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Design alternatives for Great Plain Avenue presented; traffic study and signal timing called key to impacts
Summary
Design team showed two street‑section alternatives for Great Plain Avenue including separated bikeways, widened sidewalks and parking reallocations; traffic consultants said reduced vehicle lanes may increase queues and signal timing (a 'bottleneck grant') could mitigate backups.
At the March 10, 2025 Envision Needham Center project working group meeting, the design team presented two alternatives for Great Plain Avenue that would reallocate roadway space for wider sidewalks, separated bike lanes and street trees.
Sarah Johnson, a designer presenting cross sections and plan views, showed a typical section between Chapel and Highland where about 62 feet is currently allocated to vehicles with 11‑foot lanes and sidewalks that vary to about 8 feet beside the park. Johnson described two alternatives that both add bikeways in each direction and widen sidewalks; the alternatives differ in whether trees are placed between sidewalk and bikeway or between bikeway and roadway, and in whether parking is provided on both sides or only on one side of the street.
Why it matters: the alternatives change curb lines and parking patterns,…
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