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Prospect Avenue: commission flags collision cluster near Prospect Street and asks engineers to widen corridor review
Summary
The commission reviewed speed and collision data for Prospect Avenue and said engineering work already under way for the nearby high school area should expand to examine corridor-wide changes, sidewalk gaps, and crossings used by students and pedestrians.
The Northampton Transportation and Parking Commission on March 18 reviewed collision and speed data for Prospect Avenue and asked staff and consultants studying high-school-area traffic to broaden their scope along the corridor.
The discussion was driven by a five-year collision analysis and a covert speed survey that flagged a cluster of crashes near the Prospect Avenue–Prospect Street intersection and resident concern about pedestrian safety at school travel times.
Chief John Cartlidge summarized the data: a five-year collision analysis performed in November 2023 identified 22 collisions on Prospect Avenue, 15 of which occurred at the Prospect Street intersection. "Fourteen of the 15 collisions at Prospect Street and Prospect Avenue involved the vehicle on Prospect Avenue headed northbound that stopped at the stop sign then pulled out in front of a vehicle traveling west," Cartlidge said. A covert speed study (Aug. 31–Sept. 7, 2024) recorded 9,030 vehicles with an average speed of 31 mph and an 85th-percentile speed of 35.9 mph; the posted speed limit is 30 mph.
Councilor Moulton and residents said peak periods—particularly student release from nearby high schools—are when speeds and conflicts are most noticeable. Multiple speakers described near misses at crossings and called for both short-term measures to increase pedestrian visibility and a broader corridor redesign tied to planned roadway and school-area work.
Commissioners and staff noted the city already has an engineering firm working on the Prospect–Jackson corridor because planned changes to the high school and Route 9 corridor could alter traffic patterns; Director Donna LaScalia said the firm is surveying the intersection and the corridor and that a broader scope is likely warranted.
Public commenters and commissioners raised a range of near-term and longer-term options: returning a portable speed-feedback sign (radar speed trailer), repairing and extending missing sidewalks so pedestrians do not walk in travel lanes after snowfalls, and examining the Prospect–Bridge Road intersection geometry. Staff said they will coordinate the engineering work with the high school project and report design options and timing back to the commission.
No regulatory speed change or construction decision was made at the March 18 meeting; staff will present engineering renderings and recommendations at a future meeting.
