Belmont-Trapelo Corridor Project — FAQ

1. What is the reason for taking two seasons (2014 and 2015) to pave a few miles of road? Couldn’t it have been done in a single season by doing more work in parallel? Speeding up the work would reduce the overall disruption significantly and bring the project to fruition sooner.

   In general it seems that if we undertook fewer separate projects simultaneously but completed each one more quickly we would have fewer tie ups and more construction-free travel at any given time.

   Kiril

2. If it were just paving, I think it could definitely get done in one season. But two years doesn’t bother me for a project that redoes drainage and redesigns the whole streetscape. It’s not just a question of resource allocation — it’s also about how much disruption the community can take all at once.

3. Did the timed traffic lights (to facilitate smooth rush hour traffic inbound in morning and outbound in evening) make it into the final design? It is important to keep the traffic moving, particularly inbound in morning, otherwise it will make the bus service deteriorate. Also, timed traffic signals encourage everyone to move at a moderate speed, safer than the current situation.

4. Thanks for the update Will. Aside from your looking into the project the past few months, there have been no updates on the project posted anywhere (except the ground-breaking ceremony which is only PR). Will there be a schedule of work, especially road disruptions, posted anywhere? The Town’s website on the project has not been updated in a while. I think it is important to communicate the work for both commuters and residents. When they removed the trolley lines, the street was closed off for a short while, yet there was no notice that this was going to happen. I hope that the Town and contractor will be more transparent in the future on the schedule and progress.

5. Bill, let me check on the light timing issue.

   Yes, Matt. I understand that the Town Engineer has been trying to get time to posting a schedule. There is, of course, a project plan, but it’s not in a user-friendly format.

6. Will there be a commitment to proper maintenance in the future? It seems that so many of our infrastructure problems are due to woefully inadequate maintenance. It doesn’t seem to matter if the economy is good or bad – there are never enough funds allocated.

7. Fair point — maintenance is critical.

   Maintenance will be the responsibility of the town of Belmont.

   Belmont has done better at maintenance in recent years — there is a recognition among many town leaders that annual investment in capital maintenance is essential.

8. Regarding Trapelo Light timing, this from Glenn Clancy, Belmont’s Town Engineer:

   All signalized intersections and the intersection of Pleasant and Trapelo will be receiving new signals. The timing at each intersection is designed to handle projected traffic volumes for the year 2025. It is required by Mass DOT that traffic volumes be managed 20 years out (our design date was 2005). We were able to get Trapelo Road to one travel lane in each direction at some points along the corridor however, at the signals the volume is always managed appropriately.

   In other words, the answer is yes — the timing should be good down the corridor.

9. Here is a further reply and clarification on the light timing issue from the engineer directly involved in the analysis of the light patterns.

   The proposed traffic signals along Trapelo Road from Mill Street to Lexington Street are to be coordinated as part of the current construction project. Beyond Church Street, the signals are to operate as fully actuated uncoordinated intersections. It is advantageous to coordinate traffic signals that are evenly spaced. The signals along Trapelo Road are not evenly spaced and therefore could affect the formation of platoons or “packets of vehicles” moving together when the green signal is given. The traffic signal software, Synchro, used to analyze the Trapelo Road intersections indicated that most of the uncoordinated intersections would operate better at different cycles. If they are coordinated, a single cycle, usually based on the most congested intersection, has to be imposed on all the signals in that system. This could impact the operations of vehicles approaching on the side streets. Let me know if you need additional explanation.

   Light timing is always a balancing act between competing flow priorities.

10. One last further clarification from the Town Engineer:

    Belmont will sign a traffic control agreement once the project is complete. The purpose as I understand it is to make sure a community doesn’t take a bunch of state and federal money and throw the design on its ear once the state leaves town. If the signals need tweaking we should be able to do that without pushback from Mass DOT. I do not expect the need for significant changes. We designed the signals to meet Mass DOT standards which in part require managing traffic volumes a projected 20 years out (for us that means 2025 since 2005 was the year we began design). Some intersections will see an improvement in level of service and others will stay the same. Unfortunately this is the nature of retrofitting traffic control measures in a fixed right-of-way. We tried to improve the service at Arlington Street, Belmont and Grove, by taking land in Watertown. In the end we could not get the consent of the property owners.

11. As was previously pointed out, it’s not an easy thing to optimize traffic flow along most stretches of Trapelo. On-demand lights and walk signals that actually stop traffic pretty much guarantee that flow will be difficult to optimize. I’m all for traffic management, but this project – especially if it constricts the road to two lanes – may not end up helping traffic flow (and will perversely attract more vehicles should it succeed). With two lanes, even parking a car on Trapelo will impede traffic. Developments in the works will generate additional journeys. So we’ll probably end up with a less bumpy ride that may take longer.

12. Actually, we really think that the project will improve flow. The design is for a basic two lane flow, but includes extra lanes where needed to accommodate turning movements, etc.

13. One thing that can help traffic signal synchronization and make a street more appealing for walking at the same time is to make the pedestrian signals automatic. This allows the timing between all the signals to be predictable and can allow them to be more easily coordinated for steady traffic flow. Pedestrians don’t have to press a button and wait, and traffic flows smoothly through synchronized green lights.

    And while exclusive pedestrian phases are technically safest for pedestrians, they also make people wait longer and take time away from traffic. The town may want to consider concurrent signals that allow people to cross while parallel traffic has a green light. A short 3-5 second LPI (leading pedestrian interval) can be added to give pedestrians a head start before traffic is moving in that direction. Something to think about to increase traffic flow and increase convenience for pedestrians…

14. Thank you, Charlie. I’ll draw this comment to the attention of the town engineer. I’m not sure how the currently plannned timing squares with this comment. This is a thoughtful comment. We probably need to live into the newly redesigned road a little and see how things work before changing plans. But we’ll stay on it after the redesign is in place to keep tweaking it for the better.

15. From the Town Engineer, commenting on Charlie’s post above:

    Given the amount of traffic to be managed through the corridor (30,000 average daily at Waverley square and 25,000 at Benton square) I don’t think it is prudent to build in a pedestrian phase at the signals. The time lost to traffic flow would have a detrimental impact particularly during peak hours. The proposed level of service isn’t the greatest to start with even with new signals and management efforts. A constant phase for pedestrians would make it worse and anyway, I’m not sure Mass DOT would have approved such a design given the volumes.

16. Nearly every intersection in Cambridge has a three second LPI (5 seconds in Central Square). While it is a slight impediment to traffic, it is a dramatic improvement for bicyclists and pedestrians. It is also something that can be tested and changed: it should be tried and measured to see if it actually increases travel times for vehicles.

17. I know about that delay — I do like it. This is something we can work on as we get the lights in place and get some real field experience on how the pedestrian and through traffic flows are working together.

18. Thanks Will for passing along my suggestion. I understand what the Town Engineer is saying, however if my understanding is correct, making the pedestrian signals concurrent in addition to automatic should have little effect on traffic flow since cars always have a green in one direction or another (as do the pedestrian signals), except of course during any short LPI phases.

19. It’s not necessarily the case that there are pedestrian Walk signals when the parallel flow is green. Many intersections protect pedestrians from turn movements by having an exclusive pedestrian walk phase. There are lots of options and we can definitely experiment further after the construction is complete.

20. Why is a contractor from New Hampshire doing the work. This is a Massachusetts funded project.

21. In short, they submitted the best bid. We don’t limit bidding to Massachusetts contractors. There is a long conversation to be had about unfair tax advantages that a contractor from New Hampshire may or may not have. But that’s a different issue. The basic principle is to get the best value.

22. Our office received an inquiry about the bus shelter plans for the Trapelo Road Project. I received the following information from Glenn Clancy, Belmont Town Engineer:

    There are two types of bus shelters the MBTA is going to provide, A standard Type “A” and Type “B” for narrow sidewalks. I have shown the locations on the attached plans. There are two existing bus shelters that will be removed and reset. In words:

    Trapelo Road at Church Street – Type “A”
    Church Street – Existing Removed and Reset
    Trapelo Road at Harriet Avenue – Type “B”
    Trapelo Road at Williston Road – Type “A”
    Trapelo Road at Belmont Street – Existing Removed and Reset
    Belmont Street at Commonwealth Avenue – Type “A”
    Belmont Street at Prentiss Street – Type “A”

    Bus Shelter Location Plans

    Bus Shelter Design

    Andrew Bettinelli
    Legislative Aide
    Office of State Senator William N. Brownsberger

23. The lane painting appears to be complete between Waverley Oaks Rd and Pleasant St yet there are no bike lanes?!

    Are these coming later?

    Every planning document I’ve seen including this page discusses bike lanes and I’m not seeing them on the road.

    1. I posed your question to Glenn Clancy, Town Engineer for Belmont:

       The lane marking are temporary, painted on the intermediate course of asphalt. There is still a final layer of asphalt and permanent makings to be installed. The temporary marking do not necessarily indicate the location and nature of the final markings.

       So, the short answer is: yes, the bike lanes will be included at a later date.

       Andrew Bettinelli
       Legislative Aide
       Office of State Senator William N. Brownsberger

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