Cape Cod Commission recommends signal or roundabout options, short- and long-term fixes for Station Avenue
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Summary
The Cape Cod Commission presented a draft Station Avenue corridor study to the Yarmouth Select Board on Jan. 7, outlining crash history, traffic counts and a menu of short-term safety fixes plus longer-term alternatives such as traffic signals or roundabouts at the Route 6 ramps and changes at the White's Path intersection.
The Cape Cod Commission presented a draft Station Avenue corridor study to the Yarmouth Select Board on Wednesday, outlining safety and circulation concerns along the corridor from the Route 6 interchange ramps to Wood Road.
The study, presented by Colleen Medeiros, transportation program manager at the Cape Cod Commission, said Station Avenue carries about 15,000 vehicles per day on an annual average, with roughly a 10% bump in summer. The commission documented about 162 crashes corridor-wide and identified several problem locations: the Route 6 ramp intersections, the White's Path signal area and the Wood Road intersection. "We did collect traffic volumes, and you'll see here, carries about 15,000 cars, on an annual average basis," Medeiros said.
The draft report recommends a combination of near-term, low-cost steps and longer-term capital projects. Short-term measures include targeted striping, reallocation of lanes, clearer turning pockets to replace the problematic center turn lane and other low-cost safety treatments identified in a road safety audit of Station Avenue at White's Path. Medeiros said a 12-hour count at Wood Road found volumes below signal warrants; the commission recommends considering an "always stop" control (all-way stop) there as a safety measure instead of a signal.
For the Route 6 ramps the commission analyzed both traffic signals and roundabouts and found both to be operationally feasible, but noted that coordination with the Massachusetts Department of Transportation will be required because the state owns the ramp rights-of-way. "Both of these are feasible opportunities and concepts for the town and the state to consider to improve safety at these intersections," Medeiros said, adding that the concepts would include multimodal accommodations such as sidewalks and shared-use paths.
The draft also includes a focused walk audit for Dennis-Yarmouth High School and a Safe Routes to School coordination recommendation for further work on school-area circulation and multimodal access. The commission performed a road safety audit and a collision diagram for the Station Avenue/White's Path intersection and prepared a matrix of benefits and tradeoffs for potential alternatives.
Select board members said they welcomed the analysis but emphasized that the scope must be broadened to reflect pending and planned school projects and local traffic patterns tied to school drop-off and pick-up times. Select Board member Mark Forrest said the report "is a great start" but that more study will be needed to assess potential traffic impacts from school consolidation proposals. Tracy Post and other board members asked staff to return with more detailed time-of-day counts and to coordinate next steps with town departments and school officials.
Medeiros said the Cape Cod Commission will finalize the report after staff and board comments and post the final version to its website. The commission also offered to continue working with the town on grant opportunities and coordination with MassDOT on any ramp modifications.
The draft report, public meeting materials and the road safety audit are available on the Cape Cod Commission and Town of Yarmouth websites; Medeiros provided a project web link for the study.
