Edward S. Huntley, P.E.

Director
CITY OF NORTHAMPTON, MASSACUSETTS
DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC WORKS
125 Locust Street
Northampton, MA 01060
413-587-1570
Fax 413-587-1576
NORTH STREET PAVING INFORMATIONAL MEETING
Thursday, June 10,2010
Background:
;;.. Summer of 2006 a collapsed section of sanitary sewer was repaired between Lincoln Avenue
and Day Avenue. This repair also included the relocation of a section of water main in that
same area.
;;.. North Street came on the "radar" for paving in 2007/2008.
;;.. Fall of 2008 a survey of the street was done from Market Street to Day Avenue to prepare a
construction plan for paving. Baystate Gas Co. informed us the gas main needed replacing on
the street. This delayed paving for a year.
;;.. North Street was scheduled to be paved under the 2009 paving contract. The idea of including
traffic calming measures is brought up and North Street is taken off the list. Construction
plans are not detailed enough for inclusion of traffic calming measures and design.
Currently plans are being developed for the 2011 paving contract.
Roadway:
;;.. Pavement width averages 25 to 27 feet over most of North Street. The road flares much wider
near Market Street and Lincoln Avenue.
No Parking Zones: By Ordinance, On the easterly side of North Street from Linden Street to
Parsons Street and on the westerly (and northwesterly) side from Woodmont Road to a point
opposite Lincoln Avenue.
;;.. Truck Restrictions: Heavy commercial vehicles are restricted on North Street from market
Street to Day Avenue except for a low bridge "escape route" from Bridge Street up Lincoln
A venue into the Industrial Park.
Curbing:
A little bit of everything is found on the street. Granite, concrete, bituminous and no curbing
at alL Existing granite curbing will be removed and reset (all at the Market Street end). The
Funeral Home at the intersection of Orchard Street has granite curbing and concrete sidewalk
that is in good shape. If proposed roadway grading allows this could be left: intact. Curbing
could be added to the frontage along the Bridge Street Cemetery.
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Sidewalks:
~ Existing sidewalks vary in width from 4 to 5 feet. Materials are concrete and
bituminous and in some areas bituminous over concrete. Approximately 2000 feet
of frontage along North Street has no sidewalk, (various locations on both sides of
the street). If sidewalk work is included in this project the new sidewalks will
have to meet ADA requirements at roadway intersections and crosswalks. 1bis
includes proper slopes to the roadway and the installation of "tactile indicators"
for the visually impaired. There is evidence of tree root damage to sections of the
existing sidewalk.
Crosswalks:
~ One crosswalk exists on the street in the vicinity of Woodmont Road. This is a
mid-block crossing near a curve in the road and should be relocated to a safer
area. A more suitable location is difficult to find within the limits of existing
sidewalks. If sidewalks are added where none currently exist this could more
readily be resolved.
NORTH STREET
PUBUC INFORMATIONAL MEETING
JUNE 10, 2010 (THURSDAY AT BRIDGE STREET SCHOOL)
NORTH STREET TRAFFIC
1. TRAFFIC COUNTER WAS PLACED ON NORTH ST AT POLE #20
(NEAR CEMETERY JUST WEST OF ORCHARD ST)
FOR ONE WEEK - 6/2/2010 THRU 6/9/2010 COLLECTED VOLUME, SPEED & AXLE CLASS
2. VOLUME: AVERAGE DAILY TRAFFIC (ADT)
5 DAYS (M-F) = 4,273 VEHICLES/ 7 DAYS = 3,591 VEHICLES
3. SPEED LIMIT = 30 MPH (SPECIAL SPEED REGULATION #7346 IN JAN 1986)
From King Street to Day Avenue (0.60 miles) in bdth directions.
According to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Highway Department Procedures for Speed
Zoning on State and Municipal Roadways (2005):
85
TH
Percentile .... "The speed at or below which 85 percent of the motorists travel is the principle
value used for establishing speed controls."
DIR 1= TOWARD ORCHARD ST .... 85
TH
= 31 MPH .... 95
TH
= 35 MPH
DIR 2 = TOWARD PARSONS ST .... 85
TH
= 32 MPH .... 9S
TH
= 35 MPH
4. AXLE CLASS: See handout entitled, "Limiting Truck Traffic"
Trucks are classified as vehicles over 2.5 tons (bold numbers=3 axles and heavier)
DIR 1= TOWARD ORCHARD ST .... (14+0+19+1)/l1,381 = 0.2%
DIR 2 = TOWARD PARSONS ST .... (20+0+16+1)/13,694 = 0.2%
TOTAL = 0.4 % (MASS DOT REG'S 5%-8% TRUCK TRAFFIC NEEDED FOR ORDINANCE)
IfRAFFIC COUNTS
NOR1HAMPTON STREETS
HATFIELD ST (9/2007)
SPRING ST (10/2007)
STATE ST (10/2007)
JACKSON ST (11/2007)
FLORENCE RD (11/2007)
RYANRD (11/2007)
4:212
2)00
9,640
6,568
6,808
4,816
DAY AVE (6/2008)
LINCOLN AVE (6/2008)
NORTH ELM ST (5/2009)
HAWLEY ST (7/2009)
1,725
980
11,584
2,100
ELM ST (5/2009)
PINE ST (7/2009)
15,724
2,700/3,712
LIMITING TRUCK TRAFFIC
According to the Mass Highway, Manual on !!niform Traffic Qevices (MUTCD), October 2006
edition, the following information pertains to limiting local truck traffic:
Section 11A-9 Heavy Commercial Vehicle Exclusion (pages 11 & 12)
A truck exclusion from a municipal way may be authorized provided a suitable alternate route is
available. The alternate route shall have an effective width and pavement structure which can safely
accommodate the additional truck traffic. In addition, the alternate route must meet one of the
following conditions:
a) lie wholly within the community making the application,
b) lie partially in an adjacent community but only on State Highway, or
c) lie partially in an adjacent community but have the adjacent community's written approval.
An engineering study, as outlined in the Data requested below, must be made. In addition, one or more
of the following warrants may be sufficient justification for truck exclusion:
Warrants
A. A volume of heavy commercial vehicles, which is in the range of five to eight percent, reduces
the utilization of the facility and is cause for a substantial reduction in capacity or safety.
B. The condition of pavement structure of the route to be excluded indicates that further repeated
heavy wheello!lds will result in sever deterioration of the roadway.
C. Notwithstanding the foregoing, in certain instances where land use is primarily residential in nature
and a municipality has requested exclusion only during hours of darkness, a specific night exclusion may
be granted.
Data
Before the Department can consider an exclusion proposal, the following data must be submitted by the
municipality:
a. A 24-hour consecutive count of all vehicles using the subject street. The count shall be broken into
one-half intervals showing both commercial vehicles with a carrying capacity over two and one-half tons
and other vehicles.
b. Map of the area, with excluded street marked in red and the alternate route in green.
c. Physical characteristics of excluded and alternate streets in question (ie. Length, width, type and
condition of surface of sidewalk.
d. Types of buildings or property abutting street (Residential, bUSiness, school, playground etc.).
e. Zoning of Street (Residential, Industrial etc.)
f. Proximity of probable alternate route to the proposed excluded route and the additional distance to
be traveled using the alternate route.
g. Types of traffic control existing on street.
h. Hours during which exclusion is to be in effect.
i. A written statement from the municipality as to the need for the exclusion.