Route 20 East Corridor Study in Marlborough

 

Project Manager
Chen-Yuan Wang

Project Principal
Mark Abbott

Data Analysts
Chen-Yuan Wang
Ben Gomes

Graphics
Kenneth Dumas
Kim DeLauri

Cover Design
Jane Gillis

The preparation of this document was supported by the Federal Highway Administration through MHD 3C PL contracts #89787 and #84080.

Central Transportation Planning Staff
Directed by the Boston Region Metropolitan Planning Organization.
The MPO is composed ofstate and regional agencies and authorities, and local governments.
February 2017

 

 

Map of the Route 20 Study Area.


 

Abstract

 

The Route 20 East Corridor in Marlborough was approved for study by the Boston Region Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO), through a comprehensive selection process that reviewed 24 potential corridors in the region. The study corridor is about 3.6 miles from Marlborough city center to the Sudbury town line. It contains several high-crash locations that need to be improved for the safety and mobility of users of all transportation modes. Major portions of the corridor have strong potential for design and implementation towards a Complete Streets roadway.

MPO staff, working with City of Marlborough and the Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT), collected crash and transportation data, conducted safety and operational analyses, and developed short- and long-term improvements for the entire corridor and at specific locations. This report documents the analyses and proposed improvements; it provides background information about the study, summarizes recommended improvements, and discusses steps toward implementation. The report also includes technical appendices that contain the data and methods used in the study.

Major recommended improvements for the corridor and expected benefits include:

This study offers a vision for the corridor’s future development and confirms its potential for transforming into a pedestrian- and cyclist-friendly roadway while maintaining its regional travel capacity. It will require significant effort and collaboration on the part of all stakeholders, including the City of Marlborough, residents and owners of adjacent developments, and MassDOT to achieve this vision.

 

table of CONTENTS                                                                         

Abstract

Chapter 1—Introduction

1.1      Study Background

1.2      Study Objectives

1.3      Selection Procedure

1.4      Study Area and Data Collection

1.5      Study Advisory Meetings

Chapter 2—Existing Conditions and Issues

2.1      Corridor Location

2.2      Transit Service

2.3      Pedestrian and Bicycle Facilities

2.4      Roadway Conditions and Adjacent Land Uses

2.4.1      Route 20 from Route 85 to Lincoln Street

2.4.2      Route 20 from Lincoln Street to Concord Road

2.4.3      Route 20 from Concord Road to Farm Road

2.4.4      Route 20 from Farm Road to Raytheon Driveway

2.4.5      Route 20 from Raytheon Driveway to Sudbury Town Line

2.5      Issues and Concerns

Chapter 3—Roadway Operations Analysis

3.1      Daily Traffic Volumes

3.2      Intersection Traffic, Pedestrian, and Bicycle Volumes

3.3      Intersection Capacity Analyses

3.4      Roadway Travel Speeds

Chapter 4—Crash Data Analysis

4.1      Crash Locations and Crash Clusters

4.2      Crash Rates

4.3      Pedestrian and Bicycle Crashes

4.4      Collision Diagrams and Crash Statistics

Chapter 5—Proposed Improvements

5.1      Route 20 from Route 85 to Lincoln Street

5.2      Route 20 from Lincoln Street to Concord Road

5.3      Route 20 from Concord Road to Farm Road

5.4      Route 20 from Farm Road to Raytheon Driveway

5.5      Route 20 from Raytheon Driveway to Sudbury Town Line

5.6      Proposed Long-Term Improvements under Projected Future-Year (2040) Traffic Conditions

Chapter 6—Summary and Recommendations

 

Tables                                                                              

Table 1 Proposed Improvements: Route 20 from Route 85 to Lincoln Street

Table 2 Proposed Improvements: Route 20 from Lincoln Street and Concord Road

Table 3 Proposed Improvements: Route 20 from Concord Road to Farm Road

Table 4 Proposed Improvements: Route 20 from Farm Road to Raytheon Driveway

Table 5 Proposed Improvements: Route 20 from Raytheon Driveway to Sudbury Town Line

 

Figures                                                                             

Figure 1 Study Area Map  Route 20 East Corridor in Marlborough

Figure 2 Transit Service and Pedestrian and Bicycle Facilities

Figure 3 Daily Traffic Volumes

Figure 4 Weekday Peak-Hour Traffic and Pedestrian Volumes at Major Intersections

Figure 5 Saturday Peak-Hour Traffic and Pedestrian Volumes at Selected Intersections

Figure 6 Weekday Intersection Capacity Analyses

Figure 7 Saturday Intersection Capacity Analyses

Figure 8 Speed Regulations and Estimated 85th Percentile Speeds

Figure 9 Crash Locations (MassDOT Crash Data 2009–13)

Figure 10 Proposed Long-Term improvement Conceptual Plan: Route 20 between Route 85 and Lincoln Street

Figure 11 Proposed Long-Term improvement Conceptual Plan: Route 20 between Curtis Avenue and Hosmer Street

Figure 12 Proposed Long-Term improvement Conceptual Plan: Route 20 in the Vicinity of Concord Road Intersection

Figure 13 Proposed Long-Term improvement Conceptual Plan: Route 20 between Concord Road and Farm Road (1)

Figure 14 Proposed Long-Term improvement Conceptual Plan: Route 20 between Concord Road and Farm Road (2)

Figure 15 Proposed Long-Term improvement Conceptual Plan: Route 20 in the Vicinity of Farm Road Intersection

Figure 16 Proposed Long-Term improvement Conceptual Plan: Route 20 between Farm Road and Dicenzo Boulevard

Figure 17 Proposed Long-Term improvement Conceptual Plan: Route 20 between Dicenzo Boulevard and Raytheon Driveway

Figure 18 Proposed Long-Term improvement Conceptual Plan: Route 20 in the Vicinity of Raytheon Driveway

Figure 19 Proposed Long-Term improvement Conceptual Plan: Route 20 in the Vicinity of Wayside Inn Road/Hager Street Intersection.

Figure 20 2040 Weekday Intersection Capacity Analyses (with Proposed Long-Term Improvements)

Figure 21 2040 Saturday Intersection Capacity Analyses (with Proposed Long-Term Improvements)

 

Appendixes                                                           

 

 

Chapter 1—Introduction

 

1.1      Study Background

During the MPO’s outreach for developing the Unified Planning Work Program (UPWP) and the Long-Range Transportation Plan (LRTP), Metropolitan Area Planning Council (MAPC) subregional groups and other entities submit comments and identify transportation problems that concern them. These issues are related to bicycle, pedestrian, and freight accommodation, bottlenecks, safety, or lack of safe or convenient access for abutters along roadway corridors. They can affect not only mobility and safety on a roadway and its side streets, but also quality of life, including economic development and air quality.

To address these concerns, the Priority Corridors study (which included Route 20 in Marlborough) was included in the UPWP for federal fiscal year (FFY) 2016 1 and a work program was approved on October 15, 2015. The purpose of this study was to identify roadway segments in the MPO region that are of concern to subregional groups but that have not been identified in the LRTP regional needs assessment. 2

1  Unified Planning Work Program, Federal Fiscal Year 2016, endorsed by the Boston Region Metropolitan Planning Organization on July 30, 2015.

2   A work scope for “Priority Corridors for LRTP Needs Assessment—FFY 2016,” was submitted simultaneously to the Boston Region MPO.

 

1.2      Study Objectives

The Route 20 East Corridor Study in Marlborough emphasizes issues identified by the relevant subregional groups, along with recommendations to address them. In addition to topics about mobility, safety, and access, it includes bicycle and pedestrian transportation, transit feasibility, and other subjects raised by subregional groups.

The objectives of the study were to:

1.3      Selection Procedure

The Route 20 East corridor in Marlborough was selected through a comprehensive process. First, MPO staff identified potential study locations using various sources: soliciting suggestions during the outreach process for the FFY 2016 UPWP; reviewing meeting records from the UPWP outreach process for the past five years; and appraising potential locations from the monitored roadways in the MPO’s Congestion Management Process (CMP).

MPO staff identified 24 roadway corridors in the MPO region as potential study locations. Staff assembled detailed data about the identified roadways and evaluated them according to five selection criteria3 , which are, the location:

The Route 20 East corridor in Marlborough contains several high-crash locations that need to be improved for the safety and mobility of users of all modes. Major portions of the corridor have strong potential for design and implementation toward a Complete Streets4 roadway. The study site has strong support from all stakeholders, including the City of Marlborough and MassDOT.

3 Details of the criteria and rating system may be found in the CTPS technical memorandum “Selection of Study Location: FFY 2016 Addressing Safety, Mobility, and Access on Subregional Priority Roadways,” February 17, 2016.

4 According to Smart Growth America, a “complete street” is a street for everyone. Complete streets are designed and operated to enable safe access for all users, including pedestrians, bicyclists, motorists and transit riders of all ages and abilities. They make it easy to cross the street, walk to shops, and bicycle to work.

 

1.4      Study Area and Data Collection

The Route 20 East corridor is about 3.6 miles long and consists of Granger Boulevard (from South Bolton Street (Route 85) to Main Street), East Main Street (from Main Street to Concord Road), and Boston Post Road East (from Concord Road to the Sudbury town border). All segments of the corridor are under the jurisdiction of MassDOT Highway Division District 3, except the segment of Granger Boulevard and East Main Street from Main Street to Lincoln Street, which are owned by the City of Marlborough.

Based on MPO staff requests, MassDOT collected extensive traffic volumes, spot speed data, and intersection turning-movement counts (including pedestrian and bicycle movements and the percentages of heavy vehicles) for this study. The data were collected in spring 2016, between April 6 and April 10. Staff also collected various data from the city and MassDOT, including recent transportation and land-use studies, information about adjacent developments, and multiple-year police crash reports.

1.5      Study Advisory Meetings

During the course of the study, MPO staff worked closely with the city and MassDOT (see Appendix A for a list of study advisory members). Two advisory meetings were held to guide and support the study.

In the first meeting (April 13, 2016), MPO staff introduced the study, received input about the corridor’s issues and concerns, and coordinated data collection. In the second meeting (October 21, 2016), MPO staff reviewed the findings and proposed improvements with study advisory members. After the meetings, staff continued to receive comments and revised the proposals accordingly.


Chapter 2—Existing Conditions and Issues

 

2.1      Corridor Location

United States Route 20 is a cross-country highway. In Massachusetts, its easternmost section of 153 miles runs from the New York state border to Route 2 at Kenmore Square in Boston, generally paralleling Interstate 90 (I-90, also known as the Massachusetts Turnpike). It is a major roadway between Worcester and Boston that connects three Interstate Highways (I-495, I-95, and I-90) and directly serves cities, towns and local business areas that the Massachusetts Turnpike bypasses.

Parts of US Route 20, mainly in Worcester and Middlesex Counties, were an alignment of the Boston Post Road, a colonial roadway designated in 1673 for carrying mail between New York City and Boston.5 Marlborough, as a major town on the roadway, became a prosperous industrial city in the late 19th century and became a home for companies serving the high-technology industry in the late 20th century. The newly developed office and industrial parks and commercial areas are generally located in the corridors of Route 20 and I-290 adjacent to I-495.   

Route 20, running east-west through the city, can be regarded as one of Marlborough’s most significant roadways, in addition to I-495, I-290, and Route 85. Because of its long stretch, it is locally referred as Route 20 East and Route 20 West, with the city center as its pivot point. The selected study corridor comprises the eastern section from Route 85 (South Bolton Street) east to the Sudbury town line (Figure 1, Study Area Map). It is about 3.6 miles long and includes Granger Boulevard, East Main Street, and Boston Post Road East.

All segments of the corridor are classified as an urban principal arterial. As shown in Figure 1, the corridor connects other major roadways in the city, including another principal arterial (Lincoln Street), two minor arterials (South Bolton Street and Main Street), and several major collectors (Main Street, Stevens Street, Curtis Avenue, Hosmer Street, Concord Road, Farm Road, Wilson Street, Wayside Inn Road, and Hager Street).

5 S.H. Holbrook, The Old Post Road: The story of Boston Post Road, McGraw-Hill, 1962.

 

2.2      Transit Service

MetroWest Regional Transit Authority (MWRTA) provides bus service in the MetroWest subregion covering the area from Solomon Pond Mall in Marlborough to Woodland Station in Newton. MWRTA Route 7C serves the area in Marlborough from Solomon Pond Mall to Wayside Inn Store/Hager Street, running mostly along Route 20.

Figure 2 shows that MWTRA Route 7C covers the entire study corridor with five major stops: Post Road Shopping Center, Farm Road, Wilson Road, Target, and Wayside Inn Store. In addition to the major stops, MWTRA uses a flag-down system that allows buses to stop anywhere along their routes to pick up passengers, where it is safe to do so.

Route 7C provides eight round trips daily (four in the morning and four in the afternoon) by turning around at Hager Street. The frequency appears to be sufficient, with no overcrowding conditions.

2.3      Pedestrian and Bicycle Facilities

In addition to transit service, Figure 2 also shows the existing pedestrian and bicycle facilities in the corridor. In general, continuous sidewalks exist on both sides of Grange Boulevard and East Main Street, and discontinuous sidewalks exist mostly on the south side of Boston Post Road. No separate bicycle lanes exist in the entire corridor. Wider roadway shoulders of four-to-six feet exist only in the middle section of Boston Post Road between Concord Road and Farm Road and in the easternmost segment between Raytheon Driveway and Sudbury town line. The next section details the existing conditions of pedestrian and bicycle facilities in different segments of the corridor. 

2.4      Roadway Conditions and Adjacent Land Uses

The roadway conditions and adjacent land uses of the corridor vary considerably in different segments. Based on the different land use characteristics, the corridor may be divided into the five segments described below.

2.4.1   Route 20 from Route 85 to Lincoln Street

This segment is about one-half mile long, including the intersections of Route 20 at Route 85 and at Lincoln Street. Located near the city center, both sides of the segment are thickly settled by single- and multiple-family houses, along with a number of stores and restaurants. The roadway has two different configurations: four travel lanes (two in each direction) on Granger Boulevard and two travel lanes (one in each direction) on East Main Street. Sidewalks, generally about five feet wide, exist on both sides of the entire segment. However, utility poles on East Main Street frequently interrupt the sidewalks. No separate bicycle lanes exist in the segment. Roadway shoulders are narrow (about one foot wide) on Granger Boulevard, and somewhat wider (about two-to-four feet wide) on East Main Street.

There are three signalized intersections in this segment: Route 20 at Route 85 (South Bolton Street), Route 20 at Main Street, and Route 20 at Lincoln Street/Stevens Street. The Lincoln Street/Stevens Street intersection is generally congested during the weekday AM and PM and Saturday noon peak hours.    

2.4.2   Route 20 from Lincoln Street to Concord Road

This segment is about one-half mile long and includes the Concord Road intersection. It is the busiest segment in the entire study corridor. It is a four-lane roadway with five-foot sidewalks on both sides and almost no shoulders (less than one foot wide). Except for the section from Lincoln Street to Walnut Street/Clinton Street that is settled by single- and multiple-family houses, the adjacent land uses of this roadway segment are mainly businesses, including local and franchised stores and shops, such as CVS Pharmacy, Dunkin’ Donuts, Bank of America, and Midas, In addition, a large-scale shopping center, Post Road Plaza, is located on the north side of Route 20 just across from Curtis Avenue. Major businesses in the plaza include Price Chopper, Marshalls, Ocean State Job Lot, Savers Community Donation Center, and AutoZone.   

There are two signalized intersections in this segment: Route 20 at Curtis Avenue/Post Road Plaza Driveway and Route 20 at Hosmer Street. The intersection of Route 20 at Concord Road is currently unsignalized. The stop-controlled Concord Road approach is usually congested during weekday AM and PM and Saturday noon peak hours. No crosswalks exist at the intersection.

2.4.3   Route 20 from Concord Road to Farm Road

This segment is about 1.3 miles long and includes the Farm Road intersection. It is a two-lane roadway (one lane in each direction) with inconsistent sidewalks and shoulders. Sidewalks exist on the south side of the segment from Concord Road to Phelps Street and on both sides near the Farm Road intersection. No sidewalks exist in the rest of the segment. Roadway shoulders are generally two feet wide, except the section from Phelps Street to slightly east of Village Drive, which has four- to six-foot shoulders on both sides.

The entire segment is zoned for business. There are continuous strip malls, driveway-access shopping centers, and individual roadside businesses on both sides of the roadway, with medium- and large-scale housing developments scattered in between. Consequently, there is intensive vehicle-turning activity on this two-lane roadway, causing traffic congestion, and potential crashes between turning and through vehicles.

 

The traffic signal at the middle of the segment operates only when fire engines exit or enter the adjacent fire station. Route 20 at Farm Road is a fully functional signalized intersection, with pedestrian crosswalks and signals. No crosswalks exist at other locations in the segment.

2.4.4   Route 20 from Farm Road to Raytheon Driveway

This segment is about 0.8 miles long and includes the Raytheon Driveway intersection. It is a four-lane roadway (two lanes in each direction) with five-foot sidewalks on both sides, except the north side of the section from Old Boston Post Road to Raytheon Driveway. No separate bicycle lanes exist and shoulders are generally narrow (two feet or less).

This segment is a business district. In addition to roadside businesses, strip malls and apartment buildings are also on the roadway. A conglomerate of stores and shops, including Target and Home Depot, occupy the south side of a major section of this segment. Although traffic from the Target and Home Depot mainly uses the signalized Dicenzo Boulevard intersection, the roadway still has considerable turning vehicles between Dicenzo Boulevard and Raytheon Driveway. As a four-lane roadway with moderate traffic volumes, vehicle travel speeds in this segment generally are higher than in other segments.

There are two signalized intersections in this segment: Route 20 at Dicenzo Boulevard/Pomphrey Drive and Route 20 at Raytheon Driveway/Wayside Office Driveway. Crosswalks and pedestrian signals exist at the Dicenzo Boulevard intersection, but not at the Raytheon Driveway intersection. No crosswalks exist at other locations in the segment.

2.4.5   Route 20 from Raytheon Driveway to Sudbury Town Line

This segment is about one-half mile long, and surrounded by woods, adjacent to Hager Pond, and less developed than other segments in the corridor. In addition to a few office buildings and houses located near the Raytheon intersection, the roadside plaza that contains the historical Wayside Country Store is the only major development in the segment.

The roadway reduces to two lanes, one in each direction. Sidewalks exist only on the south side for a short section between Raytheon Driveway and Hager Pond. No sidewalks exist in the rest of the segment. Roadway shoulders exist on both sides. They generally are two feet wide in the section west of Hager Pond and four-to-six feet wide in the rest of the segment.

The intersection of Route 20 at Wayside Inn Road/Hager Street is signalized. The signal equipment is outdated and the signal indications are difficult to observe from both approaches of Route 20 (because of the intersection’s vertical curve location and wooded surroundings). The jug-handle slip ramp that provides eastbound left turns from Route 20 to Wayside Inn Road could confuse drivers. No crosswalks exist at the intersection or any other locations in the segment.

2.5      Issues and Concerns

In the first study advisory meeting, representatives from the city and MassDOT shared their views about the corridor, which are summarized below.

The advisory members also discussed concerns about specific locations in the corridor, where analyses identified safety and operational problems, which along with the proposed improvements, are summarized by location in Chapter 5.

 

 

Chapter 3—Roadway Operations Analysis

 

3.1      Daily Traffic Volumes

The most fundamental data for analyzing traffic intensity and patterns in a roadway corridor are daily traffic volumes. MassDOT collected traffic volumes at ten locations: seven in the corridor and three on adjacent streets.

Figure 3 shows daily traffic volumes at the ten locations based on Automatic Traffic Recorder (ATR) counts collected in the weekday period of April 6 (Wednesday) to 8 (Friday), 2016. The numbers in the graphic represent average daily directional volumes. The two tables in the graphic further summarize the data by count locations, directional split, combined volume of both directions, and adjusted annual average daily traffic (AADT). 

The April counts show that traffic in most segments of the corridor is generally split evenly, by approximately 50 percent in each direction, except in the westernmost and easternmost segments. The segment of Route 20 between Main Street and Lincoln Street (Location 1) carried more daily traffic in the eastbound direction (54 percent) than the westbound direction (46 percent). The segment of Route 20 east of Wayside Inn Road/Hager Street also carried more daily traffic in the eastbound direction (53 percent) than did the westbound direction (47percent).

The counts also show that the western section of Route 20 (East Main Street) carried daily traffic in two different magnitudes: 1) about 14,000 vehicles in the segment between Main Street and Lincoln Street (Location 1); and 2) more than 28,000 vehicles in the segment between Lincoln Street and Concord Road (Location 2), which is the busiest section of the corridor. The middle and eastern sections (Boston Post Road East) carried approximately 19,000 to 22,000 vehicles per day.

Traffic volume in April is somewhat higher than the annual average. Adjusted by the seasonal factors, AADT data estimate that the busiest section of East Main Street between Lincoln Street and Concord Road carries about 26,500 vehicles and most sections of the corridor (Boston Post Road East) carry about 18,000 to 21,000 vehicles on an average day.

3.2      Intersection Traffic, Pedestrian, and Bicycle Volumes

In addition to daily traffic counts, MassDOT collected turning movement counts at major intersections in the study corridor, including vehicle movements (by vehicle types), bicycle movements, and pedestrian crossings. They were collected during the morning peak period (7:00–9:00 AM) and the evening peak period (4:00–6:00 PM) on Thursday April 7, 2016, and during the midday peak period (12:00 PM–2:00 PM) on Saturday April 9, 2016. Staff then identified the peak hour in each of the peak periods for various traffic operational analyses. 

Figure 4 shows the weekday peak-hour traffic and pedestrian volumes at major intersections in the corridor. Entry volumes at these intersections vary from 1,300 vehicles per hour at the intersection of Route 20 at Main Street to nearly 2,700 vehicles per peak hour at the intersection of Route 20 at Curtis Avenue/Post Road Plaza Driveway. They are generally somewhat higher in the evening than in the morning. Locations in the corridor with noticeably high entry volumes include the intersections of Route 20 at South Bolton Street, Lincoln Street, Curtis Avenue, Hosmer Street, Concord Road, Farm Road, and Dicenzo Boulevard.

In terms of pedestrian volumes, the intersections on East Main Street carried about five-to-ten pedestrians per peak hour, except the Main Street intersection that carried about 10-to-15 pedestrians per peak hour. The intersections on Boston Post Road East carried about five-or-less pedestrians per peak hour. Only two-or-less bicycles per peak hour were observed at all the count locations. Note that pedestrians and cyclists generally are less active in April when the weather is still cold, especially cyclists. The corridor’s pedestrian and bicycle volumes presumably would be higher in the months from May to October.

Figure 5 shows the Saturday peak-hour traffic and pedestrian volumes at selected intersections in the business districts of the corridor. Most of the selected intersections carried about five-to-ten percent more traffic during the Saturday peak-hour than in the weekday PM peak hour, except the intersections of Route 20 at Lincoln Street and at Farm Road (which had no obvious difference between the two time periods). Most of the selected intersections also carried slightly higher pedestrian and bicycle volumes in the Saturday peak-hour than in the weekday PM peak hour.

It is essential to examine the amount of heavy-vehicle traffic in a study corridor, as an unusually high percentage of heavy vehicles (trucks and buses) may seriously affect roadway operations. The weekday turning movement counts by vehicle type indicate that, on average, most intersections in the study corridor carried about three-to-five percent of heavy-vehicle traffic in the AM peak hour and about one-to-two percent of heavy-vehicle traffic in the PM peak hour. The heavy-vehicle percentage of the Saturday peak hour is similar to that of the PM peak hour at all the selected intersections. These percentages are considered normal and would not seriously affect roadway operations.

 

3.3      Intersection Capacity Analyses

Based on the turning movement counts, MPO staff constructed peak-hour traffic models for the entire corridor and conducted capacity analyses for major intersections by using the Synchro traffic analysis and simulation program.6 The model set consists of weekday AM, weekday PM, and Saturday midday peak-hour models, with scenarios under existing conditions or various proposed improvement alternatives.

Figure 6 shows weekday AM and PM peak-hour capacity analyses for major intersections in the corridor, under existing conditions. The graphic includes a table of intersection level-of-service (LOS) criteria based on average intersection control delay defined by the Highway Capacity Manual (HCM).7 LOS is a qualitative measure used to relate the quality of traffic service. The HCM defines LOS—using a qualitative scale from A to F—for signalized and unsignalized intersections as a function of the average vehicle control delay. For the intersections in a metropolitan urban area, LOS C or better is considered desirable; LOS E or better is considered acceptable; and LOS F is considered undesirable.

Overall, all the signalized intersections generally operate at LOS C or better in both peak AM and PM hours, except the intersection of Route 20 at Farm Road/Wilson Street. The Farm Road intersection is evaluated to operate at LOS D, with an average delay of 37 seconds in the AM peak hour and 43 seconds in the PM peak hour. Details of the analyses for major intersections in the Synchro 2016 AM and PM models are included in Appendices B and C.

Although all the intersections are evaluated as desirable or acceptable individually, field observations (and the synchro queue estimations) indicate that the closely located intersections at Curtis Avenue, Hosmer Street, and Concord at times could have traffic queues on its Route 20 approaches extending near the upstream intersections.

At the unsignalized intersection of Route 20 at Concord Road, the southbound approach is estimated to operate at LOS F with average delay more than two minutes in the AM and PM peak hours. Staff conducted a preliminary analysis of the need for a traffic signal at the intersection.8 The analysis found that a traffic signal is justified at the intersection, as Warrant 1 (Eight-Hour Vehicular Volume), Warrant 2 (Four-Hour Vehicular Volume), and Warrant 7 (Crash Experience) are satisfied based on the April counts and recent crash data. Appendix D contains details of the preliminary analysis.

Figure 7 shows Saturday midday peak-hour capacity analyses at selected intersections in the corridor, under existing conditions. The Lincoln Street, Hosmer Street, and Dicenzo Boulevard intersections operate at LOS C with an average delay of about half a minute per vehicle and the Curtis Avenue and Farm Road intersections operate at LOS D with an average delay of about 40 seconds per vehicle. Because of shopping activities at Post Road Plaza, the Curtis Avenue intersection is more congested than are others, with a slight increase in delays on all approaches in the Saturday peak hour compared to the weekday PM peak hour.

The unsignalized intersection of Route 20 at Concord Road is also somewhat more congested on Saturday than in the weekday peak hour, with increased delays on the southbound approach. On Saturdays, Concord Road carries not only shopping trips but also recreational trips to Ghiloni Recreation Area and Marlborough State Forest. Details of the analyses for major intersections in the Synchro 2016 Saturday model are included in Appendix E.

6 Synchro Version 9.0 was used for the analyses. This software is developed and distributed by Trafficware Ltd. It can perform capacity analysis and traffic simulation (when combined with SimTraffic) for an individual intersection or a series of intersections in a roadway network.

7 HCM 2010, Transportation Research Board of the National Academies, Washington D. C.

8 Chapter 4C Traffic Control Signal Needs Studies, Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices, 2009 Edition with Revisions 1 and 2, Federal Highway Administration, US Department of Transportation, May 2012.

 

3.4      Roadway Travel Speeds

The area’s residents are concerned about the high travel speeds in the corridor (mainly on Boston Post Road East). In order to understand these fast driving patterns, MPO staff requested MassDOT to help collect spot speeds during the period when automatic traffic counts were being conducted during April 6-to-8, 2016.

Figure 8 shows the existing speed regulations and estimated 85th percentile at selected locations in the corridor, based on spot speed counts collected from automatic traffic recorders. The 85th percentile is the speed at or below which 85 percent of vehicles passing a given point are traveling, and is the principal value used to establish speed controls.

Currently, regulated travel speeds in the corridor are:

The estimated 85th percentile speeds at the four selected locations on Boston post Road East generally are below or slightly above their regulated speeds, except the location at the middle point of both ends of Dicenzo Boulevard. The estimated 85th percentile speeds at this location (four-lane roadway with several adjacent businesses) are about three-to-five mph higher than the regulated speeds in both directions.

MassDOT procedures for establishing speed regulations require that at speed observation locations, the established safe speed shall not be more than seven mph below the 85th percentile speed, and not higher than the 95th percentile speed.9

The westbound 85th percentile speed at the location just west of Village Drive is about nine mph lower than the regulated 40 mph. The entire section of Boston Post Road East between Concord Road and Farm Road is a two-lane roadway with a number of horizontal and vertical curves, with continuous commercial and residential developments. The section may be more suitable to be regulated at 30 mph in both directions.10 Many segments in the corridor (mainly on Granger Boulevard and East Main Street) contain different directional speed regulations. In the long term, these and their suitable speed regulations should be examined with further engineering studies.

9 Procedures for Speed Zoning on State and Municipal Roadways, MassDOT Highway Division, May 2012.

10 It would require a further engineering study to support the modification. To establish or modify speed controls, MassDOT requires speed data collected by using radar gun or laser gun at critical locations not to exceed 0.25 miles, in addition to vehicle trial runs in the study area. 


 

Chapter 4—Crash Data Analysis

 

4.1      Crash Locations and Crash Clusters

Crash data are an essential source for identifying safety and operational problems in a study area. Analyzing crash locations, collision types, time-of-day, roadway conditions, and other factors also help to develop improvement strategies. For this study, staff collected two datasets:

Staff used the MassDOT data to examine crash locations and crash rates and the police crash reports to construct collision diagrams to analyze safety and operational problems at the major intersections and in different segments of the corridor.

Figure 9 shows the crash locations and crash clusters in the corridor, based on the MassDOT data. The five-year data show that crashes occurred at different locations of the corridor almost continuously (without a significant roadway gap between crashes) and some locations had a large number of crashes clustered together.

Based on 2011–13 MassDOT Crash Cluster Data, the figure shows four noticeable crash clusters.11 The most significant cluster is at the Route 20 segment between Curtis Avenue and Hosmer Street (including the Curtis Avenue intersection), where 184 crashes occurred in the three-year period. It is ranked as the seven in the 2011–13 statewide top 200 crash locations, with an estimated 220 Equivalent Property Damage Only (EPDO) crashes.12

However, based on staff’s review of the MPD crash reports, its ranking might have been overestimated, as a large number of crashes appear to have occurred in the parking areas of Post Road Plaza and not on Route 20. Staff identified 137 crashes in the same segment from the MPD 2011–13 data and further found that 85 of them (more than 60 percent) actually occurred in the large and poorly defined parking areas of Post Road Plaza.13       

The other three crash cluster locations are MassDOT Highway Safety Improvement Program (HSIP) eligible locations, which means that they are ranked in the top-five percent of the Boston Region MPO crash locations, based on 2011–13 MassDOT Crash Cluster Data. The three locations are:

In addition, a large number of crash clusters are identified in the corridor from the MassDOT 2011–13 data, which indicate the intensity and proximity of the crashes in the entire corridor.

11 Using a 25-meter (82-foot) radius from each crash locations, a crash cluster is identified by two or more crashes overlapping one another.

12 MassDOT uses approximated EPDO crashes to rank the statewide top 200 locations. In the estimation, fatal crashes are weighted by 10, injury crashes are weighted by 5, and property damage only and unknown crashes are not weighted.

13 As the crash locations usually are coded by street names or the nearest intersection, the parking-lot crash can only be identified from crash reports that contain detailed descriptions of how and where crashes occurred.

 

4.2      Crash Rates

Staff estimated that the entire 3.6-mile corridor has a crash rate of 7.30 crashes per million vehicle miles traveled (MVMT), based on the 2009–13 MassDOT data and an average of the recently collected traffic counts. This crash rate is much higher than the statewide average for urban principal arterials (3.49 crashes per MVMT, updated January 2016 based on 2013 crash data).

As mentioned in Chapter 2, the corridor contains segments with different roadway layouts and land uses. Staff estimated the corridor crash rates by five segments, each with similar layouts and land use characteristics:

These all are higher than the state average crate rate. The segment of Route 20 in the busy business district on East Main Street has a crash rate of more than three times the statewide average. See Appendix F for the corridor and segment crash rate worksheets.

Staff also estimated the crash rates at major intersections of the corridor, based on the 2011–15 MPD data and the intersection traffic counts, which are summarized below.

The average crash rate for signalized intersections in MassDOT District 3 is 0.90 crashes per MEV (updated February 2016 based on 2015 crash data). Three signalized intersections, Route 20 at Route 85, Route 20 at Curtis Avenue, and Route 20 at Farm Road, all have a higher-than-average crash rate. Two intersections, Route 20 at Lincoln Street and Route 20 at Hosmer Street, have a crash rate about the same as the average.  

The average rate for unsignalized intersections in MassDOT District 3 is 0.65 crashes per MEV. The crash rate at the Concord Road intersection is nearly twice that of the District 3 average. Appendix G contains worksheets for all the intersection crash rates.

4.3      Pedestrian and Bicycle Crashes

Figure 9 shows the pedestrian and bicycle crashes in the corridor, based on 2009–13 MassDOT Crash Data.14 In addition, staff used the 2011–15 MPD crash reports to identify more of these crash locations. In total, 12 pedestrian crashes and nine bicycle crashes occurred in the corridor in the seven-year period. The locations, dates, times, and noticeable conditions of these crashes are summarized below.

14 In this study, the term “pedestrian crashes” refers to those that involve at least one vehicle and one pedestrian; “bicycle crashes” refers to crashes that involve at least one vehicle and one bicycle. No crashes between at least one bicycle and one pedestrian were identified in the available data.


Residents in the areas adjacent to Route 20 (Boston Post Road East) are concerned about potential vehicle crashes in winter, when snow is piled on sidewalks or roadway shoulders and pedestrians are forced to walk in the road. The pedestrian crashes collected in this study did not clearly indicate any such incidents. 

4.4      Collision Diagrams and Crash Statistics

To investigate safety and operational problems further, MPO staff constructed collision diagrams for the entire corridor by major intersections and in-between roadway segments, based on recent five-year crash reports provided by Marlborough Police Department. The crash reports, containing descriptions of how and where those crashes occurred, are useful in constructing the collision diagram.

Appendix H presents the collision diagrams for different locations in the corridor. It also contains a series of tables summarizing the crash data used for the different locations. The summary statistics include crash severity (property damage only, non-fatal injury, fatality, unknown), collision type (single-vehicle, rear-end, angle, sideswipe, head-on, rear-to-rear, unknown), pedestrian or bicycle involvement, time of day, pavement conditions, and light conditions.

The collision diagrams are useful in identifying safety and operational problems at major intersections or roadway segments in the corridor. The identified problems are included in the issues and concerns portion for proposed improvements in the next chapter.       

Chapter 5—Proposed Improvements

 

Based on the above analyses, MPO staff developed a series of short- and long-term improvements to address safety and operational problems. Short-term improvements generally are implementable within two years at relatively low cost. Long-term improvements are more complicated and cover larger areas, which would require intensive planning, design, and funding. As the corridor covers an extensive length of roadways with different land use characteristics, we describe the proposed improvements in the five segments below.

5.1      Route 20 from Route 85 to Lincoln Street

Table 1 lists the proposed short- and long-term improvements for the segment of Route 20 from Route 85 (South Bolton Street) to Lincoln Street, along with the area’s issues and concerns; they are arranged according to general roadway section, and by specific location, from west to east.

Major issues and concerns in the segment include:

Proposed short-term improvements in the segment include:

Proposed long-term improvements in the segment include (Figure 10):

15 The city applied the change in September 2016. Staff compared the change with the previous layout (a left-turn/through shared lane and a right-turn only lane) and found that it would maintain at the same level of service for the approach, with marginal increase of delay for its through movements and right turns. However, it would potentially reduce conflicts between its left turns and through movements from both Route 20 approaches.

 

5.2      Route 20 from Lincoln Street to Concord Road

Table 2 lists the proposed short- and long-term improvements for the segment of Route 20 from Lincoln Street to Concord Road. Major issues and concerns in the segment include:

Proposed short-term improvements in the segment include:

Proposed long-term improvements in the segment include (Figures 11 and 12):

16 Separated bicycle accommodations would require at least 5-foot shoulders, which are not applicable under the adjacent developments and existing right-of-way constraints.

17 The intersection’s pedestrian signal operation, concurrent or exclusive, should be studied and evaluated further, at the design stage. Either operation can operate under the proposed signal coordination. Figure 11 shows the intersection layout under the concurrent pedestrian signal operation with three crosswalks. If the exclusive phasing is chosen at the design stage, a crosswalk should also be installed on the Route 20 westbound approach.

18 It also requires an opening to connect the parking lots of the two adjacent businesses.

 

5.3      Route 20 from Concord Road to Farm Road

Table 3 lists the proposed short- and long-term improvements for the segment of Route 20 from Concord Road to Farm Road. Major issues and concerns in the segment include:

Proposed short-term improvements in the segment include:

Proposed long-term improvements in the segment include (Figures 12, 13, 14, and 15):

19 At the design stage, the form of the center medians should be further examined. Raised medians are safer and more comfortable as pedestrian crossing medians than are flush medians. MassDOT District 3 has concerns about snow removal difficulties (and damages) that raised medians may cause. 

 

5.4      Route 20 from Farm Road to Raytheon Driveway

Table 4 lists the proposed short- and long-term improvements for the segment of Route 20 from Farm Road to Raytheon Driveway. Major issues and concerns in the segment include:

Proposed short-term improvements in the segment include:

Proposed long-term improvements in the segment include (Figures 16, 17, and 18):

5.5      Route 20 from Raytheon Driveway to Sudbury Town Line

Table 5 lists the proposed short- and long-term improvements for the segment of Route 20 from Raytheon Driveway to Sudbury town line. Major issues and concerns in the segment include:

Proposed short-term improvements in the segment include:

Proposed long-term improvements in the segment include (Figures 18 and 19):

5.6      Proposed Long-Term Improvements under Projected Future-Year (2040) Traffic Conditions

The most significant long-term improvement recommendation in the corridor, except in the section from Post Road Plaza to Concord Road, is changing to a three-lane roadway reconfiguration from the existing two- or four-lane roadways. The configuration would consist of two travel lanes (one in each direction) plus a center lane as traffic median, or for left turns, and bicycle lanes and sidewalks on both sides.

Such three-lane reconfigurations have been applied in a number of US cities with positive results toward improving safety for all modes of travel. The proposed three-lane segments are suitable for such reconfiguration, as recent counts indicate that they generally carry average daily traffic of 20,000 vehicles or fewer.20

Similar to the base-year models, staff constructed future-year 2040 traffic models for the entire corridor based on the roadway layouts with the proposed long-term improvements. Staff conducted future-year traffic analyses based on traffic growth projections from the transportation-planning model recently developed for the MPO’s Long-Range Transportation Plan.21 The analyses indicate that the proposed long-term improvements would operate adequately under the future-year traffic conditions.

Figures 20 and 21 show the intersection capacity of major intersections in the corridor under the projected 2040 traffic conditions for the weekday peak hours and Saturday midday peak hour. With the proposed long-term improvements, all intersections would operate at a desirable LOS C or better during the weekday and Saturday peak hours, except the Lincoln Street intersection (acceptable LOS D in the weekday AM peak hour) and the Farm Road intersection (acceptable LOS D in the weekday AM and Saturday midday peak hours). Synchro capacity analysis reports of the major intersections for the future-year weekday AM, weekday PM, and Saturday midday peak hour conditions are included in Appendices I, J, and K.


20 Road Diet Information Guide, Federal Highway Administration, November 2014.

21 The transportation-planning model predicts that the study area would have moderate traffic growth from 2016 to 2040. Staff applied seven percent (0.25 percent annually) traffic growth to the 2040 weekday AM peak-hour model and eight percent (0.3 percent annually) traffic growth to the 2040 weekday PM and Saturday midday peak-hour models.

 

 

Chapter 6—Summary and Recommendations

 

This study performed a series of safety and operations analyses, identified safety and operational problems, and proposed a number of short- and long-term improvements to address identified problems in the study corridor.

The recommended key short-term improvements include:

These improvements could enhance safety for all users and improve traffic operations moderately. With a high benefit/cost ratio, these short-term improvements should be implemented as soon as the resources are available from highway maintenance or local Chapter 90 funding.

The conceptual plans and suggested long-term improvements together create a vision that would accommodate all users and would improve their safety, mobility, and access in the corridor significantly. Major recommended long-term improvements for the corridor and expected benefits include:

At this preliminary planning stage, staff estimate reconstruction of the entire corridor with the proposed long-term improvements would cost approximately $19,000,000 to $22,000,000.22 The approximate costs of the five different segments in the corridor are:

The five segments also could be considered as different stages of sequential implementation, as they are listed in this study. Implementing the proposed long-term improvements would require sufficient resources. Depending on the available and potential resources, the City of Marlborough could reprioritize the implementation stages by rearranging, combining, or dividing the segments (if necessary). 23

This study provides a vision for the corridor’s long-term development, and confirms that the corridor has great potential to operate safely and efficiently for all users and various transportation modes. It will require significant effort and collaboration on the part of all stakeholders, including the city, residents and owners of adjacent developments, MassDOT, MWRTA to achieve the vision.

The implementation process must ensure that all parties concur about how the recommendations should be realized in a resourceful and fiscally responsible manner. The city needs to work with MassDOT District 3 to initiate the project, obtain favorable review from MassDOT’s Project Review Committee, and identify potential funding resources through MassDOT and the Boston Region MPO.

Appendix L details the actions that are required in the various steps of MassDOT’s project development process, including a schematic timetable. Information about the project development process also may be found on MassDOT’s website, at www.massdot.state.ma.us/planning/Main/PlanningProcess/ProjectDevelopmentProcess.aspx and at www.massdot.state.ma.us/Portals/8/docs/designGuide/CH_2_a.pdf.

The section of Route 20 east of Concord Road in Marlborough is scheduled for a resurfacing project to begin in two years,24 which is an opportunity to improve pedestrian and bicycle accommodations based on the MassDOT Healthy Transportation Policy Directive.

The proposed long-term improvement—widening Route 20 between Concord Road and Farm Road (Section 3 of this report) from two to three lanes—likely would not be applicable in the resurfacing project. However, if the roadway surface is available,25 staff recommend the following improvements for consideration:


22 This cost was estimated by using general expenses of similar projects. The estimate contains only design and construction costs, not right-of-way, utility relocation, or other contingency costs, and is based on 2016 dollars.

23 The city currently is designing and implementing the proposed improvements in the East Main Street section of the first segment, with funding from the 2015 MassWorks Infrastructure Program.

24 MassDOT Highway Division District 3 Project 608467, currently under planning and design, is programed in the 2019 Boston Region MPO Transportation Improvement Program.

25 Staff identified these locations based on a review of the collision diagrams in the roadway section. These locations all have a large number of crashes, many of them caused by vehicles turning into a side street or adjacent businesses.

26 These left-turn lanes should have a minimum 50-foot storage length.

 

Table 1
Proposed Improvements: Route 20 from Route 85 to Lincoln Street

Location

Issues/Concerns

Short-Term Improvements

Long-Term Improvements

The section in general

  • Four-lane low-volume section (Granger Boulevard) allowing high-speed traffic in residential area
  • Wide-turning radii at street corners on Granger Boulevard, creating long pedestrian crossing distance and allowing high-speed turning traffic
  • Two-lane section (East Main Street) in mixed residential/commercial area, with limited right-of-way for expansion
  • Sidewalks on East Main Street frequently narrowed by utility poles
  • Lack of bicycle accommodations
  • Pavement rutting and cracking
  • Increase signal visibility (by installing signal backplates with retroreflective borders)
  • Readjust signal timing at major intersections
  • Consider restriping Granger Boulevard to two-lane traffic operation (one lane each direction) with a center median/left-turn lane and 5.5-foot wide shoulders for bicycle accommodation on both sides
  • Maintain East Main Street two-lane traffic operation with four-foot shoulders for bicycle accommodation
  • Reconstruct Granger Boulevard to two-lane traffic operation (one lane each direction) with a center median/left-turn lane and 5.5-foot wide shoulders for bicycle accommodation on both sides
  • Reduce turning radii at street corners on Granger Boulevard
  • Relocate utility poles or widen sidewalks on East Main Street, within available right-of-way
  • Add a southbound left-turn lane at the Route 85 intersection
  • Reconstruct the Main Street intersection and upgrade its signal system
  • Patch/repave/seal the rutting and cracking pavements

Route 20 (Granger Boulevard) at Route 85 (South Bolton Street)

  • Large number of crashes (59 in the past-five years)
  • Nearly half (28) of the total crashes were left-turn crashes
  • Two pedestrian crashes on the Route 20 eastbound approach
  • Eastbound/westbound drivers facing sun glares during AM and PM peak hours
  • Consider readjusting signal timing (by reducing cycle length from 116 seconds to 90 seconds) and continue monitoring traffic conditions (including the Route 85/Main Street intersection)
  • Consider changing all left-turn operations, except southbound approach, from Protected/Permissive to Protected only, if large number of left-turn crashes prevail
  • Install signal backplates with retroreflective borders (requiring further examination of existing mast arms’ capacity)
  • Install MUTCD Cross Only at Crosswalks (R9-2) on the sidewalks on both sides of the eastbound approach
  • Add a left-turn lane (125-foot storage length) on southbound approach by removing part of the existing traffic median
  • Increase pedestrian staging areas at the northeast and southeast corners of the intersection

Route 20 (Granger Boulevard/East Main Street) at Main Street/Brown Street

  • Large intersection layout (difficult for drivers to view all other approaches)
  • Long pedestrian crossing distance (about 85 feet) on the Route 20 eastbound approach
  • No crosswalk on the Route 20 westbound approach where frequent pedestrian crossings were observed
  • Outdated traffic signal equipment
  • Poor visibility of signal indications
  • Confusing signage on Brown Street

 

  • Readjust the exclusive pedestrian signal time from 21 to 31 seconds
  • Replace existing No Left-Turn and No U-Turn signs with a Right-Turn Only (MUTCD R3-5) sign on Brown Street
  • Install signal backplates with retroreflective borders (requiring further examination of the overhead wire’s capacity)
  • Consider changing the Granger Boulevard approach to a left-turn-only lane and a through/right-turn-only lane
  • Reconstruct intersection with a smaller layout (while maintaining all existing lanes) by extending north-side sidewalk on East Main Street, channelizing the Brown Street approach for right turns only and replacing the traffic signal to a stop control; adding a crosswalk on the East Main Street westbound approach; and relocating the southbound crosswalk
  • Increase pedestrian staging areas at all corners of intersection
  • Upgrade entire signal system with mast arms, new signal indications, and count-down/ accessible pedestrian signals

Route 20 (East Main Street) at Lincoln Street/Stevens Street

  • Offset northbound and southbound approaches with constrained surroundings
  • Large number of crashes (35 in past five years)
  • Nearly one-third of the total crashes (16) occurring on congested westbound approach
  • Faded pavement markings, especially on the northbound (Route 20 eastbound) approach
  • Add yellow retroreflective border on signal backplates
  • Propose no traffic signal operation changes; already maximized under current intersection layout
  • Stripe faded Right Turn Only pavement markings on outside of the northbound approach
  • Consider prohibiting right turns on red on the northbound (Route 20 eastbound) approach, as it would potentially reduce right-turn crashes and would increase delays only slightly
  • Consider reconstructing the intersection by realigning the northbound/southbound approaches

 

Table 2
Proposed Improvements: Route 20 from Lincoln Street and Concord Road

Location

Issues/Concerns

Short-Term Improvements

Long-Term Improvements

The section in general

  • Four-lane high-volume section in highly developed residential/commercial area
  • High crash rates in sections between intersections, especially in between Curtis Avenue and Hosmer Street (one of the State’s 2011–13 top-200 crash clusters)
  • Two pedestrian and four bicycle crashes in the segment in past five years
  • Traffic congestion at major intersections during PM and Saturday peak hours
  • High crash rates at major intersections
  • Large number of crashes caused by vehicles to and from the businesses on the south side
  • Large number of crashes occurring in the parking lot of Post Road Shopping Center (128 in past five years)
  • Lack of bicycle accommodations
  • Pavement rutting and cracking
  • Re-time traffic signals at Curtis Avenue intersection
  • Increase signal visibility (by adding retroreflective borders on existing backplates)
  • Consider designating outside lanes as shared bicycle/vehicle lanes in both directions
  • Restripe faded pavement markings at major intersections
  • Maintain existing four-lane configuration with no major changes because of high daily traffic volume
  • Consider installing sharrows (shared-lane markings) and signage to accommodate bicycles
  • Consider reconstructing section between Hosmer Street and Concord Road under a two-lane operation in the westbound direction
  • Modify Curtis Avenue intersection and upgrade its traffic signal system with pedestrian signals
  • Reconstruct Hosmer Street intersection and upgrade its traffic signal system
  • Reconstruct and signalize Concord Road intersection
  • Coordinate traffic signals of the three intersections
  • Consider providing a section of two-way left-turn lane for vehicles to access the adjacent Dunkin’ Donuts and Digital Federal Credit Union
  • Consider improving access management and control during prospective business redevelopments on the south side
  • Consider redesigning the parking and traffic circulation system in Post Road Shopping Center
  • Patch/repave/seal rutting and cracking pavements

Route 20 (East Main Street) at Curtis Avenue/Post Road Plaza Driveway

  • Large number of crashes (55 in past five years)
  • Insufficient signal time for pedestrians to cross about 50 feet on Route 20 (about 16 seconds, concurrent with the southbound traffic signal)
  • No signal indications for pedestrians to cross Curtis Avenue or the shopping center driveway, although crosswalks existing
  • Three bicycle crashes, all on crosswalks
  • Readjust the concurrent pedestrian signal time from 16 to 21 seconds
  • Add retroreflective borders to signal backplates
  • Install MUTCD Turning Vehicles Yield to Pedestrians (R10-15) signs on both approaches of Route 20
  • Modify the intersection by slightly extending the northwest corner and reconstruct all the crosswalk ramps with ADA standards
  • Further examine exclusive versus concurrent pedestrian signal phasing at the design stage
  • Upgrade the traffic signal system with pedestrian signal indications all crosswalks
  • Coordinate this traffic signal (as the master intersection) with the signals at Hosmer Street and at Concord Road

Route 20 (East Main Street) at Hosmer Street

  • Large number of crashes (40 in past five years)
  • Relatively long distance (about 65 feet) for pedestrians to cross Route 20, but with sufficient exclusive pedestrian signal time (about 30 seconds)
  • Traffic congestion during peak hours
  • Add retroreflective borders to signal backplates
  • Install MUTCD Turning Vehicles Yield to Pedestrians (R10-15) signs on the Route 20 westbound approach
  • Reconstruct intersection by channelizing the southbound right turns with a pedestrian refuge island, relocating the Route 20 crosswalk, extending northwest corner, and moving Route 20 eastbound/west stop lines closer to each other
  • With the new configuration, change the pedestrian signal phase from exclusive to concurrent
  • Upgrade traffic signal system
  • Coordinate this traffic signal with those at Curtis Avenue and Concord Road.

Route 20 (East Main Street) at Concord Road

  • Large number of crashes (51 in the past five years)
  • Traffic congestion during peak hours with extensive vehicle delays on the Concord Road approach (currently under a stop control)
  • Sudden drop of travel lanes and sudden start of the left-turn only lane on Route 20 eastbound approach causing intensive lane-change activities and potentially crashes
  • Tight intersection confined by Route 20 center median
  • Sight distance problems due to its horizontal-curve location
  • Consider installing lane-designation sign on the eastbound approach about 100 feet ahead of the start of the left-turn lane.
  • Consider cutting back the Route 20 westbound median for about 10 to 15 feet.
  • Add reflective paint or markers to the face of median curbs
  • Reconstruct Route 20 to a consistent four-lane roadway (two lanes on each approach)
  • Extend Left-Turn-Only pavement marking once the roadway is reconfigured
  • Reconstruct and signalize the intersection and install crosswalks on the eastbound and southbound approaches with pedestrian signal indications
  • Coordinate this traffic signal with those at Curtis Avenue and Hosmer Street

 

Table 3
Proposed Improvements: Route 20 from Concord Road to Farm Road

Location

Issues/Concerns

Short-Term Improvements

Long-Term Improvements

The section in general

  • Two-lane roadway (one lane in each direction) in mixed residential/commercial area, with extensive traffic entering and exiting from adjacent developments
  • Very high corridor crash rate
  • Noticeable number of crashes at westbound lane-drop location near Burger King restaurant
  • Unsafe pedestrian crossings on Route 20
  • Traffic congestion during PM peak hours
  • Discontinuous sidewalks
  • Lack of bicycle accommodations
  • Horizontal and vertical curves with overgrown vegetation
  • Pavement rutting and cracking
  • Consider changing existing 40-mph zone to 35 mph (requiring further engineering study)
  • At the lane-drop location, replace the existing Road Narrow (W5-1) with Land Ends (W4-2) warning sign to inform outside-lane travelers clearly to slow down and yield
  • Re-time signal at Farm Road intersection
  • Trim overgrown vegetation in both directions

                                      

  • Widen roadway to three-lane: two travel lanes (one in each direction) and a center median/left-turn lane, with six-foot bicycle lanes (also as roadway shoulders for emergency stopping) on both sides; center medians may be raised or flush (paint-striped or concrete-stamped)
  • Install continuous five-foot sidewalks on both sides of roadway
  • Consolidate driveways/curb cuts wherever applicable
  • Further study and evaluate intersection at Marlborough Fire Station #3 with an  emergency hybrid beacon that can serve both emergency vehicles and pedestrian crossings
  • Patch/repave/seal rutting and cracking pavements

Route 20 (Boston Post Road East) at Farm Road

  • Dense commercial developments with multiple curb cuts near the intersection
  • Large number of crashes (48 in the past five years) and a quarter of the crashes (12) involving vehicles entering or exiting from adjacent commercial developments
  • Traffic congestion during peak hours
  • Confusing lane-designation pavement markings on the northbound (Farm Road) approach
  • Consider readjust signal cycle length from 160 to 120 seconds, including existing 25-second exclusive pedestrian signal phase
  • Add retroreflective borders to signal backplates
  • Correct lane-designation pavement markings (outside lane for right-turn only and inside lane for through and left-turn movements) on Farm Road and enhance the stop line before crosswalk at the right-turn approach
  • Consider restriping the median on Route 20 Westbound to provide access to and from Mustang Avenue and the stores in southeast quadrant of the intersection
  • Consider relocating northbound right-turn signals closer to Farm Road just behind crosswalk

 


 

Table 4
Proposed Improvements: Route 20 from Farm Road to Raytheon Driveway

Location

Issues/Concerns

Short-Term Improvements

Long-Term Improvements

The section in general

  • Four-lane roadway (two lanes in each direction) in mostly commercial/office area
  • High corridor crash rate
  • Noticeable number of crashes in segment between the two ends of Dicenzo Boulevard
  • Traffic congestion at the Dicenzo Boulevard/Pomphrey Drive intersection during PM and Saturday peak hours
  • Discontinuous sidewalks on the north side
  • Lack of bicycle accommodations
  • Pavement rutting and cracking
  • Consider restriping the four travel lanes between Farm Road and Dicenzo Boulevard with a reduced width of 11 feet to include a five-foot shoulder for bicycle accommodation in both directions
  • Consider restriping the section east of Dicenzo Boulevard from four- to three-lanes: two travel lanes (one in each direction) and a center median/left-turn lane, with six-foot shoulders on both sides for bicycle accommodation
  • Re-time traffic signals at major intersections
  • Reconstruct the section east of Dicenzo Boulevard to three-lane: two travel lanes and a center median/left-turn lane, with six-foot bicycle lanes on both sides
  • Install continuous five-foot sidewalks on the north side from Dicenzo Boulevard to Raytheon Driveway
  • Change speed limit of entire section from the existing 40 mph to 35 mph after the roadway reconfiguration
  • Consolidate driveways/curb cuts wherever applicable
  • Patch/repave/seal the rutting and cracking pavements

Route 20 (Boston Post Road East) at Dicenzo Boulevard/Pomphrey Drive

  • Traffic congestion during PM and Saturday peak hours
  • Large intersection layout (difficult for drivers to view all other approaches)
  • Noticeable side-swipe crash pattern in the double left-turn lanes from Dicenzo Boulevard to Route 20
  • Consider readjusting signal cycle length from 149 to 115 seconds, including the existing 27-second exclusive pedestrian signal phase
  • Add retroreflective borders to signal backplates
  • Install pavement dash guide lines (skip lines) to delineate the double left-turn lanes from Dicenzo Boulevard to Route 20
  • Consider slightly reducing intersection layout by extending the southwest corner and moving the eastbound stop line and crosswalk about 10 feet closer to the intersection; this should be further examined with the required vehicle turning radius to Dicenzo Boulevard

Route 20 (Boston Post Road East) at Raytheon Driveway/Wayside Office Driveway

  • Some drivers use westbound left-turn only lane as a through lane to cross the intersection, potentially causing crashes and increasing delays for eastbound traffic
  • Southbound signal phase not skipped (even no vehicles present), possibly because if damaged loop detectors (observed in June 2016)
  • Restripe and extend westbound left-turn-only pavement markings, with periodical enforcements
  • Check and repair southbound loop detectors
  • Re-time signal with 90-second cycles under a shortened southbound split-phase (from 24 to 10 seconds)
  • Install signal backplates with retroreflective borders (requiring further examination of the overhead wires’ capacity)
  • Reconstruct intersection according to the proposed corridor three-lane roadway reconfiguration: maintain existing eastbound right-turn-only lane; reduce eastbound through lanes from two to one; designate center lane as left-turn only in both directions; intersection would operate acceptably during peak hours under projected 2040 traffic conditions
  • Install crosswalks on all approaches, except eastbound
  • Upgrade signal system with new mast arms and pedestrian signals

 

 


 


Table 5
Proposed Improvements: Route 20 from Raytheon Driveway to Sudbury Town Line

Location

Issues/Concerns

Short-Term Improvements

Long-Term Improvements

The section in general

  • Two-lane roadway (one lane in each direction) in wooded/water area with scattered commercial/office developments and a few houses
  • Noticeable number of crashes in segment adjacent to the Wayside Inn Store commercial development
  • No sidewalks on both sides of the roadway
  • Lack of bicycle accommodations
  • Pavement rutting and cracking
  • Re-time traffic signal at the Wayside Inn Road intersection
  • Increase traffic signal awareness and visibility at Wayside Inn Road intersection by improving signage improvements
  • Reconstruct entire section to three-lanes: two travel lanes (one in each direction) and a center median/left-turn lane, with six-foot bicycle lanes on both sides
  • Consider the wetland impact of roadway adjacent to Hager Pond, where a two-lane configuration may be feasible with five-foot shoulders on both sides for bicycle accommodation
  • Install continuous five-foot sidewalks on both sides of roadway
  • Change speed limit of entire section from the existing 40 mph to 35 mph after the roadway reconfiguration
  • Reconstruct the Wayside Inn Road intersection
  • Patch/repave/seal the rutting and cracking pavements

Route 20 (Boston Post Road East) at Wayside Inn Road/Hager Street

  • Poor visibility of signal indications from either direction of Route 20
  • Drivers likely unware or unfamiliar with eastbound left-turn operation via a jug-handle slip ramp
  • Without an exclusive lane, westbound left turns sometimes block through movements, potentially causing rear-end crashes
  • High proportion of crashes (30 percent) involving personal injuries, possibly because of high travel speeds at the intersection
  • Sight distance problems because of vertical-curve location
  • Consider increasing size of signal lens/heads and installing signal backplates with retroreflective borders (requires further examination of the existing mast arms’ capacity)
  • Consider increasing the all-red time from one to two seconds (total clearance time six seconds) for the Route 20 signal phase
  • Install MUTCD Traffic Signal Ahead (W3-3) warning sign about 600-to-800 feet before the intersection on Route 20 westbound approach
  • Reconstruct intersection with an exclusive left-turn lane on both approaches of Route 20
  • Modify the jug-handle slip ramp to be right-turn only
  • Install crosswalks on all approaches
  • Install new traffic signal system with countdown/ accessible pedestrian signals

 

 

Figure 1: Study Area Map—Route 20 East Corridor in Marlborough

Figure 1 is a map of the study area, Route 20 East in Marlborough. The map shows the roadway classification in the study area.

 

Figure 2: Transit Service and Pedestrian and Bicycle Facilities

Figure 2 is a map showing the location of transit stops and MWRTA bus stops in the study area. The map also defines the sections of Route 20 that have sidewalks and roadway shoulders for use by pedestrians and bicyclists, respectively.

 

Figure 3: Daily Traffic Volumes

Figure 3 is a map showing daily traffic volumes on Route 20 at the locations of Automatic Traffic Recorders.

 

Figure 4: Weekday Peak-Hour Traffic and Pedestrian Volumes at Major Intersections

Figure 4 is a map showing weekday peak-hour traffic and pedestrian volumes at major intersections on Route 20.

 

Figure 5: Saturday Peak-Hour Traffic and Pedestrian Volumes at Selected Intersections

Figure 5 is a map showing Saturday peak-hour traffic and pedestrian volumes at selected intersections along Route 20.

 

Figure 6: Weekday Intersection Capacity Analyses

Figure 6 is a map showing level of service and average delay per vehicle at intersections along Route 20 during weekday peak travel hours.

 

Figure 7: Saturday Intersection Capacity Analyses

Figure 7 is a map showing level of service and average delay per vehicle at intersections along Route 20 during the Saturday midday peak travel hours.

 

Figure 8: Speed Regulations and Estimated 85th Percentile Speeds

Figure 8 is a map showing speed limit zones along Route 20 and estimated 85th percentile speeds.

 

Figure 9: Crash Locations (MassDOT Crash Data 2009–13)

Figure 9 is a map showing the location of crashes – and crash clusters – involving vehicles, pedestrians, and bicycles on Route 20 and surrounding roadways. The crashes occurred between 2011 and 2013.

 

Figure 10: Proposed Long-Term improvement Conceptual Plan: Route 20 between Route 85 and Lincoln Street

Figure 10 is a map of Route 20 between Route 85 and Lincoln Street. The map has overlays depicting proposed long-term conceptual improvements to the roadway, including the location of traffic buffers, medians, turn lanes, crosswalks, sidewalks, and bicycle lanes and accommodations. Graphics embedded in map show proposed cross sections of the roadway with lane widths.

 

Figure 11: Proposed Long-Term improvement Conceptual Plan: Route 20 between Curtis Avenue and Hosmer Street

Figure 11 is a map of Route 20 between Curtis Avenue and Hosmer Street. The map has overlays depicting proposed long-term conceptual improvements to the roadway, including the location of traffic buffers, medians, turn lanes, crosswalks, sidewalks, and bicycle lanes and accommodations.

 

Figure 12: Proposed Long-Term improvement Conceptual Plan: Route 20 in the Vicinity of Concord Road Intersection

Figure 12 is a map showing the intersection of Route 20 and Concord Road and the vicinity. The map has overlays depicting proposed long-term conceptual improvements to the roadway, including the location of traffic buffers, medians, turn lanes, crosswalks, sidewalks, and bicycle lanes and accommodations.

 

Figure 13: Proposed Long-Term improvement Conceptual Plan: Route 20 between Concord Road and Farm Road (1)

Figure 13 is a map of the section of Route 20 between Concord Road and Farm Road. The map has overlays depicting an alternative for proposed long-term conceptual improvements to the roadway, including the location of traffic buffers, medians, turn lanes, crosswalks, sidewalks, and bicycle lanes and accommodations. A graphic embedded in map show proposed cross sections of the roadway with lane widths.

 

Figure 14: Proposed Long-Term improvement Conceptual Plan: Route 20 between Concord Road and Farm Road (2)

Figure 14 is another map of the section of Route 20 between Concord Road and Farm Road. The map has overlays depicting an alternative for proposed long-term conceptual improvements to the roadway, including the location of traffic buffers, medians, turn lanes, crosswalks, sidewalks, and bicycle lanes and accommodations. A graphic embedded in map show proposed cross sections of the roadway with lane widths.

 

Figure 15: Proposed Long-Term improvement Conceptual Plan: Route 20 in the Vicinity of Farm Road Intersection

Figure 15 is a map of the intersection of Route 20 and Farm Road and the vicinity. The map has overlays depicting proposed long-term conceptual improvements to the roadway, including the location of traffic buffers, medians, turn lanes, crosswalks, sidewalks, and bicycle lanes and accommodations.

 

Figure 16: Proposed Long-Term improvement Conceptual Plan: Route 20 between Farm Road and Dicenzo Boulevard

Figure 16 is a map of the section of Route 20 between Farm Road and Dicenzo Boulevard. The map has overlays depicting proposed long-term conceptual improvements to the roadway, including the location of traffic buffers, medians, turn lanes, crosswalks, sidewalks, and bicycle lanes and accommodations. A graphic embedded in map show proposed cross sections of the roadway with lane widths.

 

Figure 17: Proposed Long-Term improvement Conceptual Plan: Route 20 between Dicenzo Boulevard and Raytheon Driveway

Figure 17 is a map of the section of Route 20 between Dicenzo Boulevard and Raytheon Driveway. The map has overlays depicting proposed long-term conceptual improvements to the roadway, including the location of traffic buffers, medians, turn lanes, crosswalks, sidewalks, and bicycle lanes and accommodations. A graphic embedded in map show proposed cross sections of the roadway with lane widths.

 

Figure 18: Proposed Long-Term improvement Conceptual Plan: Route 20 in the Vicinity of Raytheon Driveway

Figure 18 is a map of the section of Route 20 in the vicinity of Raytheon Driveway. The map has overlays depicting proposed long-term conceptual improvements to the roadway, including the location of traffic buffers, medians, turn lanes, crosswalks, sidewalks, and bicycle lanes and accommodations. A graphic embedded in map show proposed cross sections of the roadway with lane widths.

 

Figure 19: Proposed Long-Term improvement Conceptual Plan: Route 20 in the Vicinity of Wayside Inn Road/Hager Street Intersection

Figure 19 is a map of the section of Route 20 in the vicinity of the Wayside Inn Road and Hager Street intersection. The map has overlays depicting proposed long-term conceptual improvements to the roadway, including the location of traffic buffers, medians, turn lanes, crosswalks, sidewalks, and bicycle lanes and accommodations. A graphic embedded in map show proposed cross sections of the roadway with lane widths.

 

Figure 20: 2040 Weekday Intersection Capacity Analyses (with Proposed Long-Term Improvements)

Figure 20 is a map showing estimates of what the weekday level of service and average delay per vehicle would be at intersections along Route 20 in the year 2040 if the proposed long-term improvements were implemented.

 

Figure 21: 2040 Saturday Intersection Capacity Analyses (with Proposed Long-Term Improvements)

Figure 21 is a map showing estimates of what the Saturday level of service and average delay per vehicle would be at intersections along Route 20 in the year 2040 if the proposed long-term improvements were implemented.

Appendixes