Memorandum

Date       November 1, 2012

To           Boston Region Metropolitan Planning Organization

From      Mark S. Abbott and Chen-Yuan Wang

MPO Staff

Re            Safety and Operations Analyses at Selected Intersections—FFY 2013
Task 1: Intersection Selection Procedure

 

This study builds on recommendations generated by the MPO’s Congestion Management Process (CMP) to address safety and congestion problems at intersections in the MPO region. Five similar studies in previous funding years were completed and have received favorable responses from municipalities for assisting them with conceptual design of low-cost improvements and with their planning processes and the implementation process.

The previous studies have examined large, complex intersections, simpler intersections, and locations that include two or more adjacent intersections. The focus this time is on simpler intersections. As before, the basic characteristics required in order for a location to be a candidate for selection were for it to be an intersection on an arterial roadway in the MPO region where (1) according to the MassDOT crash database, many crashes occur, (2) there is congestion during peak periods, and (3) there is serious implementation interest from implementing agencies and/or municipalities.

Four locations (the maximum number allowed for in the work program) have been selected to analyze for potential safety and operations improvements. The selection procedure comprised two major parts. First, staff identified 21 1 locations as potential candidates for this study through the following steps:

Second, staff selected four from the 21 identified locations through the following steps:

The five criteria used for assessing the suitability of a location were:

Geographic equity was considered; no more than one intersection from a single city or town would be selected.

Table 1 lists the 21 identified locations with their municipality, major intersecting streets, total number of 2008–10 EPDO crashes, total crash count, number of fatal/injury crashes, number of pedestrian/bike crashes, related transit routes, jurisdiction, TIP status, and overall score based on the selection criteria. From these, staff selected the following four locations (highlighted in the table) to be evaluated for improvements in this study:

It should be noted that two other intersections met all five criteria. These two other intersections were in Lynn, for a total of three in that municipality. Only one of these was selected, in the interest of geographic equity; Lynn’s preference was to study the Western Avenue at Washington Street intersection at this time.

In summary, the selection process began with the 84 intersections in the region with the highest crash rates and applied, iteratively, extensive sets of criteria. In addition to these data screenings, the process included extensive interactions with MassDOT District offices and with cities and towns. Through this careful effort, the project staff identified the four locations in the MPO region with safety concerns and congested conditions that it considers to be most suitable for this study.

 

MSA/msa

Encl.

 

 

 

1 It should be noted that the 21st location, in Reading, was added to the list of potential locations at the suggestion of MassDOT District 4.

2 EPDO = 10*Fatal Crashes + 5*Injury Crashes + 1*Other Crashes (Property Damage Only or Not Reported)

3 Locations under Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) jurisdiction are considered to have lower potential for implementation.