Hampton Beach Ocean Boulevard makeover: Here's a look at proposed changes to roadway

HAMPTON — A proposed project to reconstruct a 3.3-mile stretch of Ocean Boulevard from the state park to High Street to improve traffic and safety for pedestrians includes new sidewalks, bike lanes, two sets of traffic lights, and three potential roundabouts.

It also calls for relocating parking next to the seawall from the Lady of the Sea monument to Boar’s Head- an idea that received pushback from residents when it was first proposed in 2018 and was not included in the Hampton Beach Master Plan update.

State Department of Transportation officials presented the options at an open house held Feb. 25 at Hampton Beach to gather feedback on preliminary "alternative" designs.

Before the more than 100 people in attendance, team project manager, Roch Larochelle, explained the goal of the project is not merely to fix traffic congestion during tourist season. He said the aim is to improve safety and mobility for all users, with a focus on bicycle and pedestrian travel.

"The intent of the project is to make a safer environment for those who live here, those who play here, those who come through here every day to reach their destinations," Larochelle said.

The project would run from Hampton Beach State Park to High Street at North Beach, and it’s separated into three sections: South Beach State Park Driveway to Highland Avenue, Highland Avenue to Winnacunnet Road, and Winnacunnet Road to High Street.

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Relocating state parking near the seawall

A major change proposed for the area of Highland Avenue to Boar’s Head would be relocating all the state parking from the middle of the roadway to right up against the seawall. Currently, the parking area separates southbound and northbound traffic.

Project Manager Tobey Reynalds said the reason for the option is pedestrian safety. The new parking layout includes 19-foot areas for angled parking on both sides, separated by a 13-foot driving lane.

"Many people come to the beach in the summer and many of those people have children and they are toting a lot of gear with them when they park in the center of two travel lanes of Ocean Boulevard," Reynalds said.

Currently, he said, beachgoers must cross two lanes of traffic to get to or from the beach. The new reconfiguration would allow them to park and go directly to the sidewalk to reach the beach.

"We view that as a safer condition for many of the visitors that access the state park," Reynalds said.

A number of residents spoke out against the proposal including Hampton Beach Village District Commissioner Chuck Rage who said people do not want "to see the parking lot oceanside."

Nancy Stiles, chairman of the Hampton Beach Area Commission, said this week that the commission excluded the idea of relocating parking at that location when they updated the master plan due to public outcry. The Hampton Beach Master Plan specifically states, "residents prefer to keep parking in the center of the road to protect the view shed of the ocean."

"If you put parking up against the seawall, you are bringing Salisbury Beach right forward north," said Stiles, who noted they received a petition back then from 236 residents against the proposal.

Stiles said if pedestrian safety is a concern, the state should make changes like installing blinking lights at crosswalks.

"But do not take away that view," Stiles said. "That is Hampton Beach. The only view we have of Hampton Beach is from the Lady to Boars Head."

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Three roundabouts pitched for Ocean Boulevard

Under consideration are constructing three roundabouts to Ocean Boulevard.

The first proposed is a single-lane roundabout at the State Park Road intersection that maintains the Ashworth Avenue U-turn. It would replace the current T-type unsignalized intersection.

A second single-lane roundabout is eyed at the intersection of Dumas Avenue and Ocean Boulevard, and a third at the intersection of Winnacunnet Road and Ocean Boulevard.

"Roundabouts are very safe," said Reynalds, in response to the reason they are ideal for those three locations. "They slow traffic down. You are only looking one way for a conflict. There are better opportunities for pedestrians to cross. It's a traffic-calming device."

The proposed roundabout at State Park Road is the most controversial. According to the plan, it would reduce congestion at the intersection of Ashworth Avenue and Ocean Boulevard by removing the Harbor Road intersection and removing left turn conflicts from Ocean Boulevard southbound to Epping Road, and Ocean Boulevard northbound to Harbor Road. However, it would add additional traffic on Old Ocean Boulevard and may have a potential impact on park property.

Reynalds said they have received positive feedback for roundabouts at Dumas Avenue and Winnacunnet Road. The Dumas Avenue roundabout "works well from an operations perspective" and provides an opportunity for a U-turn, he said.

As for Winnacunnet Road, it currently meets at an unsignalized, T-type intersection with Ocean Boulevard. According to the Hampton Beach Master Plan, "Winnacunnet Road eastbound is divided by an island before it meets with Ocean Boulevard where northbound traffic will cross Ocean Boulevard southbound before proceeding northbound, and where southbound traffic which merges right will merge onto Ocean Boulevard southbound."

"I don't even know what to call that intersection," Larochelle said of the existing intersection. "For those of you who live here locally, it's not a big deal because you drive through it every day. But if you’re from out of town, you don't know where to drive."

Larochelle said a roundabout at Winnacunnet and Ocean Boulevard would make it a more traditional intersection.

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Two traffic lights proposed

DOT is proposing to add a traffic signal at the Highland Avenue intersection with Ocean Boulevard and one at its Church Street intersection.

A traffic light at the Highland Avenue intersection would reduce left turn conflicts and will provide access to parking from Highland Street, according to DOT.

Larochelle said they are still working on plans for the Church Street intersection, which leads to Route 101.

While a traffic light would make it a more conventional intersection, according to the plans, private property acquisition would be needed to improve turning movements.

"Right now, it looks like a back alley," Larochelle said. "It’s not an intersection that tells you if you’re from out of town that that's how you get to 101. "It looks like you are going into someone’s driveway."

Highland Avenue to Boar’s Head lane reduction

The proposed roadway design calls for a single 10-foot southbound driving lane – where there are currently two lanes – followed by a two-foot buffer and a raised 6-foot median. On the other side of the median, there would be a 2-foot buffer, followed by two 10-foot northbound lanes – which would drop to one-lane north of Church Street.

"The significance of (the raised median) is to reduce conflict points along the corridor of people coming out of driveways interfering with the traffic and trying to keep a good flow of traffic between the intersection of Church and Highland," said Larochelle.

Larochelle said the reason for going to single northbound and southbound lanes in the area is based on traffic volumes.

"Traffic does not necessarily support having all of those lanes so we looked at repurposing some of the lanes… and repurposing that space to provide northbound and southbound bicycle lanes, 5 feet each, with a median in the middle,” he said.

However, Bob Preston, of Preston Real Estate, expressed concern with the proposed one southbound lane from Boar’s Head to the Ashworth by the Sea Hotel.

"As it is now,” Preston said, “we have a lot of motels in that area and a lot of condos that require that second lane to slow down to be able to pull into the driveways. As it is now you have two lanes and the cars are still getting backed up almost to 101. If you went down to one lane, that could be terrible."

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Sidewalks and bike lanes

A goal of the project is to add sidewalks where they don't exist and expand those that do.For example, an 8 ½ -foot sidewalk is being proposed for Dover Avenue to Haverhill Avenue in an area where people currently walk in the street.

At the main section of the beach, from I Street to Ashworth Avenue, the plan calls for a 16-foot sidewalk on the business side of the boulevard. This section of the beach includes the Hampton Beach Playground and the Hampton Beach Casino Ballroom.

"The whole intent is to try and widen out the sidewalks as much as possible," Larochelle said.

He said there is also discussion about adding an optional 4-foot wide pedestrian barrier in that area, to keep people from crossing into the street midblock. The design would channel walkers to use the designated crosswalks.

Also included throughout the project is maintaining the current crosswalks and adding northbound and southbound bike lanes, ranging from 5 to 7 feet in width.

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The next step

Reynalds said they plan to review all the comments made during the open house to see what they can incorporate into the final designs.

"We will take all of that information to see if we can do something different that still accomplishes the goals or not," he said.

He said the goal is to finalize designs and have a public hearing in the summer and winter of 2023.

"Not everyone is going to agree with everything you do all of the time,” he said, “but we try to get a consensus and help people understand why we want to do some things."

For more information on the Hampton Beach Route 1A Road Improvement Project, visit the website https://www.nh.gov/dot/projects/hampton40797/index.htm.

This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: Hampton Beach Ocean Boulevard makeover: Here's what's planned