Commission backs ordinance package to enable North Elm Street high‑school safety project

The Transportation and Parking Commission voted March 17 to send six ordinance changes to City Council that staff say are needed to implement intersection and safety upgrades on North Elm Street near the high school.

Chair Donna Escalia, director of public works, told the commission the project — for which Gomes Construction has been awarded the contract — includes signalized pedestrian crossings, signal control at Elm/Route 9 and Woodlon/Route 9, new bicycle lanes, and replacement of curb ramps. Escalia said the work is federally funded and must be completed and the money expended by Sept. 30.

The package bundled six items: shifting an inbound Route 9 bus stop, installing a no-right-turn-on-red restriction from Elm Street onto Route 9, deleting obsolete stop signs in the city code, removing several old left-turn prohibitions, eliminating an obsolete one‑way designation for the former Elm throughway, and a set of parking changes to make room for separated bike lanes.

Public commenters urged caution on signalization and called for lower speeds rather than solely relying on signals. “A person hit at 35 mph is five times more likely to die than a person hit at 20 mph,” Alex Bowman of Northampton told the commission during public comment, arguing that approach speeds — not signals — are the primary safety problem and urging the city to change busing policy to reduce peak congestion.

Staff described the proposals as a mix of new traffic controls and code cleanup. On the bus stop shift, Escalia said the inbound stop will move roughly 100 feet to keep buses clear of a crosswalk and improve sightlines. On the no-right-on-red ordinance, staff said engineering review by project consultants (Fuss & O'Neal) recommended the prohibition only for the Elm-to-Route 9 turning movement because of sight-line concerns; they did not recommend prohibiting right-on-red at two other nearby movements.

The parking ordinance would remove about five on‑street spaces on a green triangle inbound to make room for a separated, protected bike lane and extend a no‑parking zone around a corner to improve turning visibility. The plan calls for scored concrete separation and yellow delineator posts to protect the lane; staff said the separators are intended to be permanent but acknowledged they can be damaged and may require replacement and enforcement.

Parking Enforcement Administrator Nancy Forestto warned about school pickup times: “I’m concerned ... how are we going to keep people out of that bike lane? This whole area is swamped with people who are trying to pick up students,” she said, and commissioners discussed enforcement roles, potential curb extensions or bollards, and the trade-offs for truck turning radii in the constrained intersection geometry.

Councillors asked for clarity on signal phasing and bicycle interactions. Escalia said all crosswalks at the project’s signals will have exclusive pedestrian phases and that bicyclists are expected to follow the rules of the road; she also said the design tightens turning radii and rebuilds islands on Route 9 to slow traffic.

Counselor Deb Cleur moved a positive recommendation to City Council on the full package; Randy Sailor seconded. The commission voted by roll call and all present members voted yes: Donna Escalia, John Cartage, Carolyn Mish, Nancy Forestto, Deb Cleur, Jeremy Dubs, Jamie Alvo Fischer and Randy Sailor. The package will be referred to City Council for legislative consideration.

What happens next: staff said the ordinance package will be transmitted to council with a request to refer to legislative matters so construction can proceed once council action is complete and the contractor mobilizes. The commission and staff signaled continued field reviews once construction is active to determine whether additional, more permanent lane separators or curb treatments are warranted after observing turning movements and pickup behavior.

Credits and context: Gomes Construction is the contracted builder identified in the meeting; ETNL Corporation was named in the DPW report as the contractor for timber deck replacements on rail-trail bridges. Project funding is federal; the meeting referenced a September 30 funding-expenditure deadline for those federal funds.

Ending note: The commission’s positive recommendation does not itself authorize construction — City Council must consider the ordinances before any on‑street changes take effect.