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Committee urges state engagement on Exits 10–11 and flags crash data on Route 6
Summary
Committee members asked staff to work with the select board and public‑safety chiefs to request that the Cape Cod Commission and MassDOT review safety and ramp geometry at Exits 10 and 11 on Route 6, citing collision counts and long‑standing concerns about acceleration lanes.
At the Harwich Traffic Safety Committee’s July 14 meeting, members asked the town to seek state attention to ramp and acceleration‑lane issues at Exits 10 and 11 on Route 6 and to consider a coordinated letter from the select board and public‑safety chiefs to MassDOT and the Cape Cod Commission.
A committee member told the meeting he had asked David LeBlanc for crash figures and reported that LeBlanc said the MassCrash portal shows “266 crashes” over three years (2020–current). The committee discussed that many incidents were failure‑to‑yield collisions rather than severe pedestrian or bicyclist strikes, and members said a clarified breakdown from the crash portal would help target remedies.
“Somebody can ask him how to define it, how many accidents are out there on the 6 per year,” one committee member said, urging staff to get a more detailed breakdown. The Chair (Speaker 4) said the first step would be the committee working with staff and other public bodies to get the issue on the state’s five‑year plan and to prepare the requested letter.
Public commenters and a resident who identified himself as Matt Sutton urged caution about enabling unchecked development, linking increasing visitation and seasonality to traffic pressure and urging restraint in planning decisions that add capacity without mitigating local impacts.
Next steps: The committee asked staff to draft correspondence, coordinate with the commission and to obtain a more detailed crash breakdown (by type, location and severity) from the MassCrash portal or state police data. Members said the documentation should be prepared for possible inclusion in the state’s five‑year plan.
