Franklin presents traffic study alternatives to ease school drop-off and pick-up

Franklin School Committee members and town engineers on May 30 reviewed a beta traffic study that models vehicle, bus and van volume at elementary, middle and high school complexes after the district’s reorganization and identified short‑term operational fixes plus longer‑term design alternatives.

The district’s director of operations, Colin Boivare, said the study’s Phase 1 gathered vehicle counts, speeds, turn movements and queue lengths and used projected enrollments to estimate next‑year demand; Phase 2 would produce preliminary and final designs and construction documents if the committee selects any capital alternatives. “Phase 2 will consist of the preliminary designs, with each alternative selected, final designs, construction documents, any environmental permitting needed, and a field study,” Boivare told the committee.

Why it matters: simulated queues at several sites top out at more than 2,000 feet under projected demand, and the committee must decide whether to implement low‑cost operational changes this summer or pursue larger capital projects that require permitting and public bidding. The study team emphasized staging, signage and staggered arrival strategies as immediate mitigations while reserving major construction for later.

Key findings and near‑term steps: the consultant projected for the Lincoln Street/Keller‑Sullivan complex about 251 morning drop‑offs, up to 11 buses and six vans and a pickup queue as long as about 2,300 feet; one feasible capital option shown would add roughly 390 feet of queue space by creating a parent loop around the field. At Washington Street (Jefferson/Remington) analysts projected about 181 morning drop‑offs, up to 10 buses and six vans and a 2,125‑foot queue; extending the curb to use existing sidewalk space would add about 125 feet of queue at no capital cost. For the consolidated middle school projections showed roughly 304 morning drop‑offs, 13 buses and eight vans with a 2,300‑foot queue; using drop‑off space behind Franklin High School could add roughly 1,000 feet, while the ECDC loop could add about 800 feet.

Operations the district will try next year include a 15‑minute supervised early drop‑off window at Lincoln Street and Washington Street to spread demand and provide breakfast, new queue staging and wayfinding signage, a targeted program to clear before‑ and after‑school program wait lists, and a proposed lower bus fee to encourage ridership. Boivare said the district must also finalize which alternatives it wants to pursue in collaboration with town DPW, town engineering and facilities before the consultant moves to Phase 2 design work.

Town engineer Mike Maglio said the team prioritized “cost‑effective” alternatives and stressed that major options — such as building a road behind a school — would be costly and require permitting and a public construction process. “You can build anything with enough time and money, but we want to make sure that when we're doing things, we're prudent,” Maglio said.

Timing and constraints: the presenters said there will be no major construction this summer; the earliest construction window would be summer 2026 if a project is approved, permitted and bid. Designers plan to begin more detailed work as the school year starts and after observing the operational mitigations in real traffic conditions.

What remains undecided: the committee did not take a vote on any capital alternative. Boivare and Maglio said the district will monitor the fall operation — including whether the proposed five‑minute high school schedule shift clears substantial queue space — and then recommend whether to move to Phase 2 design and permitting.

Speakers quoted in this article are Colin Boivare (director of operations), Mike Maglio (town engineer), Superintendent Lucas (superintendent) and committee members who asked for community outreach and monitoring. For details on projected vehicle counts, queue lengths and the list of alternatives, the district presentation materials and the beta traffic study were cited by the presenters.