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Keene committee asks staff to work with NHDOT after residents press for action at Route 9/Sullivan Road intersection
Summary
After residents described crashes and urged enforcement, the Keene MSFI committee voted unanimously to have the city manager and staff coordinate with New Hampshire DOT and produce an action plan for the Sullivan Road/Route 9 intersection for presentation at the next MSFI meeting.
The Keene Municipal Services, Facilities & Infrastructure Committee voted unanimously to delay final action and direct the city manager and staff to coordinate with the New Hampshire Department of Transportation to produce an action plan addressing safety at the Sullivan Road and Route 9 intersection.
Committee members, city staff and members of the public spent the meeting reviewing recent crash patterns, interim options within the city’s control and gaps in state crash records. Don, the city’s public works director, told the committee that a rapid, locally controlled step would be “the interim closure of ... the southern side of Sullivan Road,” a change he said could be implemented through the normal council process and “would have a real impact” because, he added, “every 1 of these serious accidents involved turning vehicles.”
Residents and town officials pushed back on the practical effects of closing part of the road, arguing the city should quantify displaced traffic and enforce speed limits. Vicky Martin (275 Water Street) asked the committee to weigh how many vehicles would be diverted onto Washington Street and the Route 9/Washington intersection if the southern side were closed, saying she was concerned about additional safety risks at the alternate intersection.
A representative from the New Hampshire Department of Transportation, Amanda Zateca, urged closer cooperation between DOT and local police to obtain detailed crash reports. “We have crash data all the way from 02/2002,” she said, but added the state records often lack the crash-diagram detail planners need and recommended partnering with Keene Police Department so the DOT can request and review redacted DMV crash reports.
City staff described data-collection options the city already uses. Don noted automated flashing signs can collect gross vehicle volumes but “it doesn’t collect any information about turning movements,” so the city can measure how many cars use Sullivan Road but would still need additional methods to measure turning behavior.
The chair moved to place the matter on more time to allow the city manager and staff to coordinate with NHDOT and present a recommended action plan at the next MSFI meeting; the motion was seconded and carried unanimously. The motion sets a timeline for staff work and further analysis but does not adopt a road closure or engineering change at this meeting.
Next steps: staff will coordinate with New Hampshire DOT and Keene Police Department to gather more detailed crash and turning-movement information and return with an action plan for the committee’s next meeting.
