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Haverhill committee approves temporary traffic-calming demonstration at Amesbury Line Road and Merrimack Road; engineering to monitor results
Summary
City engineers presented consultant recommendations for temporary, low-cost measures (flex posts, restriping) to address speeding and sight-line issues at the Amesbury Line Road/Merrimack Road intersection. The committee approved implementing the demonstration, with follow-up data collection and consideration of a permanent roundabout if needed.
City engineer John Pettis presented a consultant's recommendations for temporary, low-cost traffic-calming treatments at the Amesbury Line Road and Merrimack Road intersection and the public safety committee authorized the implementation of a demonstration project to be monitored for effectiveness.
Pettis described a three-sheet concept set that included short-term visual treatments (restricting lane space with flex posts and restriping) to tighten travel lanes and move stop bars closer to the intersection. "Those would be flex posts that we would put in," Pettis said of the temporary measures, noting they would be left in place until winter and monitored with follow-up speed counts.
Pettis said longer-term alternatives were considered, including reconfiguring the roadway or building a roundabout. He described a roundabout as a possible long-term option because sight lines are difficult at the skewed intersection, but he said a permanent solution would require additional funding and design work. When asked, Pettis said a cost estimate for a roundabout was not yet available.
Sergeant Lynch said the police department supported the recommended demonstration approach as the most cost-effective near-term response and said the city has recent baseline speed and crash numbers that can be compared with post-implementation counts. Several councilors expressed support for the proposal as a pragmatic, low-cost first step; one councilor cited research from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety that many intersection problems can be addressed by signage and markings.
A public commenter from the affected neighborhood spoke at the microphone in support of improvements and asked the committee to limit excessive numbers of posts for visual reasons; engineering said the number of posts could likely be reduced from the plan shown.
The committee then moved and seconded a motion to implement the temporary measures (flex posts, restriping) as a demonstration project and to monitor outcomes. The motion passed on a voice vote. Staff will implement the demonstration, collect one month of post-installation speed and crash data, and return with results and recommendations about whether a permanent reconfiguration (including a possible roundabout) is warranted.
