communities: Shrewsbury, Westborough and Southborough. The organization took recorded traffic data and worked with planners to examine how many vacant, developable parcels are in the area, and what the impact would be if those were built out.
The study also analyzed seven specific intersections along the corridor during peak morning and evening rush hours. Of the 14 time frames studied, the report found that cars waited at traffic signals for more than 35 seconds at 10 of the intersections. By 2015, CMRP predicts that six of those intersections could have average wait times of more than one minute and 20 seconds per car.
The worst intersections are South Street in the morning rush hour and Otis and Lyman streets during the evening rush hour.
Kolias said regional collaboration is probably the biggest single defense against Route 9 becoming even worse than it is now. A development in Westborough, she said, can impact traffic patterns miles down the road in Shrewsbury.
Local planners say there is already collaboration. Jim Robbins, Westborough town planner, said, for example, as officials in neighboring Northborough are considering the expansion of a Wal-Mart, Westborough officials have been consulted for input.
Eric Denoncourt, the former Shrewsbury town planner who now holds the same position in Southborough, said because Route 9 is a state-owned road, Massachusetts Department of Transportation is usually involved in traffic impact studies along the corridor for major developments.
The CMRPC study had other suggestions, including:
- Encouraging pedestrian and bicycle traffic to ease vehicle traffic.
- Increasing public transportation use and accessibility.
- Using back roads to connect developments so that not all traffic is funneled onto Route 9.
Robbins, the Westborough planner, said many of those recommendations have been discussed for years and are included in the town's master plan. Implementing them is harder.
Denoncourt agreed: It's unrealistic, he said, to expect state or federal officials to come in and do a major overhaul of Route 9. Kolias said that may not even be possible given the spacing constraints that would be involved to widen the road to allow cars to move through more efficiently. Another equally unlikely solution is to have elevated intersections, so that cars don't have to stop at traffic lights. Kolias said that option is also likely too expensive to be feasible.
So the most radical improvements may need to be grandfathered in and be applied to future developments.
"The opportunities for improvements come when new developments come along," Robbins said.
Unfortunately, he said, in the last few years, there have fewer of those.
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