ROAD SAFETY AUDIT
Marston’s Corner – Route 113 at Jackson and Howe Sts.
City of Methuen
February 14, 2014
Prepared For:
Merrimack Valley Metropolitan Planning Organization
Prepared By:
Merrimack Valley Planning Commission
Road Safety Audit— Marston’s Corner (Route 113 at Jackson and Howe Streets) – Methuen, MA
Prepared by the Merrimack Valley Planning Commission
Table of Contents Background ................................................................................................................................. 1
Project Data................................................................................................................................. 2
Project Location and Description.............................................................................................. 3
Audit Observations and Potential Safety Enhancements......................................................19
Summary of Road Safety Audit...............................................................................................26
List of Figures
Figure 1. Figure 2. Figure 3. Site Locus Map (Source: USGS)........................................................................................... 4
Aerial Ortho Photo of Marston’s Corner, Methuen (Source: Pictometry, 4/01/12) ............... 7
Existing Weekday Morning and Evening Peak Hour Traffic Volumes ............................... 11
List of Tables
Table 1. Table 2. Table 3. Table 4. Table 5. Table 6. Table 7. Table 8. Participating Audit Team Members ....................................................................................... 2
Traffic Volume Summary .................................................................................................... 10
Marston’s Corner Crash Summary (2009 – 2011) ............................................................... 13
Marston’s Corner Signalized Intersection Crash Rate ......................................................... 15
Marston’s Corner Intersection Operations Analysis Results ................................................ 16
Marston’s Corner Intersection with Signal Retiming Operations Analysis Results............. 17
Marston’s Corner Intersection with Lane Reassignment Operations Analysis Results ....... 18
Potential Safety Enhancement Summary ............................................................................. 27
List of Appendices
Appendix A. Appendix B. Appendix C. Appendix D. Appendix E. Appendix F. Appendix G. Appendix H. Appendix I. RSA Meeting Agenda RSA Audit Team Contact List Detailed Crash Data Roadway Speed Data Daily and Peak Period Traffic Count Data Crash Rate Calculation Intersection Operations Analysis Methodology and Results Marston’s Corner Layout Plans Road Safety Audit References Road Safety Audit— Marston’s Corner (Route 113 at Jackson and Howe Streets) – Methuen, MA
Prepared by the Merrimack Valley Planning Commission
Background
A Road Safety Audit (RSA) as defined by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) is “the
formal safety performance examination of an existing or future road or intersection by an
independent, multidisciplinary team.” An RSA qualitatively estimates and reports on all safety
issues and identifies opportunities for safety improvements for all roadway users. The
“conducting of RSAs at high-crash locations throughout the Commonwealth” is one of the many
strategies noted in the state’s Strategic Highway Safety Plan, which was developed in an effort to
reduce the number of crash-related fatalities and incapacitating injuries on roadways within
Massachusetts.
The Marston’s Corner intersection location was identified by the Merrimack Valley Planning
Commission as being one of the top locations for crashes within the Merrimack Valley.
According to the Merrimack Valley Metropolitan Planning Organization’s (MPO’s) 2011
Regional Transportation Plan, this location experienced the greatest number of crashes within
the Merrimack Valley for an intersection of non-interstate/limited access roadways. According
to the Plan, there were total of 75 crashes at this intersection over a period of three years from
2006 to 2008. For the approximate 3,462 locations within the Merrimack Valley that
experienced crashes, this location is ranked as being number 18 in terms of the overall crash
frequency and number 23 in terms of Equivalent Property Damage Only.
Because the Marston’s Corner intersection location is within the top five percent of crash clusters
in the Merrimack Valley region, it is eligible for the Highway Safety Improvement Program
(HSIP). MassDOT incorporated the RSA as a requirement for securing Federal funding (HSIP
funds) for safety projects. For these reasons, this intersection was chosen as the site of an RSA
by the Merrimack Valley MPO to help identify potential short-term and long-term safety
improvements that could be made if HSIP funding is received.
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Road Safety Audit— Marston’s Corner (Route 113 at Jackson and Howe Streets) – Methuen, MA
Prepared by the Merrimack Valley Planning Commission
Project Data
The Road Safety Audit was conducted on January 14th, 2014 for Marston’s Corner intersection in
Methuen, Massachusetts. As shown in Table 1, the audit team was comprised of state, regional,
and local agencies and included professionals from emergency response, engineering, and
planning.
Prior to this meeting, MVPC gathered, reviewed, and summarized the most recent pertinent
available information, including: crash data, traffic volume data, and traffic speed data. In
addition to the crash data summaries obtained from the MassDOT/RMV Statewide database,
MVPC also collected the actual crash reports, which show the narratives and crash diagrams,
from the Methuen police.
With input and assistance from Methuen officials, MVPC selected the RSA team and chose to
meet at the City Hall. At the pre-audit meeting, MVPC discussed the process and goals for the
RSA, provided handouts of all pertinent information, presented the existing traffic, speed, and
crash data, and discussed any known related planned projects to the participants in order to
provide an introduction to project. The team then began to provide comments on the safety
issues, based on their knowledge of the intersections. MVPC recorded the comments.
Following the pre-audit meeting, the team conducted a virtual tour of the site via Google Earth,
during which the previous specific safety issues and concerns were pointed out by the RSA team
and MVPC. Additional safety issues were identified during this time and recorded by MVPC.
Finally, the group discussed potential countermeasures that had been identified during the RSA
and any new countermeasures that could be thought of during the meeting.
The
countermeasures, which were recorded by MVPC, included short-term, intermediate-term, and
long-term improvements. The State DOT and the City were identified at this meeting as the
sharing jurisdiction of the roadways entering the intersection and, therefore, share responsibility
for the improvements and any necessary designs. They also share responsibility for maintenance
operations, based on jurisdiction of the roadways.
Table 1. Participating Audit Team Members
Audit Team Member
Kathleen Colwell
Stephen Gagnon
Mike Buote
Mike Havey
Constance Raphael
Sara Timoner
Corey O’Connor
Theodore Masse
Nithin Krishna
Tony Komornick
Jim Terlizzi
Agency/Affiliation
City of Methuen Community Development Department
City of Methuen Engineering, City Engineer
Methuen Fire Department
Methuen Police Department
MassDOT District 4
MassDOT District 4 Traffic
MassDOT Traffic Safety
MassDOT Traffic
MassDOT Traffic
Merrimack Valley Planning Commission
Merrimack Valley Planning Commission
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Road Safety Audit— Marston’s Corner (Route 113 at Jackson and Howe Streets) – Methuen, MA
Prepared by the Merrimack Valley Planning Commission
Project Location and Description
MVPC conducted an inventory of the existing intersection geometry and collected traffic
volumes in May of 2013. Below is a detailed discussion of the intersection geometrics and traffic
control features, a discussion of the daily and peak hour traffic volumes, a review of the crash
data, and an analysis of the existing operations.
Geometrics and Traffic Control
Route 213
Route 213 (Albert Slack Highway) is a median-divided, 3.6-mile long, limited access highway
that connects Interstate Route 93 with Interstate Route 495 in Methuen, MA. The highway,
which is owned and maintained by MassDOT, provides two lanes of travel per direction and five
grade separated interchanges with other highways, including (1) Interstate Route 93, (2) Route
28 (Broadway), (3) Route 113 (Pleasant and Pleasant Valley Streets), (4) Route 113 (Pleasant
Valley Street), and (5) Interstate Route 495. When the highway was constructed at the third
interchange, a bridge supporting Howe Street was built over highway. The westerly end of
Washington Street was relocated slightly to the north to intersect Howe Street at its present
location. Pleasant Valley Street’s intersection was relocated to where the Mall Drive intersects
today opposite the Rite-Aid driveway. The ramps for the westbound direction of Route 213
intersect the north/south Howe Street, while the ramps for the eastbound direction of the
highway intersect the east/west Pleasant Street. The signalized Marston’s Corner intersection is
the hinge point between these two signalized ramp intersections.
Route 113
Route 113 is an east/west highway that has terminals in Pepperell to the west and in
Newburyport to the east and parallels the Merrimack River along or close to its banks in
Massachusetts for nearly its entirety. The roadway travels through cities that are on the
Merrimack including Lowell, Methuen, and Haverhill and makes two river crossings: one in
Tyngsboro and one in Haverhill. After Interstate Route 495 and Route 213 were built, the
roadway began to serve shorter trips within the cities, trips made between two adjacent cities,
trips to and from Interstate highways, and trips to and from employment centers.
Within Methuen, Route 113 merges with and diverges from Route 110 in two locations. From
the west between where the roadway diverges from Route 110 at the Interstate 93 rotary to the
city center, Route 113 is routed along the city streets of Lowell Street, Hampshire Street, and
Osgood Street. To the east between the city center and where the roadway merges again with
Route 110 at Merrimack Street, Route 113 is routed along Pleasant Street and Pleasant Valley
Street. All of these roads are functionally classified as urban minor arterials. Pleasant Valley
Street begins and Pleasant Street ends at their intersection with Howe and Jackson Streets. This
intersection is also known as Marston’s Corner, and its location in relation to the regional
roadway network is presented in Figure 1.
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Road Safety Audit— Marston’s Corner (Route 113 at Jackson and Howe Streets) – Methuen, MA
Prepared by the Merrimack Valley Planning Commission
Figure 1.
Site Locus Map (Source: USGS)
Pleasant Valley Street is a locally owned roadway that was relocated from its old alignment
along the present Mall rear driveway to its present location in the early 1970s. Between Howe
Street and its easterly intersection with the Route 213 ramps (Exit 4), Pleasant Valley Street is a
median divided roadway with two travel lanes in each direction. Turn lanes are provided at
signalized intersections with roadways and driveways for adjacent commercial uses. Speed limit
signs are posted at 30 miles per hour (mph). This is the same speed limit that is noted in Special
Speed Regulation #560-B for the City of Methuen.
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Road Safety Audit— Marston’s Corner (Route 113 at Jackson and Howe Streets) – Methuen, MA
Prepared by the Merrimack Valley Planning Commission
Pleasant Street is nearly all locally owned, except for its section between the Route 213
eastbound ramps and Howe Street. This section is owned and maintained by MassDOT. On the
locally owned section, the roadway generally provides one lane of travel for each direction,
separated by a painted double yellow solid centerline. On the short section that is owned by
MassDOT, the roadway widens to two lanes per direction separated by a raised center median.
Additionally, left-turn lanes are provided at its signalized intersections with the Route 213
eastbound ramp and with Howe Street. Most of Pleasant Street is posted for a speed limit of 35
mph, however, the section between Sycamore Road and Howe Street is posted at 25 mph. Both
of these posted speed limits and their locations are consistent with the Special Speed Regulation
#560 for the City of Methuen.
The traffic signal controller at the Pleasant Street with Route 213 eastbound ramp intersection is
interconnected with the master controller located at the Pleasant Street with Jackson and Howe
Street intersection. The ramp intersection controller operates in fully actuated and uncoordinated
operation during the weekday morning peak period and in fully actuated and coordinated
operation, with a 100 second cycle, during the weekday evening peak period. During both
periods, the signal operates in two phases: one to serve traffic on Pleasant Street and the other to
serve traffic in the double left-turn lanes on the off-ramp. Right-turns from the off-ramp are
under YIELD-sign (MUTCD R2-1) control.
Howe Street
Howe Street is a north/south urban minor arterial, 2.8 miles in length, which connects the
residential neighborhoods of northern Methuen and western Haverhill with Routes 213 and 113.
Hampstead Street also connects the Ayers Village of Methuen and neighborhoods of Salem, New
Hampshire with Howe Street. From Marston’s Corner until Lancaster Road, the speed limit for
Howe Street is posted at 25 mph and from thereon after at 35 mph. These are speed limits which
are consistent with the Special Speed Regulations #2012 and #2012-A for the City of Methuen.
From the Haverhill line to the Route 213 westbound ramp, Howe Street is a locally owned
roadway providing one lane of travel per direction separated by a painted double yellow solid
centerline. From the Route 213 westbound ramp to its southern terminal at the Marston’s Corner
intersection, Howe Street is a MassDOT owned roadway that provides four lanes of travel.
Prior to 2009, this section of the roadway had two lanes of travel per direction. However, after
that time, an attempt was made to alleviate congestion and backups, especially in the northbound
direction during the weekday evening peak period, and the lanes were striped with a different
configuration. To accomplish this, the bridge section, which is 40-feet wide curb to curb, was
restriped to one southbound travel lane and three northbound lanes: an exclusive left-turn lane to
get onto the Route 213 westbound ramp and two through lanes.
Interconnected traffic signal control equipment is provided at the Route 213 westbound ramp
intersection, the Mall and Rite-Aid driveway intersection, and the Marston’s Corner intersection.
The traffic signal controller at the nearby and locally owned intersection of Howe Street with
Washington Street is also connected with this signal system, which has its master controller at
Marston’s corner. The signal at the Route 213 eastbound ramps intersection is in flash operation
during the weekday morning peak period and the signal at the Mall driveway/Rite-Aid driveway
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Road Safety Audit— Marston’s Corner (Route 113 at Jackson and Howe Streets) – Methuen, MA
Prepared by the Merrimack Valley Planning Commission
intersection is in flash operation during both the weekday morning and evening peak periods.
The traffic signal at the Washington Street intersection operates fully actuated and coordinated in
two phases with a 100-second cycle during both the weekday morning and evening peak periods.
The two phases serve the traffic in the two lanes on both approaches of Howe Street and then the
traffic in the single lane on Washington Street. The traffic signal at the Route 213 westbound
ramps also operates fully actuated and coordinated with a 100-second cycle during just the
weekday evening peak period. The signal operates in three phases: a protected phase to serve
the Howe Street northbound left-turning vehicles in the left-turn lane and the northbound through
vehicles in the two through lanes, a phase in which both directions of Howe Street traffic go with
left-turners still permitted to go, and finally a phase to serve the left-turning vehicles from the
single lane on the off-ramp. Right-turning vehicles from the ramp are channelized and are under
YIELD-sign control. The lane configuration for Howe Street southbound is such that it widens
from one lane to two through lanes on its approach to Washington Street and then the curbside
lane drops off to the Route 213 westbound on-ramp, leaving a single through travel lane for the
remainder of Howe Street.
Jackson Street
Jackson Street is a north/south urban minor arterial which connects Methuen neighborhoods and
downtown Lawrence to the south with Route 113 at Marston’s Corner to the north. The roadway
is approximately 1.5 miles in length within the City of Methuen and is wholly owned by the city.
For its entirety, one lane of travel is provided per direction and each lane is separated by a
painted double yellow solid centerline. Most of the roadway is posted at a speed limit of 35
mph, which is consistent with the Special Speed Regulation #351-A for the City of Methuen.
However, the Regulation calls for a 25 mph speed limit in the northbound direction for the
approximate 475 feet of distance prior to Marston’s Corner. No speed limit sign was observed to
be present.
Marston’s Corner: Route 113 at Jackson and Howe Streets
Howe Street and Jackson Street intersect Route 113 (Pleasant and Pleasant Valley Streets) from
the north and south, respectively, to form this four legged signalized intersection, as presented in
the aerial photograph of Figure 2. This intersection in Methuen is also known as Marston’s
Corner. The intersection is named likely because prior to the construction of Route 213 in the
late 1950s, at the end of Pleasant Street, there was a large radius curve that allowed the roadway
to align itself with Howe Street. On the curve Washington Street, Prospect Street, and Jackson
Street met Pleasant Street and Howe Street at an intersection.
When Route 213 was constructed, Washington Street was realigned to meet Howe Street north
of the highway at its present location and Pleasant Valley Street was realigned to meet Howe
Street south of the highway where the Mall rear driveway opposite the Rite-Aid driveway is
located presently. During the early 1970s, a new multi-lane, median-divided Pleasant Valley
Street was constructed to help facilitate trips to and from the new Methuen Mall, and it aligned
itself nearly opposite Pleasant Street at Jackson and Howe Streets to the present configuration.
Prospect Street was closed off as it is today and vehicles are only allowed to make right-turns
onto Pleasant Valley Street, east of the intersection. As shown in the aerial photograph, on its
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Road Safety Audit— Marston’s Corner (Route 113 at Jackson and Howe Streets) – Methuen, MA
Prepared by the Merrimack Valley Planning Commission
approach to the intersection, Pleasant Street from the west now curves toward the alignment of
Pleasant Valley Street at the intersection.
Figure 2.
Aerial Ortho Photo of Marston’s Corner, Methuen (Source: Pictometry, 4/01/12)
The Route 113 (Pleasant and Pleasant Valley Streets) approaches to the intersection both provide
one approximate 11-foot wide exclusive left-turn lane and two approximate 11- to 12-foot wide
through lanes. The left-turn lanes are striped for approximately 250 feet of storage on the
Pleasant Street approach and approximately 150 feet of storage on the Pleasant Valley Street
approach. The Jackson Street approach consists of one approximate 10-foot wide, 50-foot long,
exclusive left-turn pocket and two approximate 11-foot wide through lanes. The Howe Street
approach consists of one 11-foot wide exclusive left-turn lane, approximately 150 feet in length,
and one approximate 11-foot wide through lane.
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Road Safety Audit— Marston’s Corner (Route 113 at Jackson and Howe Streets) – Methuen, MA
Prepared by the Merrimack Valley Planning Commission
Small delta-shaped traffic islands channelize right-turning vehicles on all corners of the
intersection. On the southwest and southeast corners of the intersection, right-turning vehicles in
the channels to and from Jackson Street are under YIELD-sign control. On the northwest and
northeast corners of the intersection, the right-turning vehicles in the channels are under traffic
signal control.
Within the immediate vicinity of the intersection, cement concrete walks, approximately 5- to 6feet in width, exist along both sides of Route 113 and Howe Street and the west side of Jackson
Street. Crosswalks are painted across all legs of the intersection and guide pedestrians to the cuts
in the raised delta-shaped traffic islands for refuge while crossing. The crosswalk markings are
visible across Pleasant Street, but are extremely faded across the Pleasant Valley Street, Jackson
Street, and Howe Street legs of the intersection. Pedestrian ramps exist at all corners of the
intersection to bring the sidewalk grade down to the level of the pavement grade.
To help guide left-turning vehicle operators to the proper lane, “LEFT LANE MUST TURN
LEFT” (MUTCD R3-7) intersection lane control signs are posted on the medians adjacent to the
left-turn lanes on Pleasant and Pleasant Valley Street approaches and on the roadway edge for
the Jackson Street approach to the intersection. The in-road LEFT arrow and “ONLY” legend
for the left-turn lanes are extremely faded on the Pleasant Valley Street, Howe Street, and
Jackson Street approaches to the intersection. “KEEP RIGHT (Symbol)” (MUTCD R4-7c) signs
are posted at the tips of the median islands and face the intersection to remind drivers to enter the
intersection departure lanes at the proper location. Additionally, a “DO NOT BLOCK
INTERSECTION” (MUTCD R10-7) faces all vehicles departing the intersection by way of
Pleasant Valley Street.
The width between the painted solid white edge line and the curbing on all roadways is
approximately 1-foot. In-road loop detection and actuation of the traffic signal is present for
bicycles as evidenced by the “BICYCLE STOP ON LINE FOR GREEN” (MUTCD R10-22)
signs posted on the Pleasant Valley Street, Howe Street, and Jackson Street approaches to the
intersection.
The Marston’s Corner intersection has the master traffic signal controller to which the controllers
for the Howe Street and Pleasant Street signals are connected and coordinated during peak travel
periods. The Marston’s Corner signal and most of the signals of the system run in coordinated
operation on a 100 second cycle during the weekday morning and evening commuter peak
periods. The intersection’s signal operates in five phases during the weekday peak periods: (1) a
leading protected left-turn phase to serve Pleasant Street in which through vehicles also go, (2) a
phase to serve through traffic on both approaches of Route 113, (3) a lagging protected phase for
the Pleasant Valley Street left-turners, and Pleasant Valley Street through vehicles continue, (4) a
leading phase for Howe Street in which left-turning vehicles are protected from opposing traffic,
and (5) and finally a phase for both Jackson Street and Howe Street in which the left-turning
vehicles from Howe Street are permitted to continue to go after yielding the right-of-way to
opposing through vehicles. Clearance intervals between vehicle signal phases for all of the
signals are 4 seconds of yellow and 1 second of all-red time. A dedicated phase for crossing
pedestrians is available by push button actuation.
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Road Safety Audit— Marston’s Corner (Route 113 at Jackson and Howe Streets) – Methuen, MA
Prepared by the Merrimack Valley Planning Commission
Many of the traffic signal heads at the intersection are supported on a 160 foot long strain wire
that spans between the tops of two 35-foot tall posts, of which one is on the northwest corner and
the other is on the southeast corner of the intersection. A dog-house style traffic signal head
assembly (MUTCD Fig. 4D-12 arrangement) faces the Howe Street left-turn lane with one signal
face with a left green arrow and another face with a green ball. Next to the signal assembly, a
“LEFT TURN YIELD ON GREEN (BALL Symbol)” (MUTCD R10-12) is suspended to remind
drivers on the Howe Street approach to yield the right-of-way to the opposing through traffic,
after the green indication changes from the arrow to the green ball. Additionally, for the two
channelized right-turn lanes under signal control, there are two signal heads affixed to each of
the two mast-arm assemblies on the northwest and southwest intersection corners that have 20
foot tall posts and 20- to 25-foot long arms and one signal head supported on each of two 10-foot
tall posts on those same corners.
Pedestrian signal heads face all crosswalks between the traffic islands and are supported on 6foot tall posts, located on the islands. The posts also have a button attached that is available for
pushing by pedestrians to actuate a dedicated phase to serve them. Pedestrian signal heads are
also located on the northwest and northeast corners of the intersection, since the vehicles in the
channelized right-turn lanes on these corners are under traffic signal control. The pedestrian
head is supported on its own post on the northeast corner and on the span wire post on the
northwest corner.
Between the two Route 213 ramps and facing each of the Howe Street and Pleasant Street
approaches to the intersection are one MassDOT D6 and one D8 guide signs. Supported on the
post located on the traffic island on the Howe Street approach is one D6 panel with “WEST 113,
EAST 213/PLEASANT STREET/(Right Arrow)” legend and one D8 panel with “113
EAST/(Left Arrow)” legend. Supported on the post on the side of the road of the Pleasant Street
approach is one D6 panel with “HOWE STREET/TO 213 WEST/(Left Arrow)” legend and one
D8 panel with “EAST/(Straight Arrow) 113” legend. Street name (MUTCD D1-1) signs help
drivers identify the roads that meet at the intersection. A “JACKSON ST” sign is posted on the
southwest corner; a “PLEASANT VALLEY ST” and a “HOWE ST” sign are supported on one
of the pedestrian signal heads located on the traffic island of the northeast corner; and a
“PLEASANT ST” sign is supported on the span wire post located on the northwest corner. Nonstandard general service (hospital) (MUTCD D9-2) signs with “HOLY FAMILY
HOSPITAL/(Directional arrow)” legends are posted on the Pleasant Valley Street and Howe
Street approaches to the intersection and help to guide traffic with arrows to Jackson Street.
Land use in the immediate vicinity of the intersection consists of single-family residential units
on the south corners and gas stations on the north corners. For the homes on the southeast
corner, there are driveways only onto Jackson Street, while for the homes on the southwest
corner, some have driveways onto Jackson Street, and some onto Pleasant Street. The center
median island on Pleasant Street restricts turning movements to right turns only in and out of
those driveways. The two gas station uses (abandoned on the northwest corner and Wave Gas
station on the northeast corner) have one driveway each located on the curves of the intersection
corners and one driveway each onto Howe Street. The driveway locations and center median
island of Howe Street restrict turning movements to rights in and out of all driveways, however,
because of its alignment it may be possible to make a left in or out of the north Wave Gas drive.
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Road Safety Audit— Marston’s Corner (Route 113 at Jackson and Howe Streets) – Methuen, MA
Prepared by the Merrimack Valley Planning Commission
Traffic Volumes
Traffic volume data was gathered for the study in May of 2013 first by means of turning
movement and vehicle classification counts (TMCs) conducted at the Route 113 (Pleasant and
Pleasant Valley Streets) at Jackson and Howe Streets intersection and also at the nearby
intersections that are part of the interconnected traffic signal control system to which the
Marston’s Corner intersection belongs. The TMCs were conducted during the weekday morning
commuter peak period (7:00 to 9:00 AM) and the weekday evening commuter peak period (4:00
to 6:00 PM). Additionally, an automatic traffic recorder (ATR) was placed on Pleasant Valley
Street (Route 113), east of Jackson and Howe Streets to record weekday daily traffic.
A review of the traffic count data indicates that traffic volumes gradually increase on Pleasant
Valley Street (Route 113) throughout the day until sometime between the 4:00 and 5:00 hour.
The traffic volumes then gradually decrease thereafter until around 10:00 PM, when they rapidly
decrease. Peak turning volumes occur at the intersection between 7:00 and 8:00 in the morning
and between 4:30 and 5:30 in the evening. Table 2 presents a summary of the counts.
Table 2. Traffic Volume Summary
Location
Pleasant Valley St (Rt 113),
east of Howe Street
Average
Weekday
Daily
Traffic
Volumea
17,900
Peak
Hour
Morning
Evening
Peak
Hour
Traffic
Volumeb
716
1,524
KFactorc
Directional
Distribution
4.0
8.5
55% eastbound
53% westbound
a
Average Weekday Daily Traffic (AWDT) volume in vehicles per day (vpd). Peak hour traffic volume in vehicles per hour (vph). c
K-Factor is the percent of daily traffic occurring during the peak hour; expressed as a percentage. b
As shown in Table 2, on this section of Route 113 (Pleasant Valley Street), the roadway carries
approximately 17,900 vehicles per day (vpd) on a typical weekday. This section of Route 113 is
heavily influenced by the commercial retail trips to and from its adjacent commercial uses.
During the weekday morning commuter peak hour, there are only approximately 716 vehicles
per hour (vph), however, during the weekday evening peak hour, which has primarily both work
and retail trips, there are approximately 1,524 vph on Pleasant Valley Street, east of the
intersection.
Figure 3 presents the weekday morning and evening peak hour turning movement volumes. As
shown in Figure 3, traffic flow on Howe Street predominates heavily in the southbound direction
during the weekday morning peak hour and in the northbound direction during the weekday
evening peak hour.
During the weekday morning peak hour from the residences north of Route 213, there are
approximately 1,000 vehicle trips originating from Howe Street and another approximately 300
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Road Safety Audit— Marston’s Corner (Route 113 at Jackson and Howe Streets) – Methuen, MA
Prepared by the Merrimack Valley Planning Commission
Weekday Morning Peak Hour
N
Weekday Evening Peak Hour
N
Not to Scale
Not to Scale
Marston’s
Corner
Figure 3.
Marston’s
Corner
Existing Weekday Morning and Evening Peak Hour Traffic Volumes
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Road Safety Audit— Marston’s Corner (Route 113 at Jackson and Howe Streets) – Methuen, MA
Prepared by the Merrimack Valley Planning Commission
vehicle trips originating from Washington Street, most of which are likely destined to
workplaces. Of those approximate 1,300 vehicle trips, approximately 450 are destined to the
west by way of Route 213 and another approximately 350 vehicle trips are destined to the east by
way of Route 213. Most of the remaining 500 vehicle trips are destined to Lawrence to the south
by way of Jackson Street and to a much lesser degree locations in Methuen by way of Pleasant or
Pleasant Valley Streets.
During the weekday evening peak hour, the direction of the vehicle trips is reversed with, most
of them being work based trips destined to home locations north of Route 213. As shown in
Figure 3, there are nearly approximately 1,000 vehicle trips heading to the north on Howe Street
and nearly approximately 300 vehicle trips heading to Washington Street. Of those 1,300
vehicle trips nearly approximately 350 arrive from the east by way of Route 213.
From the west by way of Route 213, the influence of additional trips due to a commercial retail
trip purpose can be seen, with there being nearly approximately 600 vehicle trips turning left off
of the ramp during the weekday evening peak hour. This amounts to approximately 150 more
vehicle trips than heading to the west by way of Route 213 during the weekday morning peak
hour. These additional trips are trips likely destined to the commercial retail uses along the
Pleasant Valley Street corridor during the weekday evening peak hour.
Retail activity during the weekday afternoon and early evening causes an increase in traffic
turning to and from Pleasant Valley Street over the weekday morning peak hour as shown in
Figure 3.
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Road Safety Audit— Marston’s Corner (Route 113 at Jackson and Howe Streets) – Methuen, MA
Prepared by the Merrimack Valley Planning Commission
Crash History
Historical traffic crash data was obtained for the study intersection from MassDOT’s statewide
crash database that was built with crash reports filed by police officers and vehicle operators
between 2009 and 2011 and sent to the Registry of Motor Vehicles (RMV). That data was
supplemented with data from the actual crash reports during that same period that were obtained
from the Methuen Police Department and the Massachusetts State Police Department. The data
was reviewed over this three-year period to determine crash trends for the intersection. Table 3
presents a summary of the crash report data.
Year
Total
Table 3. Marston’s Corner Crash Summary (2009 – 2011)
2009
2010
2011
Tot.
21
14
15
50
Typea
Severityb
Road Conditionc
Light Conditiond
Time of
Crash
RE
CM
SV
PD
PI
F
Dry
Wet
Ice
Day
Dusk
Lit
AM
PM
13
11
6
30
6
3
9
18
2
0
0
2
18
12
9
39
3
2
6
11
0
0
0
0
18
12
11
41
3
2
3
8
0
0
1
1
14
9
9
32
1
1
0
2
6
4
6
16
2
5
2
9
19
9
13
41
60%
36%
4%
78%
22%
0%
82%
16%
2%
64%
4%
32%
18%
82%
Source: MassDOT/RMV and the Methuen Police Dept. aCrash Type: CM = cross movement; RE = rear-end; SV = single
vehicle; bSeverity of Crash: PD = Property Damage Only; PI = Personal Injury; F = Fatality. cRoad Condition is the condition of
the roadway surface. (Ice = snowy or icy road surface). dLight Condition is the ambient light. (Dusk = dawn or dusk; Lit = Times
of darkness with the roadway lit.)
According to the review of the data, there were a total of fifty (50) crashes over the three-year
period occurring at the intersection or an average of approximately seventeen (17) per year. This
is somewhat less than the seventy-five (75) crashes that were reported from the 2006 to 2008
RMV data, which was presented in the Merrimack Valley MPO’s 2011 Regional Transportation
Plan. The differences can be partially explained by what was discovered in researching the crash
reports between 2009 and 2011. It was found that there were some data entry errors by the RMV
for the location of the crashes. From the information on the actual police reports, there were at
least ten incidents that were coded as occurring at the Marston’s Corner intersection, however,
they occurred elsewhere. The most common location coding error appeared to be that the crash
occurred at “Howe Street and Pleasant Valley Street”, when it in fact occurred at “Howe Street
and Old Pleasant Valley Street and the Rite-Aid driveway”.
More than one-fifth of the crashes resulted in personal injury, as shown in Table 3. Nearly onethird of the crashes occurred when it was dark out, with the roadway lit. More than 80 percent of
the crashes occurred after noon, with nearly one quarter occurring during the evening peak
period between 3:00 and 6:00 PM and more than one-third occurring during the early evening
between 6:00 and 9:00 PM, as shown in the “Time of Day” chart within the Appendix. Nearly
one-quarter of all crashes occurred on one day: a Friday.
Reviewing the “Time of Day” chart within the Appendix and Table 2 of the previous section,
one can see that the number of crashes appears to be coincidental with the volume of traffic
using Pleasant Valley Street, as the weekday evening peak hour volumes are more than double
that of the weekday morning peak hour. Also, the crashes appear to be coincidental with peak
Page 13
Road Safety Audit— Marston’s Corner (Route 113 at Jackson and Howe Streets) – Methuen, MA
Prepared by the Merrimack Valley Planning Commission
retail activity with Friday being the greatest day for crashes and the early evening being the
greatest period for crashes. A lot of younger drivers were involved in the crashes. Nearly 60
percent were younger than 40 years old with approximately 16 of the 60 percent being teen
drivers.
The most predominant types of collisions occurring at the Marston’s Corner intersection were
rear-end type, which is a collision type typical for signalized intersections. Sixty percent of the
50 collisions at the intersection types were rear-end types mainly occurring on the intersection
approaches at this location, as shown in the collision diagrams within the Appendix. Of the 30
rear-end collisions, the locations of 28 are known: eight occurred at the channelized location for
right-turning vehicles from Jackson Street that is under YIELD-sign control, seven occurred in
the channelized right-turn lane from Howe Street that is under signal control, five occurred on
the Pleasant Street approach with three in the through lanes and two in the left-turn lane, three
occurred on the Pleasant Valley Street approach in the exclusive left-turn lane, three occurred on
the Jackson Street approach, and two occurred on Howe Street departing the intersection.
From the crash report narratives, it was determined that most of the rear-end collisions occurred
because the operator of the trailing vehicle was distracted or otherwise inattentive to the leading
vehicle. On the Howe Street approach, the collisions occurred during times of a red-light for the
right-turning vehicles. Many occurred because the trailing vehicle operator was looking left at
oncoming traffic while driving ahead and mistakenly thinking that the driver in front had pulled
away.
The next greatest number of crash types was the angle type collisions, accounting for eighteen of
the crashes over the three-year period. Of those eighteen, there were thirteen that occurred
within the middle of the intersection, as shown in the collision diagrams within the Appendix.
Seven of those collisions occurred between a vehicle turning left from Jackson or Howe Streets
and a through vehicle traveling straight in the opposite direction. Five of those seven occurred
between vehicles traveling straight from Jackson Street and vehicles taking a left from Howe
Street. The fault seems mainly to lie with the left-turning vehicle: two left-turners failed to yield
the right-of-way during the permissive phase, one took a left turn on a yellow indication, and one
took a left from the through lane. Six collisions occurred between vehicles traveling straight on
Jackson or Howe Streets and vehicles traveling straight on Pleasant or Pleasant Valley Streets.
From the crash reports of two of those collisions, the driver traveling straight from Jackson or
Howe Street ran a red light and was issued a citation for “failing to yield the right-of-way”.
Approximately 22 percent of the crashes at the intersection resulted in personal injury for an
Equivalent Property Damage Only (EPDO) rating of 94.
To get a further idea of the relative safety of location, the number of crashes at the intersection
was also reviewed against traffic volumes using the intersection and then compared to the rate of
crashes for other intersections. MassDOT reports that for the latest available data (queried in
January of 2013) there is a statewide average rate of 0.80 crashes per million entering vehicles
(mev) and a MassDOT District 4 average rate of 0.77 crashes per mev for signalized
intersections. Table 4 presents a summary of the crash rate for the intersection.
Page 14
Road Safety Audit— Marston’s Corner (Route 113 at Jackson and Howe Streets) – Methuen, MA
Prepared by the Merrimack Valley Planning Commission
Table 4. Marston’s Corner Signalized Intersection Crash Rate
Three Year
Number of
Crashesa
Avg. Annual
Number of
Crashesb
Crash
Ratec
50
16.7
1.28
State
Avg.
Rated
Dist. 4
Avg.
Ratee
>
State
Ratef
0.80
0.77
Y
>
Dist.4
Rateg
Y
% of
State
Rate
160%
% of
Dist 4
Rate
166%
a
Total number of crashes over the three (3) year study period: 2009 – 2011. bAverage number of crashes per year. cCrash rate is
crashes per million entering vehicles (mev). dStatewide average crash rate is in crashes per mev. eMassDOT District 4 wide
average crash rate is in crashes per mev. fCrash rate is greater than statewide average crash rate? Y = Yes, N = No. gCrash rate
is greater than MassDOT D4 average crash rate? Y = Yes, N = No.
As shown in Table 4, the Marston’s Corner intersection has a rate 60 to 66 percent greater than
that of the statewide and District 4 average rate, respectively.
Page 15
Road Safety Audit— Marston’s Corner (Route 113 at Jackson and Howe Streets) – Methuen, MA
Prepared by the Merrimack Valley Planning Commission
Operations Analysis
The operation of the signalized intersection of Marston’s Corner was analyzed with the
SYNHRO micro simulation computer model, which follows the methodology presented in the
Transportation Research Board’s (TRB’s) latest Highway Capacity Manual1. A summary of the
methodology can be found in the Appendix of this study.
Existing Conditions
Table 5 presents the analysis results for the existing operations of the signalized intersection of
Marston’s Corner. Operations analysis sheets are provided in the Appendix of this study.
Table 5. Marston’s Corner Intersection Operations Analysis Results
V/Cb
ADc
LOSd
Queuee
Lengthf
Weekday Morning Pleasant Street EB LT
Pleasant Street EB TH/RT
Pleasant Valley St. WB LT
Pleasant Valley St. WB TH
Pleasant Valley St. WB RT
Jackson Street NB LT
Jackson Street NB TH/RT
Howe Street SB LT
Howe Street SB TH
Howe Street SB RT
Intersection
0.87
0.16
0.78
0.13
0.14
0.20
0.32
0.32
0.52
0.76
49.4
16.6
71.6
23.5
10.5
36.8
32.3
25.8
33.3
39.0
33.3
D
B
E
C
B
D
C
C
C
D
C
8.4
3.3
4.5
2.8
1.4
2.0
5.3
3.1
10.9
1.1
211
82
113
70
36
50
132
77
273
28
Weekday Evening 1.06
0.41
0.52
0.36
0.43
0.23
0.51
0.47
0.25
0.30
92.4
31.0
34.1
32.8
20.0
34.6
36.6
26.5
16.1
7.3
38.7
F
C
C
C
B
C
D
C
B
A
D
23.6
9.6
8.1
5.3
7.6
3.0
9.7
5.4
5.6
4.1
591
239
202
133
190
74
243
134
140
102
Peak Hour
Lane Movement/Totala
Pleasant Street EB LT
Pleasant Street EB TH/RT
Pleasant Valley St. WB LT
Pleasant Valley St. WB TH
Pleasant Valley St. WB RT
Jackson Street NB LT
Jackson Street NB TH/RT
Howe Street SB LT
Howe Street SB TH
Howe Street SB RT
Intersection
a
NB = Northbound; SB = Southbound; EB = Eastbound; WB = Westbound; LT = Left-Turn; TH = Through; RT = Right Turn.
Volume to Capacity ratio. cAverage Control Delay is in seconds per vehicle. dLevel of Service. e95th percentile queue is in
vehicles. fLength of queue is in feet; assumes 25 feet per vehicle.
b
As shown in Table 5, this signalized intersection operates at level-of-service (LOS) C during the
weekday morning peak hour and at LOS D during the weekday evening commuter peak hour.
Most notably deficient are the operations of the Pleasant Street exclusive left-turn lane, which
operates near capacity at LOS D during the weekday morning peak hour and at or over capacity
at LOS F during the weekday evening peak hour. The maximum (95th percentile) vehicle queue
1
Highway Capacity Manual, HCM2010; Transportation Research Board; Washington, DC; 2010.
Page 16
Road Safety Audit— Marston’s Corner (Route 113 at Jackson and Howe Streets) – Methuen, MA
Prepared by the Merrimack Valley Planning Commission
for this movement is approximately twenty-four vehicles (or approximately 600 feet) long and it
occurs during the weekday evening peak hour. The length of this vehicle queue takes it through
the Route 213 eastbound ramp intersection. Since the vehicles in the left-turn lane are operating
over capacity, the vehicle queue does not clear with the allotted green time. During one visit to
the intersection during the weekday evening peak hour, it was observed over a 25-minute span
that the vehicles queued to and through the ramp intersection 15 signal cycles in a row.
Recommended Improvements
Some improvements to relieve congestion were recommended at the audit and included: (1)
retiming the signal with the present phasing, and (2) modifying the Pleasant Street eastbound
approach lane configuration to include a double left-turn lane and a single through lane.
It was recommended at the audit that in the short-term, perhaps a retiming of the signal could be
tried to alleviate some of the congestion. To that end, the signal was retimed to allow a
maximum green time of 36 seconds rather than the existing 27 seconds. Table 6 presents the
analysis results for the operations of the Marston’s Corner intersection with that retiming with
the existing weekday evening peak hour traffic volumes.
Table 6. Marston’s Corner Intersection with Signal Retiming Operations
Analysis Results
Peak Hour
Weekday Evening Lane Movement/Totala
Pleasant Street EB LT
Pleasant Street EB TH/RT
Pleasant Valley St. WB LT
Pleasant Valley St. WB TH
Pleasant Valley St. WB RT
Jackson Street NB LT
Jackson Street NB TH/RT
Howe Street SB LT
Howe Street SB TH
Howe Street SB RT
Intersection
V/Cb
ADc
LOSd
Queuee
Lengthf
0.92
0.37
0.69
0.50
0.50
0.23
0.51
0.43
0.24
0.32
44.9
26.3
38.1
37.7
24.3
32.2
34.1
23.5
13.8
8.0
30.2
D
C
D
D
C
C
C
C
B
A
C
19.3
9.6
8.1
5.3
7.6
3.0
9.7
5.4
5.6
4.1
483
238
202
148
183
76
277
132
141
89
a
NB = Northbound; SB = Southbound; EB = Eastbound; WB = Westbound; LT = Left-Turn; TH = Through; RT = Right Turn.
Volume to Capacity ratio. cAverage Control Delay is in seconds per vehicle. dLevel of Service. e95th percentile queue is in
vehicles. fLength of queue is in feet; assumes 25 feet per vehicle.
b
As shown in Table 6, this signalized intersection will operate overall at LOS C during the
weekday evening peak hour with the signal timing adjustment. However, the exclusive left-turn
lane for the Pleasant Street operates below, but near capacity, at LOS D. The maximum vehicle
queue still extends for nearly 500 feet or 20 vehicles, which is still to and slightly through the
Route 213 eastbound ramp intersection, however, not quite as far as it currently extends.
In the mid-term, the audit team recommended a reconfiguration/restriping of the Pleasant Street
approach to the intersection for a reassignment of the lanes to include two exclusive left-turn
lanes and one through lane to help relieve congestion. The signal phasing and cycle length will
Page 17
Road Safety Audit— Marston’s Corner (Route 113 at Jackson and Howe Streets) – Methuen, MA
Prepared by the Merrimack Valley Planning Commission
remain the same, since this intersection’s controller is the master of the traffic signal system.
Table 7 presents the operations analysis results for the intersection of Broadway with that
recommended change using the existing traffic volumes.
Table 7. Marston’s Corner Intersection with Lane Reassignment Operations
Analysis Results
V/Cb
ADc
LOSd
Queuee
Lengthf
Weekday Morning Pleasant Street EB LT
Pleasant Street EB TH/RT
Pleasant Valley St. WB LT
Pleasant Valley St. WB TH
Pleasant Valley St. WB RT
Jackson Street NB LT
Jackson Street NB TH/RT
Howe Street SB LT
Howe Street SB TH
Howe Street SB RT
Intersection
0.74
0.32
0.78
0.11
0.12
0.20
0.32
0.32
0.52
0.76
46.5
18.7
71.6
19.1
7.6
36.8
32.3
25.8
33.3
39.0
33.3
D
B
E
B
A
D
C
C
C
D
C
4.3
11.1
4.5
2.4
1.2
2.0
5.3
3.1
10.9
1.2
107
279
113
61
31
50
132
77
273
31
Weekday Evening 0.87
0.49
0.70
0.29
0.36
0.21
0.45
0.44
0.23
0.44
42.9
20.3
40.8
26.3
13.1
30.3
31.8
23.7
13.3
14.3
27.0
D
C
D
C
B
C
C
C
B
B
C
9.0
11.1
9.4
5.1
7.5
2.9
9.4
5.3
5.6
2.5
226
279
235
127
187
72
234
133
141
63
Peak Hour
Lane Movement/Totala
Pleasant Street EB LT
Pleasant Street EB TH/RT
Pleasant Valley St. WB LT
Pleasant Valley St. WB TH
Pleasant Valley St. WB RT
Jackson Street NB LT
Jackson Street NB TH/RT
Howe Street SB LT
Howe Street SB TH
Howe Street SB RT
Intersection
a
NB = Northbound; SB = Southbound; EB = Eastbound; WB = Westbound; LT = Left-Turn; TH = Through; RT = Right Turn.
Volume to Capacity ratio. cAverage Control Delay is in seconds per vehicle. dLevel of Service. e95th percentile queue is in
vehicles. fLength of queue is in feet; assumes 25 feet per vehicle.
b
As shown in Table 7, with the recommended restriping of the Pleasant Street approach to the
new lane configuration, the intersection will operate overall at LOS C during both the weekday
morning and evening commuter peak hours. More importantly, traffic in the exclusive left-turn
lane on the Pleasant Street approach will operate well below capacity, with moderate delay, at
LOS D during both peak hours. The 95th percentile vehicle queue for the double left-turn lane is
projected to be no greater than approximately 9 vehicles or approximately 225 feet. This is well
within the approximate 275 feet of storage that is or could be otherwise provided. However, the
singular Pleasant Street through lane is projected to grow its 95th percentile queue to
approximately 11 vehicles or approximately 275 feet in length. This too is well within the nearly
400 feet of storage provided.
Page 18
Road Safety Audit— Marston’s Corner (Route 113 at Jackson and Howe Streets) – Methuen, MA
Prepared by the Merrimack Valley Planning Commission
Audit Observations and Potential Safety
Enhancements
The RSA team identified safety issues at the pre-meeting and also during the virtual tour of the
site. Potential safety enhancements were discussed during the virtual tour of the site and at the
meeting following the tour. Following is a summary of the identified safety issues and the
potential safety enhancements.

Congestion through the traffic signal system and intersection causes driver frustration
and aggression – Audit participants
stated and generally agreed that
likely a primary reason for many of
the crashes between vehicles
traveling near and through the
Marston’s Corner intersection is
traffic congestion which causes
driver frustration and aggressive
behavior.
Significant traffic volumes travel on Howe Street and through Marston’s Corner during the
weekday morning and evening peak periods. To
preserve throughput and progression of traffic
through the signal system and prevent backups, two
of the Howe Street traffic signals are shut off (in
flash operation) during the weekday morning peak
period and one during the weekday evening peak
period. However, this causes significant delay to
the relatively low volume of vehicles turning left or
traveling straight from the side streets (Route 213
westbound ramp, Rite-Aid driveway, and Loop rear
driveway) where the signals are shut off.
Additionally, the substandard lane widths on the Howe Street bridge over Route 213
contribute to the driver discomfort when traveling in those lanes on Howe Street.
One of the greatest reasons for the congestion and delay is the geometry and traffic control of
the Marston’s Corner intersection. Although
there is more than enough capacity for some lanes
on some of the approaches, such as Pleasant
Valley Street, some lanes are pushed to or pushed
over capacity. The exclusive left-turn lane on the
Pleasant Street approach, in particular, operates
over capacity during the weekday evening peak
period as observed during the manual counts and
as presented in the operations analysis results.
MVPC staff presented a computer simulation,
Page 19
Road Safety Audit— Marston’s Corner (Route 113 at Jackson and Howe Streets) – Methuen, MA
Prepared by the Merrimack Valley Planning Commission
with SimTraffic, of the operations during the audit pre-meeting. Audit participants agreed
that the simulation was generally reflective of how the intersection operates. Traffic will
regularly back up in this lane to and through the Route 213 eastbound ramp intersection
during the weekday evening peak period. The Methuen City Engineer also stated that the
long recovery time from the Opticom emergency vehicle preemption of the signal can
sometimes wreak havoc on the signal timing and cause backups.
The aggressive or careless driver behavior generally occurs at points where the traffic
congestion finally begins to ease for travelers, such as in the Howe Street southbound
channelized right-turn lane or through the middle of the intersection. Some drivers of rightturning vehicles on the Howe Street approach sense the ease of congestion on the Pleasant
Street departure lanes, however, they fail to use care when turning right on a red light and do
so before the vehicle in front of them has departed. Some of the drivers turning left from
Jackson or Howe Streets also sense the ease of congestion on the intersection’s departure
lanes, however they fail to yield the right-of-way to the opposing through traveling vehicles.
Some drivers heading straight on Howe or Jackson Streets do so quickly during the clearance
interval of the signal phase and end up colliding with through traveling vehicles on Route
113.
To relieve traffic congestion through the Marston’s Corner intersection or on Howe Street,
audit participants recommended firstly that improvements be first made to the intersection.
In the short-term, the audit participants recommended that a retiming of the traffic signal at
the intersection be done. MVPC staff analyzed the operations post-audit and the results are
presented in Table 6 of the previous section. Since the traffic signal controller at the
intersection is the master controller for the whole signal system, the cycle length and timing
should be preserved. In increasing the maximum time for the phase that serves the leftturning vehicles on the Pleasant Street approach, the vehicle queue is reduced slightly by
approximately 4 or 5 vehicles during the evening peak hour, however, the queue still reaches
the Route 213 eastbound ramp intersection. This is a low-cost enhancement. The Opticom
signal pre-emption operations should also be reviewed.
In the mid-term, the participants recommended either widening or otherwise modifying the
intersection lane geometrics to improve operations. MVPC staff analyzed the operations of
the intersection with a modified
geometry post-audit, and the results are
presented in Table 7 of the previous
section. For this scenario, the three lanes
on the Pleasant Street approach to the
intersection were modified from the
existing one exclusive left-turn lane and
two through lanes to two exclusive leftturn lanes and one through lane. As
shown in Table 7, with this lane
geometry, the reduced left-turn lane
vehicle queue is well within the storage space, however, the through lane vehicle queue is
slightly increased, but still within the space provided for storage.
Page 20
Road Safety Audit— Marston’s Corner (Route 113 at Jackson and Howe Streets) – Methuen, MA
Prepared by the Merrimack Valley Planning Commission
In the long-term, it was recommended that the travel lane widths on Howe Street be
increased for ease of travel. The lanes should be increased to standard widths and shoulders
of sufficient widths for bicycle travel and sidewalks should be provided on both sides. This
will require a widening of the deck of the Howe Street bridge over Route 213. Since the
bridge is currently structurally sound, this enhancement should be done in the long-term and
be considered when the bridge is programmed for reconstruction.
 Howe and Jackson Street through travelers running red lights – As pointed out
previously, the traffic congestion at and near the Marston’s Corner intersection can cause
some aggressive driver behavior.
Some of this aggressive behavior
results in the drivers traveling through
on Jackson and Howe Streets and
doing so during or after the clearance
interval of the traffic signal phase.
Crash data was presented at the audit
pre-meeting that showed two crashes
occurred because of this in which the
drivers collided their vehicles with
through traveling vehicles on Route
113. The drivers of those vehicles
were cited for running red lights.
The audit participants therefore recommended that the clearance intervals for the Jackson and
Howe Street signal phases be checked to see whether they are appropriate to clear vehicles
through the intersection.
 Howe Street left-turning vehicles fail to yield the right-of-way to opposing through
vehicles – Crash data was presented at the preaudit meeting that showed some left-turning
vehicles from Howe Street collided with through
traveling vehicles coming from Jackson Street.
The left-turning vehicles did so, mainly because
the drivers failed to yield the right-of-way. Some
of the left-turners from Howe Street travel on a
leading protected portion of the signal phase, in
which a green arrow indication glows and drivers
do not need to concern themselves with opposing
through traffic. However, during the lagging
portion of the phase, a green ball indication glows
and drivers must yield the right-of-way to the opposing through traffic. It is during this
portion of the phase that the collisions occurred.
The audit participants recommended a new system of control in which the yellow left-turn
arrow within the doghouse assembly flashes during the lagging permissive portion of the
phase to remind drivers of the yielding requirement.
Page 21
Road Safety Audit— Marston’s Corner (Route 113 at Jackson and Howe Streets) – Methuen, MA
Prepared by the Merrimack Valley Planning Commission
 Unclear lane control on the Howe Street approach to the Marston’s Corner intersection – It
was observed during the audit virtual tour that there is a lack of signing or pavement
markings to help identify the
mandatory and/or allowed turning
movements from the two lanes on the
Howe Street approach to the Marston’s
Corner intersection. The pavement
markings are very faded as observed in
the virtual tour and out at the site postaudit. Additionally, there are no turn
arrows or legends on the pavement in
the lanes. During the study period, one
of the drivers involved in a collision
and turning left from Howe Street did
so from the through lane, as shown in
the crash report within the Appendix.
It should be noted that, at the intersection, MassDOT owns a majority of Howe Street, however, the City owns a portion of it. According to layout plans provided in the Appendix, MassDOT owns the approach side of the street, however, the City owns a portion of the departure side. MassDOT and the City should come to an agreement on who is responsible for maintaining the markings on all of Howe Street by the intersection. In the short-term, the audit team recommended increasing the visibility of the pavement markings by striping with paint or thermoplastic markings as soon as possible. If striped with paint, then the roadway should be restriped annually or perhaps even biannually. If
striped with thermoplastic markings, then every 5 to 7 years, perhaps even every 3 to 5 years. It was also recommended that a left arrow and “ONLY” legend be placed on the pavement of the
exclusive
left-turn
lane.
Additionally, a straight arrow and “ONLY” legend be striped on the
pavement of the through lane to reinforce the mandatory turning movements of these lanes. The audit team also recommended posting two mandatory movement lane control signs, with the legend, “LEFT LANE MUST TURN LEFT” (MUTCD R3-7) on the median, adjacent to the exclusive left-turn lane. This will help to reinforce the mandatory turning movements from this lane. This is a short-term, low cost enhancement. Page 22
Road Safety Audit— Marston’s Corner (Route 113 at Jackson and Howe Streets) – Methuen, MA
Prepared by the Merrimack Valley Planning Commission
 Driveways for the Howe Street gas stations are not well located – Methuen’s Assistant
Planning Director stated that
the City would like to improve
the safety of access to and
egress from the two gas station
uses on the northwest and
northeast corners of the
Marston’s corner intersection.
Two curb cuts exist for both of
these uses. One of the uses is
abandoned, however, for the
use that is still in open and
operating, there were two
crashes over the study period.
The crashes occurred between
travelers on Howe Street and one vehicle entering and one exiting the Wave Gas station, as
shown in the collision diagram in the
Appendix.
For the Wave Gas station, the two
driveways are onto two different
jurisdictions of Howe Street.
The
driveways are poorly located, especially
the one on the corner.
It was
recommended that better and safer
access control be provided for this
station, perhaps ensuring that only rightturns in and out are allowed. MassDOT
and the City should work with the owner
to relocate, modify, or consolidate the
curb cuts to achieve that end.
For the abandoned use, the City planning department and MassDOT should work with the
developer of any proposed reuse to help better locate the driveways for access control. The
planning department is responsible for permitting of the reuse and MassDOT is responsible
for permitting of the curb cuts. The assistant planning director stated that Rite-Aid, who is
currently leasing the property, and the owner are both receptive to and interested in the idea
of consolidating the curb cuts.
Alternatively, the center median island on Howe Street and the delta shaped corner islands
could be extended to provide positive access control into and out of the curb cuts at their
existing locations. This potential improvement is a mid-term, medium cost enhancement.
Page 23
Road Safety Audit— Marston’s Corner (Route 113 at Jackson and Howe Streets) – Methuen, MA
Prepared by the Merrimack Valley Planning Commission
 Poor sight lines to and from the Rite-Aid driveway onto Howe Street – The Assistant Planning
Director also stated that there are poor sight lines
to and from the Rite-Aid driveway onto Howe
Street, north of the intersection. Since the traffic
signal at the Rite-Aid driveway intersection is in
flash operation, the intersection operates like it is
unsignalized. Therefore, traffic turning from the
driveway must wait for appropriate gaps in the
Howe Street traffic stream to negotiate a turn.
However, sight distance along the northwest
corner of the intersection from the Rite-Aid
driveway is restricted to less than approximately
100 feet by a sign, side vegetation, and fencing
along the west side of the Howe Street bridge over Route 213.
If the signal control at this location is to remain in flash control, then improvements to sight
distance must be made. In the short-term, the assistant planning director recommended that
Rite-Aid relocate the Rite-Aid drive-thru/Cosmopolitan Travel entry sign further west along
the driveway to improve the sight distance. MassDOT should also trim back any
overhanging vegetation, near the bridge, that also restricts the sight distance. In the longterm, with a reconstruction of the Howe Street bridge over Route 213, there will be a wider
deck, with wider travel lanes, wider shoulders, and a sidewalk along the west side of the
roadway. All these elements will push back the fencing along the west side of the bridge and
help to improve sight distance between vehicles waiting on the Rite-Aid driveway and
vehicles traveling on Howe Street, north of the intersection.

Lack of some pedestrian accommodations at and near the intersection – Despite there being no
recorded pedestrian collisions at the intersection
within the three-year study period, the assistant
planning director expressed concern for the safety of
pedestrians walking at and near the intersection. It
was observed that the crosswalk pavement markings
at the intersection across Howe Street, Jackson Street,
and Pleasant Valley Street are extremely faded. It
was also observed that no sidewalks are provided
along the north
side of Pleasant
Street, near the
intersection. In the short-term, it was recommended that the crosswalks be painted as soon as possible and restriped on a regular basis. In the mid-term, it was recommended that sidewalks be constructed along this side of Pleasant Street to provide dedicated space for
those walking. The timing of this construction could potentially be linked to the redevelopment and/or reuse of the abandoned gas station on the northwest corner of the intersection. Page 24
Road Safety Audit— Marston’s Corner (Route 113 at Jackson and Howe Streets) – Methuen, MA
Prepared by the Merrimack Valley Planning Commission

Poor visibility of the traffic signal heads facing the Pleasant Street intersection approach – A
MassDOT official pointed out that the
curvilinear alignment of Pleasant Street
coupled with some vegetation along the
south side restricts the sight distance of
vehicles’ drivers to the traffic signal heads
on the Marston’s Corner intersection
approach.
Some rear-end collisions
occurred on this approach during the study
period, as shown in the collision diagrams
within the Appendix. In the short-term, it
was recommended that MassDOT trim back
the side vegetation to improve sight
distance. In the long-term, MassDOT plans
to install new traffic signal equipment with new retroreflective backplates on the signal
heads, which will also help visibility of the signal indications.
 Confusing signal indication facing the Howe Street southbound right-turners – A MassDOT
safety official also pointed out that the dog-house style traffic
signal head assembly facing the drivers of right-turning
vehicles from Howe Street can be confusing when the green
indications are glowing. Some rear-end collisions occurred in
the right-turn lane on the Howe Street approach during the
study period, as shown in the collision diagrams. One of the
collisions occurred while the green indication was glowing. In
the short-term, it was recommended that the assembly be
replaced with a simpler 3-face signal head. In the long-term, MassDOT District officials
stated that new traffic signal equipment will be installed at this location, with mast-arm
assemblies replacing the span wire assembly for supporting the traffic signal heads.
 Jackson Street left-turn and Howe Street right-turn conflict – At the audit, some mentioned
that there appears to be a conflicting right-ofway granted to those vehicles turning right
from Howe Street onto Pleasant Street and
those turning left from Jackson Street and then
traveling straight on Pleasant Street heading
westbound. Drivers of vehicles in the Jackson
Street left-turn lane face a circular green
indication and travel onto Pleasant Street,
while drivers in the Howe Street right-turn
lane onto Pleasant Street at the same time face
circular green and green right arrow
indications. It was recommended that a clearer
right-of-way assignment could be made. This could potentially be accomplished by either
having a red indication glow for right-turners while the left-turners are going or posting a
YIELD sign next to the Howe Street right-turn lane in place of the signal control.
Page 25
Road Safety Audit— Marston’s Corner (Route 113 at Jackson and Howe Streets) – Methuen, MA
Prepared by the Merrimack Valley Planning Commission
Summary of Road Safety Audit
All of the safety issues and their potential safety enhancements were discussed in the previous
section. Table 8 provides a summary of the potential safety recommendations that were
discussed by the audit team. The recommendations are categorized in order of safety payoff with
their associated cost, time frame and responsible agency.
Safety payoff estimates are subjective and may be based on the relative percent of crashes that
may be reduced by the enhancement; for example, low (<30%), medium (31% to 70%), and high
(>71%). The time frame is categorized as short-term (<1 year), mid-term (1 to 3 years), or longterm (>3 years). The costs are categorized as low (<$10,000), medium ($10,001 to $50,000), or
high (>$50,001).
Page 26
Road Safety Audit— Marston’s Corner (Route 113 at Jackson and Howe Streets) – Methuen, MA
Prepared by the Merrimack Valley Planning Commission
Table 8. Potential Safety Enhancement Summary
Safety Issue
Potential Safety Enhancement
Safety
Payoff
Time
Frame
Cost
Responsible
Agency
Retime the Marston’s Corner traffic signal for an increased
Medium Short-Term
Low
maximum green time of the Pleasant Street left turn phase.
Modify the Pleasant Street approach to the Marston’s Corner
High
Mid-Term Medium
intersection to two exclusive left-turn lanes and one through lane.
Reconstruct the Howe Street bridge to provide a wider deck. (1)
Low
Long-Term
High
Howe and Jackson Street through Check clearance intervals for the Jackson and Howe Street
Low
Short-Term
Low
travelers running red lights
signal phases be checked to see whether they are appropriate.
Howe Street left-turners fail to yield Place new flashing yellow left-turn arrow within the doghouse
Low
Mid-Term
Low
the right-of-way to opposing thrus assembly during the lagging permissive portion of the phase.
Stripe with new markings a.s.a.p. and restripe on a regular basis.
Low
Short-Term
Low
Low
Short-Term
Low
Unclear lane control on the Howe Place a left arrow & “ONLY” legend on Howe Street left-turn lane.
Street approach to the Marston’s
Place a ^ arrow & “ONLY” legend on Howe Street through lane.
Low
Short-Term
Low
Corner intersection
Post two “LEFT LANE MUST TURN LEFT” (MUTCD R3-7) signs
Low
Short-Term
Low
on the median, adjacent to the exclusive left-turn lane.
Work with the owner of Wave Gas station to relocate or
Low
Short-Term
Low
consolidate the driveway locations for better access control.
Driveways for the Howe Street gas Work with the developer of any proposed reuse of the abandoned
Low
Mid-Term
Low
stations are not well located
gas station to help better locate the driveways for access control.
Extend the Howe Street center median island and corner islands
Low
Mid-Term Medium
to provide access control into/out of the existing curb cuts.
Relocate the drive-thru entry sign further west along the drive.
Medium Short-Term
Low
Poor sight lines to and from the
Rite-Aid driveway onto Howe
Trim back the side vegetation to improve sight distance.
Low
Short-Term
Low
Street
Reconstruct the Howe Street bridge to provide a wider deck. (1)
Medium Long-Term
High
MassDOT/
City
MassDOT/
City
MassDOT/
City
Rite-Aid
MassDOT
MassDOT
Increase visibility of crosswalks by striping as soon as possible.
Low
Short-Term
MassDOT
Construct sidewalks along the north side of Pleasant Street.
Trim back the side vegetation to improve sight distance.
Replace the “dog-house” style assembly be with a simpler threeface signal head.
Post YIELD sign next to Howe Street right-turn lane
Low
Low
Mid-Term Medium
Short-Term
Low
MassDOT
MassDOT
Low
Short-Term
Low
MassDOT
Low
Short-Term
Low
MassDOT
Congestion through the traffic
signal system and intersection
causes driver frustration and
aggression
Pedestrian accommodations at
and near the intersection lacking
Poor Pleasant St signal visibility
Confusing signal indication facing
the Howe Street right-turners
Jackson LTs/Howe RTs conflict
Low
MassDOT
MassDOT
MassDOT
MassDOT
MassDOT
MassDOT
MassDOT
MassDOT
MassDOT
Repeat potential safety improvements include: (1) Reconstruct the Howe Street bridge over Route 213 to provide a wider bridge deck.
Page 27
Appendix A. RSA Meeting Agenda Road Safety Audits
METHUEN – Marston’s Corner & Broadway/Rt 213 ramps
Meeting Location: City Hall (Searles Building)
Engineer’s Conference Room 208
41 Pleasant Street, Methuen, MA
Tuesday, January 14th, 2014
1:00 PM – 4:00 PM
Type of meeting:
High Crash Locations – Road Safety Audits
Attendees:
Invited Participants to Comprise a Multidisciplinary Team
Please bring:
Thoughts and Enthusiasm!!
1:00 PM
Welcome and Introductions
1:15 PM
Review of Site Specific Material
 Crash, Speed & Volume Summaries– provided in advance
 Existing Geometry and Conditions
2:30 PM
Visit the Sites
 Drive to the locations (weather permitting)
 As a group, identify areas for improvement
3:30 PM
Post Visit Discussion / Completion of RSA
 Discuss observations and finalize findings
 Discuss potential improvements and finalize recommendations
4:00 PM
Adjourn for the Day – but the RSA has not ended
Instructions for Participants:
 Before attending the RSA on the 14th, participants are encouraged to drive and/or
walk through the locations and complete/consider elements on the RSA Prompt
List with a focus on safety.
 All participants will be actively involved in the process throughout. Participants
are encouraged to come with thoughts and ideas, but are reminded that the
synergy that develops and respect for others’ opinions are key elements to the
success of the overall RSA process.
 After the RSA meeting, participants will be asked to comment and respond to the
document materials to assure it is reflective of the RSA completed by the
multidisciplinary team.
Appendix B. RSA Audit Team Contact List Participating Audit Team Members
Date:
January 14, 2014
Audit Team
Members
Kathleen Colwell
Stephen Gagnon
Mike Buote
Mike Havey
Constance Raphael
Sara Timoner
Corey O’Connor
Theodore Masse
Nithin Krishna
Tony Komornick
Jim Terlizzi
Location:
Methuen City Hall, 60 Pleasant St., Methuen, MA
Agency/Affiliation or Title
Email Address
Phone Number
Methuen Community Dev.
Methuen Engineering
Methuen Fire Department
Methuen Police Department
MassDOT District 4
MassDOT District 4 Traffic
MassDOT Traffic Safety
MassDOT Traffic
MassDOT Traffic
MVPC
MVPC
kbcolwell@ci.methuen.ma.us
sjgagnon@ci.methuen.ma.us
mgbuote@ci.methuen.ma.us
mhavey@ci.methuen.ma.us
connie.raphael@state.ma.us
sara.timoner@state.ma.us
corey.oconnor@state.ma.us
theodore.masse@state.ma.us
nithinkrishnalinga.reddy@dot.state.ma.us
akomornick@mvpc.org
jterlizzi@mvpc.org
(978) 983-8560
(978) 983-8550
(978) 983-8940
(978) 983-8698
(781) 641-8468
(781) 641-8435
(857) 368-9638
(857) 368-9638
(978) 727-2217
(978) 374-0519
(978) 374-0519
Appendix C. Detailed Crash Data Crash Trends and Collision Diagrams: Summarized from 2009 to 2011 Crash
Data and Reports
Day of Week
30%
24%
25%
20%
16%
16%
18%
15%
10%
8%
8%
10%
5%
0%
Time of Day
40%
35%
30%
25%
20%
15%
10%
5%
0%
34%
24%
10%
10%
10%
8%
2%
2%
Vehicle Operator Age
30%
25%
25%
20%
16%
18%
15%
15%
11%
8%
10%
4%
5%
2%
0%
<20
20‐29
30‐39
40‐49
50‐59
60‐69
70‐79
80+
COLLISION DIAGRAM
Location: Route 113 (Pleasant and Pleasant Valley Streets) at Jackson and Howe Streets
Time Period: Jan. 1, 2009 – Dec. 31, 2011__
12
Wave Gas
Station
Rite-Aid
Pharmacy
1, 7, 8, 13,
22, 28, 46
26
4, 30
9
5, 16, 25
23, 44
24, 27
6, 31, 42
14, 40,
49
3, 21, 36,
39, 50
19, 47
N
34
2
10, 18, 20, 29,
32, 33, 41, 48
43
Number Key
11, 37,
38
Not to Scale
#
DATE
TIME
TYPE
K I
LIGHT
ROAD
1
1/15/09
9:20 AM
Rear-End
0
Daylight
Dry
2
2/15/09
2:47 PM
Single Vehicle
1
Daylight
Dry
3
2/15/09
6:25 PM
Angle
0
Dark, Lit
Dry
4
4/04/09
6:55 PM
Rear-End
0
Daylight
Dry
VIOLATIONS
XX Italicized = moving violation
XX Bold = crash involving injury
Symbol Legend
Vehicle
Pedestrian
Fixed Object/Parked Car
Collision Type
5
5/06/09
4:30 PM
Rear-End
1
Daylight
Dry
Head On
6
5/08/09
7:10 PM
Rear-End
0
Daylight
Dry
Head On
7
5/12/09
7:30 PM
Rear-End
0
Daylight
Dry
8
6/02/09
8:44 PM
Rear-End
0
Dusk
Dry
9
6/04/09
4:54 PM
Angle
0
Daylight
Dry
10
6/05/09
6:50 PM
Rear-End
0
Daylight
Dry
11
6/19/09
2:03 PM
Rear-End
0
Daylight
Wet
12
6/25/09
12:19 PM
Angle
0
Daylight
Dry
13
8/07/09
8:05 PM
Rear-End
0
Dark, Lit
Dry
14
8/18/09
6:05 PM
Angle
0
Daylight
15
9/08/09
4:05 AM
Single Vehicle
0
16
9/10/09
7:00 PM
Rear-End
0
17
11/05/09
8:05 PM
Rear-End
0
Dark, Lit
Wet
18
11/13/09
7:30 PM
Rear-End
0
Dark, Lit
Dry
Rear End
Rear End
Turning Moves
Angle
Angle
Turning Move
Angle
Turning Move
Angle
Turning Move
Dry
Side Swipe
Same Direction
Daylight
Dry
Side Swipe
Opp. Direction
Daylight
Dry
Side Swipe
Lane Change
Op. w/defective equip.
19
11/15/09
12:49 PM
Angle
2
Daylight
Wet
20
11/25/09
5:10 PM
Rear-End
0
Dark, Lit
Wet
21
12/21/09
6:05 PM
Angle
0
Dark, Lit
Dry
Single Vehicle Hit Fixed Object
22
1/11/10
6:30 AM
Rear-End
0
Dawn
Dry
Single Vehicle Ran Off Road
23
2/05/10
1:35 AM
Angle
0
Daylight
Dry
24
2/25/10
5:13 PM
Rear-End
0
Daylight
Wet
25
2/26/10
8:58 PM
Rear-End
0
Dark, Lit
Wet
Following too closely
Backing
Single Vehicle Pedestrian
COLLISION DIAGRAM
Location: Route 113 (Pleasant and Pleasant Valley Streets) at Jackson and Howe Streets
Time Period: Jan. 1, 2009 – Dec. 31, 2011__
12
Wave Gas
Station
Rite-Aid
Pharmacy
1, 7, 8, 13,
22, 28, 46
26
4, 30
9
5, 16, 25
23, 44
24, 27
6, 31, 42
19, 47
N
14, 40,
49
3, 21, 36,
39, 50
34
2
10, 18, 20, 29,
32, 33, 41, 48
43
Number Key
11, 37,
38
Not to Scale
#
DATE
TIME
TYPE
K I
LIGHT
ROAD
26
3/23/10
8:20 AM
Angle
0
Daylight
Wet
27
3/28/10
5:50 PM
Rear-End
0
Dark, Lit
Dry
28
4/01/10
2:10 PM
Rear-End
1
Daylight
Dry
29
4/16/10
10:32 PM
Rear-End
0
Dark, Lit
Wet
VIOLATIONS
XX Italicized = moving violation
XX Bold = crash involving injury
Symbol Legend
Vehicle
Pedestrian
Fixed Object/Parked Car
Collision Type
30
5/01/10
9:24 AM
Rear-End
0
Daylight
Dry
Head On
31
5/04/10
6:29 PM
Rear-End
0
Daylight
Wet
Head On
32
6/16/10
3:30 PM
Rear-End
2
Daylight
Dry
33
6/29/10
5:59 PM
Rear-End
0
Daylight
Dry
34
7/02/10
6:40 AM
Angle
0
Daylight
Dry
35
11/15/10
4:45 PM
Angle
0
Dark, Lit
Dry
36
1/14/11
7:04 AM
Angle
0
Daylight
Turning Moves
Angle
Angle
Turning Move
Dry
Angle
Turning Move
Angle
Turning Move
Side Swipe
Same Direction
Side Swipe
Opp. Direction
Side Swipe
Lane Change
37
2/09/11
6:35 PM
Rear-End
0
Dark, Lit
Dry
38
2/18/11
3:50 PM
Rear-End
0
Daylight
Dry
39
3/03/11
3:11 PM
Angle
0
Daylight
Dry
Fail to yield r-o-w
40
3/13/11
9:48 PM
Angle
0
Dark, Lit
Dry
41
3/21/11
3:49 PM
Rear-End
4
Daylight
Snow
42
5/12/11
6:09 PM
Rear-End
0
Daylight
Dry
43
6/17/11
10:02 PM
Angle
0
Dark, Lit
Dry
Rear End
44
6/29/11
11:30 PM
Angle
2
Dark, Lit
Wet
Rear End
45
8/09/11
10:09 PM
Angle
0
Dark, Lit
Dry
46
9/15/11
12:00 PM
Rear-End
1
Daylight
Wet
47
10/24/11
7:20 PM
Angle
1
Daylight
Dry
48
11/05/11
1:09 PM
Rear-End
1
Daylight
Dry
49
11/09/11
7:54 AM
Angle
1
Daylight
Dry
50
12/23/11
6:15 PM
Angle
0
Dark, Lit
Wet
Backing
Single Vehicle Hit Fixed Object
Fail to yield r-o-w
Single Vehicle Ran Off Road
Single Vehicle Pedestrian
MassDOT/RMV Crash Report Summaries: 2009, 2010, and 2011
MassDOT Crash Report for MET HUEN for the year 2009
Crash
Number
Vehicle
Number Total
Total Manner
of
Vehicle Action Travel
Crash Crash Crash
of
Nonfatal Fatal
Date Time Severity Vehicles Injuries Injuries Collision Prior to Crash Directions
Most Harmful Events
Vehicle
Configuration
Road
Surface Ambient
Condition Light
Weather At Roadway
Condition Intersection
Distance from
Nearest
Roadway
Intersection
Distance
from Nearest X
Y
Landmark
Coordinate Coordinate
Route 113 (Pleasant and Pleasant Valley Streets) at Jackson Street and Howe Street
15Jan2433887 2009
15Feb2435767 2009
15Feb2435760 2009
04Apr2457883 2009
9:20
AM
Property
damage
only (none
injured)
2
2:47
PM
Nonfatal
injury
6:25
PM
Property
damage
only (none
injured)
2
6:55
PM
Property
damage
only (none
injured)
2
1
06May- 4:30
2466514 2009 PM
Nonfatal
injury
08May- 7:10
2470004 2009 PM
Property
damage
only (none
injured)
2
12May- 7:30
2470006 2009 PM
Property
damage
only (none
injured)
2
02Jun2478072 2009
8:44
PM
Property
damage
only (none
injured)
2
4:54
PM
Property
damage
only (none
injured)
2
6:50
PM
Property
damage
only (none
injured)
3
04Jun2478158 2009
05Jun2478293 2009
2
Property
damage
only (none
injured)
3
19Jun2492084 2009
2:03
PM
25Jun2500999 2009
Property
damage
12:19 only (none
injured)
PM
2
07Aug2507105 2009
8:05
PM
Property
damage
only (none
injured)
2
6:05
PM
Property
damage
only (none
injured)
2
18Aug2513117 2009
08Sep2617065 2009
4:05
AM
Unknown 2
10Sep- 7:00
2517998 2009 PM
Property
damage
only (none
injured)
2
05Nov- 8:05
2551883 2009 PM
Property
damage
only (none
injured)
2
13Nov2557473 2009
15Nov2551889 2009
7:30
PM
Property
damage
only (none
injured)
2
Non12:49 fatal
PM
injury
2
25Nov- 5:10
2546633 2009 PM
Property
damage
only (none
injured)
2
21Dec- 6:05
2558478 2009 PM
Property
damage
only (none
injured)
2
V1: Collision with
0
1
0
0
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
2
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
Rearend
Single
vehicle
crash
V1: Slowing or
stopped in traffic / V1:Westbound motor vehicle in traffic
/ V2: Collision with
V2:Slowing or
/
stopped in traffic V2:Westbound motor vehicle in traffic
V1: Turning left
V1:Eastbound
V1: Travelling
straight ahead /
V2:Turning left
V1:Northbound
/
V2:Southbound
Rearend
V1: Turning left /
V2:Turning left
V1:Northbound
/
V2:Northbound
Rearend
V1: Travelling
straight ahead /
V2:Slowing or
stopped in traffic
Rearend
V1: Slowing or
stopped in traffic /
V2:Travelling
V1:Eastbound /
straight ahead
V2:Eastbound
Rearend
V1: Travelling
straight ahead /
V2:Travelling
straight ahead
Rearend
V1: Slowing or
stopped in traffic / V1:Southbound
V2:Travelling
/
straight ahead
V2:Southbound
Angle
V1: Slowing or
stopped in traffic / V1:Southbound
V2:Travelling
/
straight ahead
V2:Westbound
Angle
V1:Westbound
/
V2:Westbound
V1:Westbound
/
V2:Westbound
Rearend
V1: Slowing or
stopped in traffic / V1:Eastbound /
V2:Unknown /
V2:Eastbound /
V3:Not reported
V3:Not reported
V1: Slowing or
stopped in traffic /
V2:Slowing or
V1:Northbound
stopped in traffic / / V2:Not
V3:Travelling
reported /
straight ahead
V3:Not reported
Angle
V1: Travelling
straight ahead /
V2:Turning left
Rearend
V1: Slowing or
stopped in traffic / V1:Westbound
V2:Travelling
/
straight ahead
V2:Westbound
Rearend
Angle
Single
vehicle
crash
V1: Travelling
straight ahead /
V2:Travelling
straight ahead
V1:Southbound
/
V2:Southbound
V1:Northbound
/
V2:Westbound
V1: Slowing or
stopped in traffic / V1:Eastbound / V1: Not reported / V2:
V2:Not reported
V2:Not reported Not reported
Rearend
V1: Travelling
straight ahead /
V2:Travelling
straight ahead
Rearend
V1: Slowing or
stopped in traffic / V1:Westbound
V2:Travelling
/
straight ahead
V2:Westbound
V1:Westbound
/
V2:Westbound
Angle
V1: Slowing or
stopped in traffic /
V2:Travelling
V1:Eastbound /
straight ahead
V2:Not reported
V1: Travelling
straight ahead /
V2:Travelling
V1:Eastbound /
straight ahead
V2:Southbound
Rearend
V1: Slowing or
stopped in traffic /
V2:Travelling
V1:Eastbound /
straight ahead
V2:Southbound
Rearend
Angle
V1: Unknown noncollision
V1: Collision with
motor vehicle in traffic
/ V2: Collision with
motor vehicle in traffic
V1: Collision with
motor vehicle in traffic
/ V2: Collision with
motor vehicle in traffic
V1: Collision with
motor vehicle in traffic
/ V2: Collision with
motor vehicle in traffic
V1: Collision with
motor vehicle in traffic
/ V2: Collision with
motor vehicle in traffic
V1: Collision with
motor vehicle in traffic
/ V2: Collision with
motor vehicle in traffic
V1: Collision with
motor vehicle in traffic
/ V2: Collision with
motor vehicle in traffic
V1: Collision with
motor vehicle in traffic
/ V2: Collision with
motor vehicle in traffic
V1: Collision with
motor vehicle in traffic
/ V2: Collision with
motor vehicle in traffic
V1: Collision with
motor vehicle in traffic
/ V2: Collision with
motor vehicle in traffic
/ V3: Collision with
V1: Collision with
motor vehicle in traffic
/ V2: Collision with
motor vehicle in traffic
V1: Collision with
motor vehicle in traffic
/ V2: Collision with
motor vehicle in traffic
V1: Collision with
motor vehicle in traffic
/ V2: Collision with
motor vehicle in traffic
V1: Travelling
straight ahead /
V2:Turning left
V1:Northbound
/
V2:Southbound
V1: Collision with
motor vehicle in traffic
/ V2: Collision with
motor vehicle in traffic
V1: Collision with
motor vehicle in traffic
/ V2: Collision with
motor vehicle in traffic
V1: Collision with
motor vehicle in traffic
/ V2: Collision with
motor vehicle in traffic
V1: Collision with
motor vehicle in traffic
/ V2: Collision with
V1: Collision with
motor vehicle in traffic
/ V2: Collision with
motor vehicle in traffic
V1: Collision with
motor vehicle in traffic
/ V2: Collision with
motor vehicle in traffic
V1: Passenger car /
V2:Passenger car
V1: Motorcycle
V1: Passenger car /
V2:Light truck(van,
mini-van, panel,
pickup, sport utility)
with only four tires
V1: Passenger car /
V2:Passenger car
V1: Passenger car /
V2:Passenger car
Dry
HOWE
Cloudy STREET /
/Unkno PLEASANT
STREET
Daylight wn
Dry
Clear/
Daylight Clear
Dry
Dark lighted
roadway Clear
Dry
Dry
Daylight Clear
PLEASANT
VALLEY STREET
/ JACKSON
STREET
Dry
Dry
Daylight Clear
Dry
Daylight Clear
Dry
V1: Light truck(van, minivan, panel, pickup, sport
utility) with only four
tires / V2:Passenger car
Dry
van, panel, pickup, sport
utility) with only four
tires / V2:Light
truck(van, mini-van,
panel, pickup, sport
V1: Light truck(van, minivan, panel, pickup, sport
utility) with only four
tires / V2:Light
truck(van, mini-van,
panel, pickup, sport
utility) with only four
V1: Light truck(van, mini
van, panel, pickup, sport
utility) with only four
tires / V2:Light
truck(van, mini-van,
panel, pickup, sport
PLEASANT
STREET /
JACKSON
STREET
PLEASANT
STREET /
Clear/ HOWE
Daylight Cloudy STREET
PLEASANT
STREET /
HOWE
Daylight Clear STREET
HOWE
Clear/ STREET /
Unkno PLEASANT
STREET
Daylight wn
HOWE
STREET /
PLEASANT
Dusk
Clear STREET
V1: Passenger car /
V2:Passenger car
V1: Passenger car /
V2:Light truck(van, minivan, panel, pickup, sport
utility) with only four
tires
V1: Light truck(van, mini
van, panel, pickup, sport
utility) with only four
tires / V2:Light
truck(van, mini-van,
panel,
g pickup,
t t uc (sport
a ,
HOWE STREET /
PLEASANT VALLEY
STREET / JACKSON
STREET
256
PLEASANT
STREET
JACKSON STREET /
PLEASANT VALLEY
STREET Rte 113 E
RITE AID
227168.3
943447.3
227175.5
943437.3
227175.5
943437.3
227168.3
943447.3
227210.7
943450.1
227168.3
943447.3
227168.3
943447.3
227168.3
943447.3
227109.1
943408.9
227210.7
943450.1
227210.7
943450.1
227175.5
943437.3
227168.3
943447.3
V1: Light truck(van, minivan, panel, pickup, sport
utility) with only four
tires / V2:Passenger car
Dry
JACKSON
STREET /
PLEASANT
Cloudy VALLEY
Daylight /Rain STREET
HOWE
STREET /
JACKSON
Daylight Cloudy STREET
HOWE
STREET /
Dark PLEASANT
lighted
roadway Clear STREET
V1: Light truck(van, minivan, panel, pickup, sport
utility) with only four
tires / V2:Passenger car
Dry
Daylight Clear
PLEASANT VALLEY
STREET Rte 113 W /
JACKSON STREET
227210.7
943450.1
Dawn
Clear
PLEASANT VALLEY
STREET / JACKSON
STREET
227210.7
943450.1
Dry
Dusk
Not
Report
ed
PLEASANT VALLEY
STREET Rte 113 E /
JACKSON STREET /
HOWE STREET
227175.5
943437.3
Wet
Dark PLEASANT
lighted
VALLEY STREET
roadway Cloudy / HOWE STREET
227207.8
943462.8
Dry
Dark lighted
roadway Clear
V1: Passenger car /
V2:Not reported
V1: Light truck(van, minivan, panel, pickup, sport
utility) with only four
tires / V2:Passenger car
V1: Light truck(van, minivan, panel, pickup, sport
utility) with only four
tires / V2:Passenger car
V1: Passenger car /
V2:Light truck(van, minivan, panel, pickup, sport
utility) with only four
tires
V1: Passenger car /
V2:Light truck(van,
mini-van, panel,
pickup, sport utility)
V1: Not reported /
V2:Not reported
V1: Passenger car /
V2:Light truck(van, minivan, panel, pickup, sport
utility) with only four
tires
Wet
Dry
Dry
JACKSON
STREET /
PLEASANT
VALLEY STREET
Rte 113 E
227210.7
943450.1
Wet
Daylight Cloudy
PLEASANT VALLEY
STREET /
PLEASANT STREET
/ JACKSON STREET
227175.5
943437.3
Wet
Dark lighted
roadway Rain
JACKSON
STREET /
PLEASANT
VALLEY STREET
227210.7
943450.1
Dry
Dark lighted
roadway Cloudy
HOWE STREET /
PLEASANT VALLEY
STREET Rte 113 /
JACKSON STREET
227175.5
943437.3
MassDO T Crash Report for MET HUEN for the year 2010
Number Total
Crash
Number
Total
Manner
Crash Crash Crash
Vehicle Action
of
Nonfatal Fatal of
Date Time Severity Vehicles Injuries Injuries Collision Prior to Crash
Vehicle Travel
Directions
Most Harmful Events
Vehicle
Configuration
Distance
At
from Nearest
Road
Roadway
Surface Ambient Weather Roadway
Condition Intersection Intersection
Condition Light
Distance
from
Nearest
X
Y
Landmark Coordinate Coordinate
Route 113 (Pleasant and Pleasant Valley Streets) at Jackson Street and Howe Street
11Jan- 6:30
2574898 2010 AM
Property
damage
only (none
injured)
2
0
0
05Feb- 1:35
2584130 2010 PM
Property
damage
only (none
injured)
2
0
0
25Feb- 5:13
PM
2582493 2010
Nonfatal
injury
3
2
0
26Feb- 8:58
2582104 2010 PM
Property
damage
only (none
injured)
3
0
0
23Mar- 8:20
2586908 2010 AM
Property
damage
only (none
injured)
2
0
0
28Mar2585552 2010
5:50
PM
01Apr- 2:10
2588475 2010 PM
Property
damage
only (none
injured)
2
Nonfatal
injury
2
16Apr- 10:32
2602436 2010 PM
Unknown 2
0
1
0
0
0
0
V1: Not reported
Head- / V2:Not
reported
on
V1: Slowing or
stopped in traffic
/ V2:Slowing or
stopped in traffic
Rear- / V3:Slowing or
end
stopped in traffic
V1: Slowing or
stopped in traffic
/ V2:Slowing or
Rear- stopped in traffic
end
/ V3:Travelling
Sides
wipe,
same V1: Turning right
directi / V2:Travelling
straight ahead
on
Rearend
Property
damage
only (none
injured)
2
0
0
Rearend
04May- 6:29
2599926 2010 PM
Property
damage
only (none
injured)
2
0
0
Rearend
16Jun- 3:30
2615801 2010 PM
Nonfatal
injury
5:59
PM
Property
damage
only (none
injured)
2
2618249 2010
02-Jul- 6:40
AM
Property
damage
only (none
injured)
2
15Nov- 4:45
2671505 2010 PM
Property
damage
only (none
injured)
2
29Jun2618440 2010
2
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
V1:Southbound
/ V2:Northbound
V1:Eastbound /
V2:Eastbound /
V3:Eastbound
V1:Eastbound /
V2:Eastbound /
V3:Eastbound
V1:Northbound /
V2:Northbound
V1: Collision with
motor vehicle in traffic /
Rear- V1: Turning left / V1:Eastbound / V2: Collision with
end
V2:Turning left
V2:Southbound motor vehicle in traffic
V1: Travelling
V1: Collision with
straight ahead /
motor vehicle in traffic /
V1:Westbound / V2: Collision with
Rear- V2:Slowing or
stopped in traffic V2:Westbound motor vehicle in traffic
end
01May- 9:24
2599996 2010 PM
2
V1: Light truck(van,
mini-van, panel,
pickup, sport utility)
with only four tires /
V2:Passenger car Dry
V1: Light truck(van,
mini-van, panel,
pickup, sport utility)
V1: Not reported / V2: with only four tires /
Not reported
V2:Passenger car Dry
V1: Collision with
V1: Passenger car
motor vehicle in traffic / / V2:Light truck(van,
mini-van, panel,
V2: Collision with
motor vehicle in traffic / pickup, sport utility)
with only four tires /
V3: Collision with
motor vehicle in traffic V3:Light truck(van, Wet
V1: Collision with
motor vehicle in traffic /
V2: Collision with
V1: Passenger car
motor vehicle in traffic / / V2:Passenger car
/ V3:Passenger car Wet
V3: Collision with
V1: Light truck(van,
V1: Collision with
mini-van, panel,
motor vehicle in traffic / pickup, sport utility)
V2: Collision with
with only four tires /
motor vehicle in traffic V2:Light
g truck(van,
(
, Wet
V1: Travelling
V1: Collision with
straight ahead /
motor vehicle in traffic /
Rear- V2:Slowing or
V1:Westbound / V2: Collision with
end
stopped in traffic V2:Westbound motor vehicle in traffic
Rearend
V1: Slowing or
stopped in traffic
/ V2:Slowing or
stopped in traffic
V1: Travelling
straight ahead /
V2:Slowing or
stopped in traffic
V1: Slowing or
stopped in traffic
/ V2:Slowing or
stopped in traffic
V1: Slowing or
stopped in traffic
/ V2:Travelling
straight ahead
V1: Slowing or
stopped in traffic
Rear- / V2:Travelling
end
straight ahead
V1: Travelling
straight ahead /
V2:Travelling
Angle straight ahead
V1:Eastbound /
V2:Eastbound
V1:Northbound /
V2:Northbound
V1:Eastbound /
V2:Eastbound
V1:Not reported
/ V2:Not
reported
V1: Collision with
motor vehicle in traffic /
V2: Collision with
motor vehicle in traffic
V1: Collision with
motor vehicle in traffic /
V2: Collision with
motor vehicle in traffic
V1: Collision with
motor vehicle in traffic /
V2: Collision with
motor vehicle in traffic
V1: Collision with
motor vehicle in traffic /
V2: Collision with
motor vehicle in traffic
V1: Collision with
motor vehicle in traffic /
V1:Northbound / V2: Collision with
V2:Northbound motor vehicle in traffic
V1: Collision with
motor vehicle in traffic /
V1:Eastbound / V2: Collision with
V2:Northbound motor vehicle in traffic
V1: Collision with
V1: Turning right
motor vehicle in traffic /
/ V2:Travelling V1:Westbound / V2: Collision with
Angle straight ahead
V2:Northbound motor vehicle in traffic
mini-van, panel,
pickup, sport utility)
with only four tires /
V2:Passenger car Dry
HOWE
STREET /
PLEASANT
Dawn
Clear STREET
PLEASANT
STREET
Rte 113 W /
Clear/C JACKSON
STREET
Daylight lear
PROSPEC
T
STREET
PLEASANT
STREET /
JACKSON
STREET /
Cloudy HOWE
Daylight /Rain STREET
Daylight Rain
PLEASANT
VALLEY
STREET /
JACKSON
STREET
PLEASANT
VALLEY
STREET /
HOWE
STREET
Dark lighted
roadwa
y
Clear
PLEASANT
STREET Rte
113 E /
HOWE
STREET
Dark lighted
roadwa
y
Rain
270
PLEASANT
STREET
227175
943449.7
227168.3
943447.3
227175.5
943437.3
227210.7
943450.1
227207.8
943462.8
227175
943449.7
V1: Passenger car
/ V2:Passenger
car Dry
asse g e ca
Clear/C
Daylight lear
227109.9
943399
/ V2:Light truck(van,
mini-van, panel,
pickup, sport utility)
with only four tires Wet
JACKSON
Dark STREET /
lighted
PLEASANT
roadwa Cloudy VALLEY
y
/Rain STREET
227210.7
943450.1
PLEASANT
STREET /
HOWE
STREET
227175
943449.7
V1: Passenger car
/ V2:Passenger car Dry
Daylight Clear
V1: Passenger car
/ V2:Passenger car Wet
Daylight Rain
227109.9
943399
V1: Passenger car
/ V2:Not reported
Dry
g
Cloudy PLEASANT
/Cloud VALLEY
STREET
Daylight y
227210.7
943450.1
/ V2:Light truck(van,
mini-van, panel,
pickup, sport utility)
with only four tires Dry
JACKSON
STREET /
PLEASANT
VALLEY
STREET
227210.7
943450.1
JACKSON
STREET /
PLEASANT
STREET
227175.5
943437.3
227175
943449.7
270
PLEASANT
STREET
JACKSON
STREET /
V1: Passenger car
/ V2:Passenger car Dry
V1: Passenger car
/ V2:Passenger car Dry
Daylight Clear
Daylight
Dark roadwa
y not
lighted
Clear
HOWE
Clear/ STREET /
Unkno PLEASANT
STREET
wn
MassDOT Crash Report for MET HUEN for YEAR 2011
Number Total
Total
Crash Crash Crash
Manner of Vehicle Action
Vehicle Travel
of
Nonfatal Fatal
Vehicles Injuries Injuries Collision
Date Time Severity
Prior to Crash
Directions
Route 113 (Pleasant and Pleasant Valley Streets) at Jackson Street and Howe Street
Crash
Number
14Jan2704140 2011
Property
7:04 damage only
AM (none injured) 1
0
0
09Feb2706620 2011
Property
6:35 damage only
PM (none injured) 2
0
0
18Feb2710261 2011
Property
3:50 damage only
PM (none injured) 2
03Mar2709678 2011
Property
3:11 damage only
PM (none injured) 2
13Mar2708911 2011
Property
9:48 damage only
PM (none injured) 2
21Mar2718233 2011
3:49 Non-fatal
PM injury
2
12Property
May- 6:09 damage only
2726221 2011 PM (none injured) 2
17Jun2738611 2011
10:0 Property
2
damage only
PM (none injured) 2
11:3
29-Jul- 0
Non-fatal
2751134 2011 PM injury
09Aug2774505 2011
2
0
0
0
4
0
0
2
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
V1: Travelling
Angle
straight ahead
V1: Slowing or
stopped in traffic
/ V2:Travelling
Rear-end straight ahead
V1: Travelling
Sideswipe straight ahead /
, same
V2:Changing
direction
lanes
Rear-end
V1: Travelling
straight ahead /
V2:Turning left
V1: Travelling
straight ahead /
V2:Travelling
straight ahead
V1: Slowing or
stopped in traffic
/ V2:Travelling
straight ahead
V1: Travelling
straight ahead /
V2:Slowing or
stopped in traffic
Angle
V1: Changing
lanes /
V2:Travelling
straight ahead
Angle
V1: Travelling
straight ahead /
V2:Turning left
Angle
Angle
Rear-end
10:0
9
PM Unknown
2
0
0
Angle
1512:0
Sep- 0
Non-fatal
2774453 2011 PM injury
2
1
0
Rear-end
24Oct2811037 2011
7:20 Non-fatal
AM injury
2
1
0
Angle
V1: Turning left /
V2:Travelling
straight ahead
V1: Slowing or
stopped in traffic
/ V2:Travelling
straight ahead
V1: Travelling
straight ahead /
V2:Travelling
straight ahead
V1:Northbound
V1:Northbound /
V2:Northbound
V1:Northbound /
V2:Northbound
V1:Not reported
/ V2:Not
reported
V1:Westbound /
V2:Northbound
V1:Eastbound /
V2:Eastbound
V1:Eastbound /
V2:Eastbound
V1:Southbound
/
V2:Southbound
V1:Southbound
/ V2:Northbound
V1:Southbound
/ V2:Northbound
V1:Westbound /
V2:Westbound
V1:Not reported
/
V2:Southbound
05Nov- 1:09 Non-fatal
PM injury
2
1
0
Rear-end
09Nov- 7:54 Non-fatal
AM injury
2
1
0
Angle
V1: Slowing or
stopped in traffic
/ V2:Slowing or
stopped in traffic
V1: Travelling
straight ahead /
V2:Travelling
straight ahead
Angle
V1: Turning left /
V2:Travelling
V1:Southbound
straight ahead
/ V2:Northbound
2864534 2011
2835387 2011
Property
23Dec- 6:15 damage only
2904709 2011 PM (none injured) 2
0
0
V1:Westbound /
V2:Westbound
V1:Westbound /
V2:Northbound
Most Harmful Events
V1: Collision with
motor vehicle in traffic
V1: Collision with
motor vehicle in traffic
/ V2: Collision with
motor vehicle in traffic
V1: Collision with
motor vehicle in traffic
/ V2: Collision with
motor vehicle in traffic
V1: Collision with
motor vehicle in traffic
/ V2: Collision with
motor vehicle in traffic
V1: Collision with
motor vehicle in traffic
/ V2: Collision with
motor vehicle in traffic
V1: Collision with
motor vehicle in traffic
/ V2: Collision with
motor vehicle in traffic
V1: Collision with
motor vehicle in traffic
/ V2: Collision with
motor vehicle in traffic
Vehicle Configuration
V1: Passenger car
V1: Light truck(van, minivan, panel, pickup, sport
utility) with only four tires /
V2:Passenger car
V1: Light truck(van, minivan, panel, pickup, sport
utility) with only four tires /
V2:Passenger car
V1: Light truck(van, minivan, panel, pickup, sport
utility) with only four tires /
V2:Not reported
V1: Passenger car /
V2:Passenger car
Road
Surface Ambient
Condition Light
Weather At Roadway
Condition Intersection
Dry
Daylight Clear
PLEASANT VALLEY
ST REET / PLEASANT
ST REET / JACKSON
ST REET
Dry
Dark lighted
roadway Clear
JACKSON ST REET /
HOWE STREET
Distance
from Nearest
Roadway
Intersection
720
JACKSON
ST REET
Distance
fro m
Nearest
Landmark
X
Y
Coordinate Coordinate
227175.5
943437.3
227175.5
943437.3
227179.8
943350.3
Dry
Daylight Clear
Dry
Daylight Clear
JACKSON ST REET /
HOWE STREET
227175.5
943437.3
Dark roadway
not lighted Clear
PLEASANT VALLEY
ST REET / JACKSON
ST REET
227210.7
943450.1
PLEASANT VALLEY
Rain/S ST REET / JACKSON
Daylight now
ST REET
227210.7
943450.1
PLEASANT STREET
Rte 113 E / HOWE
ST REET
227175
943449.7
Dark lighted
PLEASANT STREET /
roadway Cloudy JACKSON ST REET
227175.5
943437.3
Dark lighted
Cloudy HOWE STREET /
roadway /Rain
JACKSON ST REET
227175.5
943437.3
Dark lighted
roadway Clear
JACKSON ST REET /
HOWE STREET
227175.5
943437.3
Cloudy HOWE STREET /
Daylight /Rain
PLEASANT STREET
227175
943449.7
HOWE STREET /
PLEASANT STREET
227175
943449.7
227210.7
943450.1
227175.5
943437.3
227175.5
943437.3
Dry
V1: Not reported /
V2:Not reported
Snow
V1: Passenger car /
V2:Light truck(van, minivan, panel, pickup, sport
utility) with only four tires Dry
V1: Light truck(van, miniV1: Collision with
van, panel, pickup, sport
motor vehicle in traffic utility) with only four tires /
/ V2: Collision with
V2:Light truck(van, minimotor vehicle in traffic van, panel, pickup, sport Dry
V1: Collision with
motor vehicle in traffic
/ V2: Collision with
V1: Passenger car /
motor vehicle in traffic V2:Passenger car
Wet
V1: Collision with
motor vehicle in traffic
/ V2: Collision with
V1: Not reported /
motor vehicle in traffic V2:Not reported
Dry
V1: Collision with
motor vehicle in traffic
/ V2: Collision with
V1: Not reported /
motor vehicle in traffic V2:Not reported
Wet
V1: Collision with
motor vehicle in traffic
/ V2: Collision with
V1: Passenger car /
motor vehicle in traffic V2:Passenger car
Dry
V1: Light truck(van, miniV1: Collision with
van, panel, pickup, sport
motor vehicle in traffic utility) with only four tires /
/ V2: Collision with
V2:Light truck(van, minimotor vehicle in traffic van, panel, pickup, sport Dry
V1: Collision with
motor vehicle in traffic
V1: Passenger car /
/ V2: Collision with
motor vehicle in traffic V2:Passenger car
Dry
V1: Collision with
motor vehicle in traffic
/ V2: Collision with
V1: Passenger car /
motor vehicle in traffic V2:Passenger car
Wet
Daylight Clear
Daylight Clear
PLEASANT VALLEY
ST REET / JACKSON
ST REET
HOWE STREET /
JACKSON ST REET /
PLEASANT VALLEY
Daylight Clear
ST REET
JACKSON ST REET /
Dark PLEASANT STREET
lighted
Cloudy Rte 113 E / HOWE
roadway /Rain
ST REET
Daylight Clear
Methuen & State Police Department Crash Reports for 2009, 2010, and 2011:
Marston’s Corner (Route 113 at Jackson and Howe Streets)
Appendix D. Roadway Speed Data Appendix E. Daily and Peak Period Traffic
Count Data
Appendix F. Crash Rate Calculation Appendix G. Intersection Operations
Analysis Methodology and Results
OPERATIONS ANALYSIS METHODOLOGY Level of Service
A primary result of capacity analyses is the assignment of level of service to traffic facilities
under various traffic flow conditions. Level of service is a qualitative measure describing
operational conditions within a traffic stream and the perception of these conditions by motorists
and/or passengers. A level of service definition provides an index to the quality of traffic flow in
terms of such factors as speed, travel time, freedom to maneuver, traffic interruptions, comfort,
convenience, and safety.
Six levels of service are defined for each type of facility. They are given letter designations from
A to F, with level-of-service (LOS) A representing the best operating conditions and LOS F
representing the worst.
Since the level of service of a traffic facility is a function of the traffic flows placed upon it, such
a facility may operate at a wide range of levels of service, depending on the time of day, day of
week, or period of year.
Signalized Intersections
The six levels of service for signalized intersections may be described as follows:

LOS A describes operations with very small delay; most vehicles do not stop at all.

LOS B describes operations with relatively small delay; however, more vehicles stop
than LOS A.

LOS C describes operations with higher delays. Individual cycle failures may begin
to appear in this level. The number of vehicles stopping is significant at this level,
although many still pass through the intersection without stopping.

LOS D describes operations with delay in the range where the influence of
congestion becomes more noticeable. Many vehicles stop and individual cycle
failures are noticeable.

LOS E describes operations with high delay values. Individual cycle failures are
frequent occurrences.

LOS F describes operations with high delay values that often occur with oversaturation. Poor progression and long cycle lengths may also be major contributing
causes to such delay levels.
Evaluation Criteria
Evaluation criteria used in the capacity analyses are described below.
Signalized Intersections
Levels of service for signalized intersections are calculated using the operational analysis
methodology of the 2010 Highway Capacity Manual. The capacity analyses for these facilities
measures the average delay to drivers from signal control. This method assesses the effect of
signal type, timing, phasing, progression, vehicle mix, and geometrics on delay. Level-ofservice designations are based solely on the criterion of calculated control delay, also known as
signal delay. Control delay includes the initial deceleration delay, queue move-up time, stopped
delay, and final acceleration delay. Delay can also be a measure of driver discomfort,
frustration, fuel consumption, and increased travel time. Table A-1 summarizes the relationship
between level of service and delay. The tabulated delay criterion may be applied in assigning
LOS designations to individual lane groups, intersection approaches, or to entire intersections.
Table A-1
LEVEL-OF-SERVICE CRITERIA FOR
SIGNALIZED INTERSECTIONSa
Level of
Service
A
B
C
D
E
F
a
Average Control Delay
(seconds per vehicle)
<=10
>10 and <=20
>20 and <=35
>35 and <=55
>55 and <=80
>80
Source: Highway Capacity Manual, HCM 2010;
Transportation Research Board; Washington, DC; 2010;
Exhibit 18-4, page 18-6.
Appendix H. Marston’s Corner Layout
Plans
Appendix I. Road Safety Audit References
Road Safety Audit References
Massachusetts Traffic Safety Toolbox, Massachusetts Highway Department,
www.mhd.state.ma.us/safetytoolbox.
Road Safety Audits, A Synthesis of Highway Practice. NCHRP Synthesis 336. Transportation Research
Board, National Cooperative Highway Research Program, 2004.
Road Safety Audits. Institute of Transportation Engineers and U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal
Highway Administration, www.roadwaysafetyaudits.org.
FHWA Road Safety Audit Guidelines. U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Highway
Administration, 2006.
Road Safety Audit, 2nd edition. Austroads, 2000.
Road Safety Audits. ITE Technical Council Committee 4S-7. Institute of Transportation Engineers,
February 1995.