Two roundabouts are proposed at Route 6 off-ramps in South Yarmouth, given crash history

SOUTH YARMOUTH — Two more roundabouts may be coming in heavily-travelled areas of Yarmouth.

The town of Yarmouth and the Cape Cod Commission presented recommendations Wednesday night for improving safety, congestion and accommodations for all users of the Station Avenue corridor from Route 6 to Wood Road.

The meeting was a follow-up to a January session that provided 60 suggestions from the public during the meeting and 17 emails.

A total of 162 crashes have occurred from 2018 to 2020 at intersections along the one-mile corridor, including Route 6 interchanges, White’s Path, Old Townhouse Road, Long Pond Drive to Regional Avenue and Wood Road.

The road improvements are funded by the Massachusetts Department of Transportation because of the crash data, David Nolan, senior transportation planner for the Cape Cod Commission, said on Wednesday at Town Hall. About 15 residents attended.

White's Path intersection scene of 19 serious crashes

Nineteen of the most serious crashes occurred at the White’s Path intersection. That prompted an in-depth road safety audit in October to identify potential safety issues and opportunities for improvement. Some of the eight audit recommendations included extending the right turn lane on White’s Path and left turn lane on Station Avenue southbound, constructing larger pedestrian islands, upgrading traffic signals and lighting, sidewalks, shared use path for bikes and pedestrians and upgraded pedestrian timers on stop lights.

Nolan also presented options for either traffic signals or roundabouts at both the westbound and eastbound ramps at Station Avenue, comparing the benefits of each in terms of safety, congestion, bike and pedestrian accommodations and property impacts.

Roundabouts seen as preventative

The roundabouts provide more safety than rotaries and traffic lights and have less severe collisions, he said.

“There really is a benefit to improving safety with roundabouts,” he said, and showed an example of a roundabout on Cotuit Road at South Sandwich Road in Sandwich that reduced crashes from 27 to 6 after one was built.

Officials with the Massachusetts Department of Transportation also in November presented their plan to build a roundabout at the intersection of Route 28 and Main Street in West Yarmouth and install a traffic signal at Town Brook Road to improve road safety.

Full off-ramps might be better, one resident says

However, Yarmouth Port resident Marilyn Holle suggested full off-ramps onto Station Avenue like those on Route 134 in Dennis instead of a roundabout, which she said most people from out-of-state are not familiar with. Since the state owns the area off the ramps, she said the work could be done without impact on Station Avenue. Another man watching on Zoom agreed with Holle’s suggestion for public safety reasons. Nolan said that option had not been considered, but he said he could approach the state Department of Transportation with the idea.

Yarmouth Selectman Mark Forest read a text from a resident suggesting a roundabout also at White’s Path and Station Avenue. Nolan responded that the property impact would be substantial there, but it could be discussed.

Near the Old Townhouse Road intersection

On the other hand, the intersection at Old Townhouse Road "functions quite well,” Nolan said. The collisions there have been mostly minor and a roundabout is not recommended, he said. Instead, the study recommends smaller upgrades such as signal timing and signage to direct traffic to Route 28 via Old Townhouse Road to avoid the schools along Station Avenue.

Nolan pointed out a difficult left-hand turn out of the CVS driveway. The project recommended repurposing the left turn lanes there to discourage their use as a travel lane. The project also showed potential crossing improvements for the Cape Cod Rail Trail users as either a new off-ramp from the trail on the west side of Station Avenue or a new type of pedestrian crossing signal across Station Avenue.

Near the schools

Recommendations for the area around four schools in the corridor include improvements in the bike and pedestrian infrastructure and extending a shared use path, changes for vehicles entering and exiting the schools and installing a rapid flashing beacon at the crosswalk in front of Dennis-Yarmouth Regional High School and St. Pius X School.

A 12-hour count by Cape Cod Commission staff at the Wood Road intersection did not warrant a traffic signal or improving the current flashing light. However, Nolan said an all-way stop could be considered there as well as a crosswalk across Wood Road and other changes.

The residents in attendance made further comments that were noted on maps of the project sites. The next steps by the commission will include reviews of the public input, refining the concepts and coordinating with the town and state transportation staff as necessary.

A draft and final report should be ready by late winter or spring. Nolan will continue to take public comment on the project until Jan. 13 and may be reached at David.nolan@capecodcomission.org.

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This article originally appeared on Cape Cod Times: New roundabouts in Yarmouth pitched as fix for Station Avenue crashes