ROAD SAFETY AUDIT
Route 113 (Pleasant Valley Street) at Milk Street City of Methuen December 20, 2011 Prepared For:
MassDOT
Prepared By:
Merrimack Valley Planning Commission
Road Safety Audit—Route 113 (Pleasant Valley Street) at Milk Street – 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......................................................15
Summary of Road Safety Audit...............................................................................................26
List of Figures
Figure 1.
Figure 2.
Figure 3.
Site Locus Map (Source: USGS)........................................................................................... 4
Aerial orthogonal photo of Rt 113 at Milk Street. (Photo taken 11/07, Pictometry, Inc.) ..... 5
Existing Weekday Morning and Evening Peak Hour Traffic Volumes ................................. 8
List of Tables
Table 1.
Table 2.
Table 3.
Table 4.
Table 5.
Table 6.
Table 7.
Participating Audit Team Members ....................................................................................... 2
Traffic Volume Summary ...................................................................................................... 7
Intersection Crash Summary (2007 – 2009)........................................................................... 9
Vehicle Operator Statistics ................................................................................................... 11
Intersection Operations Analysis Results – Existing Conditions ......................................... 12
Intersection Operations Analysis Results – Recommended Short-Term Improvements ..... 13
Potential Safety Enhancement Summary ............................................................................. 27
List of Appendices
Appendix B.
Appendix C.
Appendix D.
Appendix E.
Appendix F.
Appendix G.
Appendix H.
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
Road Safety Audit References
Road Safety Audit—Route 113 (Pleasant Valley Street) at Milk Street – 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 intersection of Route 113 (Pleasant Valley Street) at Milk Street and the Loop driveway in
Methuen has one of the highest frequency of crashes occurring at a non-interchange facility
location within the Merrimack Valley, according to the Massachusetts Department of
Transportation (MassDOT) statewide crash database from 2006-2008, which showed that there
were 45 crashes at this signalized intersection. Because the intersection is within the top five
percent of crash clusters in the Merrimack Valley region in terms of crash frequency, it may be
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 MassDOT and the Merrimack
Valley Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) to help identify potential short-term and
long-term safety improvements that could be made if HSIP funding is received.
Page 1
Road Safety Audit—Route 113 (Pleasant Valley Street) at Milk Street – Methuen, MA
Prepared by the Merrimack Valley Planning Commission
Project Data
The Road Safety Audit was conducted on November 16, 2011 for the intersection of Route 113
(Pleasant Valley Street) at Milk Street and the Loop driveway in Methuen. 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 Statewide database/RMV,
MVPC also collected the actual crash reports, which show the narratives and crash diagrams,
from the Methuen police department.
With input and assistance from Methuen officials, MVPC selected the RSA team and chose to
meet at City Hall, since it is close to the intersection. 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 intersection. MVPC recorded
the comments.
Following the pre-audit meeting, the team conducted a site visit/audit, during which the previous
specific safety issues and concerns were pointed out by the RSA team and MVPC. Additional
safety issues were identified at the site and recorded by MVPC.
After the site visit, the RSA participants met in a post-audit meeting and 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.
Table 1. Participating Audit Team Members
Audit Team Member
Kathleen Colwell
Frank Russo
Stephen Gagnon
Mike Buote
Mike Havey
Lisa Schletzbaum
Tony Komornick
Jim Terlizzi
Agency/Affiliation
City of Methuen Planning Department
City of Methuen Engineering, City Engineer
City of Methuen Engineering
Methuen Fire Department
Methuen Police Department
MassDOT
Merrimack Valley Planning Commission
Merrimack Valley Planning Commission
Page 2
Road Safety Audit—Route 113 (Pleasant Valley Street) at Milk Street – Methuen, MA
Prepared by the Merrimack Valley Planning Commission
Project Location and Description
MVPC conducted an inventory of the existing intersection geometry and traffic volumes in June
of 2011. 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 as well as the operations resulting from recommended
short-term improvements.
Geometrics
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 was 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 and diverges with Route 110 in two locations. From the west and between the first
merge location and the city center, Route 113 is routed along the city streets of Lowell Street,
Hampshire Street, and Osgood Street. To the east and between the city center and the second
merge location, Route 113 is routed along Pleasant Street and Pleasant Valley Street. All of
these roads are city owned and are functionally classified as urban minor arterials. Pleasant
Valley Street begins at its intersection with Howe and Jackson Streets and ends at its
intersection/merge with Route 110 (Merrimack Street). Between Howe Street and its
intersection with the Route 213 ramps, 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 limits are posted at 30 miles per
hour. This is the same speed limit that is noted in Special Speed Regulation #350B for the City
of Methuen.
Milk Street
Milk Street is a north/south two lane roadway, 1.1 miles in length, which is functionally
classified as an urban collector and collects traffic from some of Methuen’s neighborhoods and
delivers them to the east/west arterials of East Street to the south and Pleasant Valley Street to
the north. Speed limits on Milk Street are posted at 30 miles per hour. These are the same speed
limits that are noted in Special Speed Regulation #3062 for the City of Methuen.
Route 113 at Milk Street and the Loop driveway intersection
The Loop driveway and Milk Street intersect Pleasant Valley Street, which is signed as Route
113, from the north and south, respectively to form this four legged intersection under traffic
signal control. Figure 1 presents the location of the intersection with respect to the regional and
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Road Safety Audit—Route 113 (Pleasant Valley Street) at Milk Street – Methuen, MA
Prepared by the Merrimack Valley Planning Commission
interstate highways. Traffic flow direction is separated by a center median strip on Pleasant
Valley Street, with openings on the median at major intersections. Pleasant Valley Street has
one 10- to 11-foot wide exclusive left-turn lane (90 to 120 feet in length) and two 11- to 12-foot
Figure 1.
Site Locus Map (Source: USGS)
wide through lanes on both of its approaches to this intersection. Additionally, there is one 12foot wide exclusive right-turn lane on the Pleasant Valley Street westbound approach to serve
traffic entering the Loop retail center. This lane is separated from the through lanes by a 120
foot long single white solid lane line and then 230 feet more of a single white broken lane line
that extends back to the Route 213 ramps. Vehicles weave in this 230 foot section down from
the Route 213 off ramp and into the Pleasant Valley Street westbound through lanes or up from
the Route 113 westbound through lanes and into the exclusive right turn lane. Milk Street has
one 11-foot wide left turn/through lane and a 90 foot long exclusive right-turn lane on its
approach. The Loop driveway has a center median island separating traffic entering and exiting
the Loop retail complex. The exit side of the driveway (or the approach to the intersection) has
two 12-foot wide lanes, both of which can be used by left-turning vehicles. The median side
lane is an exclusive left-turn lane, while the curb side lane is a shared left-turn/through/right-turn
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Road Safety Audit—Route 113 (Pleasant Valley Street) at Milk Street – Methuen, MA
Prepared by the Merrimack Valley Planning Commission
lane. These lanes extend some 175 feet back until an intersection with parking field frontage
driveways on the Loop property. Figure 2 presents an aerial view of the intersection.
The traffic flow at the intersection is controlled by a four-phase fully actuated signal that is part
of an interconnected traffic control system on Pleasant Valley Street, which operates in
coordinated operation during the weekday evening peak period. During the weekday morning
peak hour, the signal runs in free operation and with a 95- to 140-second cycle. During the
weekday evening peak hour, the signal runs in the coordinated operation on a 95-second cycle.
Through traffic on Pleasant Valley Street is granted a minimum green time of 42 seconds during
the weekday morning peak period and 32 seconds during the weekday evening peak period.
Figure 2.
Aerial orthogonal photo of Rt 113 at Milk Street. (Photo taken 11/07, Pictometry, Inc.)
Page 5
Road Safety Audit—Route 113 (Pleasant Valley Street) at Milk Street – Methuen, MA
Prepared by the Merrimack Valley Planning Commission
Traffic on the Loop driveway and Milk Street approaches are each granted their own phase in
split phased operation. The change and clearance interval for the Pleasant Valley left-turn phase
is 6 seconds: 4 seconds of yellow and 2 seconds of all-red time. For the Pleasant Valley Street
through and Loop Driveway phases, there are 5 seconds: 4 seconds of yellow change and 1
second of red clearance time. For the Milk Street phase, there is 8 seconds of change and
clearance time: 4 seconds yellow and 4 seconds all red time.
Signal heads are suspended from a 150 foot long span wire that runs across the intersection from
its 30 foot high assembly supports, located on the northwest and southeast corners of the
intersection. Pedestrians can also activate a pedestrian phase at the intersection by pushing a
button on the assembly support or one of six posts that support the pedestrian signal heads. The
push buttons were not working at the time of this writing.
Portland cement concrete sidewalks exist along both sides of Route 113 and the western side of
Milk Street. Bituminous concrete sidewalks exist along both sides of the Loop driveway.
Crosswalks, 9- to 10-feet in width, are striped across the western leg of the intersection (Route
113), across Milk Street, and across the Loop driveway. The crossing distance is approximately
100 feet across Pleasant Valley Street; however, pedestrians have a refuge midway within the
median barrier, which is approximately 12-feet wide at this location. Two pedestrian signal
heads are located on the median facing outward. The crossing distance is approximately 75 feet
across the Loop driveway and approximately 60 feet across Milk Street. The walks along all
corners of the intersection are in very good condition.
Land use in the immediate vicinity of the intersection consists of an approximate 7,000 square
foot (sf) TGI Fridays restaurant on the northwest corner and an Olive Garden restaurant on the
northeast corner. Both of these restaurants are part of the Loop retail complex and have access
only via the Loop driveway. An approximate 3,000 sf Burger King restaurant is located on the
southeast corner and an approximate 3,000 sf TD Bank is located on the southwest corner. Both
of these uses have one full access and egress driveway onto Milk Street and one right-turnin/right-turn-out driveway onto Pleasant Valley Street. All driveways are approximately located
100 feet or greater distance from the intersection’s STOP bars.
Traffic Volumes
Traffic volume data was gathered for the study in June of 2011 first by means of turning
movement and vehicle classification counts (TMCs) conducted at the Route 113 (Pleasant Valley
Street) at Milk Street intersection. 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, automatic traffic recorders (ATRs) were placed on Pleasant Valley
Street (Route 113) and Milk Street to record weekday daily traffic.
A review of the traffic count data indicates that traffic volumes increase on Route 113 and Milk
Street throughout the day until the late afternoon and then gradually decrease thereafter. Peak
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Road Safety Audit—Route 113 (Pleasant Valley Street) at Milk Street – Methuen, MA
Prepared by the Merrimack Valley Planning Commission
turning volumes occur at the intersection between 8:00 and 9:00 in the morning and between
4:00 and 5:00 in the evening. Table 2 presents a summary of the counts.
Table 2. Traffic Volume Summary
Location
Average
Weekday
Daily
Traffic
Volumea
Peak
Hour
Peak
Hour
Traffic
Volumeb
KFactorc
Directional
Distribution
Route 113,
west of Milk Street
13,500
Morning
Evening
514
1,087
3.8
8.1
68% eastbound
60% eastbound
Route 113,
east of Milk Street
NA
Morning
Evening
862
1,840
NA
NA
58% eastbound
51% westbound
Milk Street,
south of Route 113
6,400
Morning
Evening
320
741
5.0
11.6
53% northbound
51% northbound
The Loop driveway,
north of Route 113
NA
Morning
Evening
292
838
NA
NA
58% northbound
55% northbound
a
Average Weekday Daily Traffic (AWDT) volume in vehicles per day (vpd). NA = data not available. 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, there are approximately 13,500 vehicles per day (vpd) traveling on
Pleasant Valley Street (Route 113), immediately west of Milk Street, and 6,400 vpd traveling on
Milk Street, immediately south of Route 113.
During the weekday morning commuter peak hour, the flow of traffic predominates in the
eastbound direction on Pleasant Valley Street (Route 113), as shown in Table 2. During the
weekday evening peak hour, traffic is more than double than that of the weekday morning peak
hour traffic on all roadways meeting at the intersection. Also, the influence of the Loop retail
complex traffic can be seen, with traffic flowing heavier in the eastbound direction of Pleasant
Valley Street, west of the Loop driveway and traffic evenly distributed by direction, east of the
Loop driveway. More traffic enters the Loop via the driveway at this intersection than exits it
during both of the commuter peak hours as shown in the Table. Figure 2 presents the weekday
morning and evening peak hour turning movement counts. Traffic count data is also provided in
the Appendix of this study.
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Road Safety Audit—Route 113 (Pleasant Valley Street) at Milk Street – Methuen, MA
Prepared by the Merrimack Valley Planning Commission
Weekday Morning Peak Hour
TGI Fridays
restaurant
Olive Garden
restaurant
N
Burger King
restaurant
TD Bank
Not to Scale
Weekday Evening Peak Hour
TGI Fridays
restaurant
Olive Garden
restaurant
N
Burger King
restaurant
TD Bank
Not to Scale
Figure 3.
Existing Weekday Morning and Evening Peak Hour Traffic Volumes
Page 8
Road Safety Audit—Route 113 (Pleasant Valley Street) at Milk Street – 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 2007 and 2009 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. 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.
Table 3. Intersection Crash Summary (2007 – 2009)
Typea
CM
6
18%
RE
12
36%
SS
13
40%
Severityb
SV
1
3%
Ped
1
3%
PD
30
91%
PI
1
3%
F
0
0%
Un
2
6%
Road Conditionc
Light Conditiond
Crash Time
Dry
24
73%
Day
24
73%
AM
Wet
8
24%
Ice
1
3%
Dusk
1
3%
Lit
8
24%
6
#
18%
%
Source: MassDOT and the Methuen Police Department. Un = Unknown in all sections.
a
Crash Type: CM = cross movement; RE = rear-end; SV = single vehicle; SS = sideswipe, same direction; Ped = bicyclist.
b
Severity of Crash: PD = Property Damage Only; PI = Personal Injury; F = Fatality.
c
Road Condition is the condition of the roadway surface. (Ice = snowy or icy road surface). d
Light Condition is the ambient light. Lit = Times of darkness with the roadway lit.
PM
27
82%
According to data from the MassDOT’s statewide crash database, there were a total of 44 crashes
that occurred at this intersection location between 2007 and 2009. However, upon review of the
data from the Methuen police crash reports for those incidents, it was determined that eleven of
the crashes occurred within the parking lots of the adjacent commercial properties, chiefly the
Loop property. If these incidents are removed, there were a total of thirty-three (33) crashes over
the three-year period at the intersection, or an average of eleven (11) per year.
Even though there appears to be a high frequency of crashes occurring at this location, the
number of crashes at the intersection should also be reviewed against traffic volumes using the
intersection and then compared to the rate of crashes for other signalized intersections.
MassDOT reports that for the year 2010, the latest year available, there is a statewide average
rate of 0.82 crashes per million entering vehicles (mev) for signalized intersections. The
intersection of Route 113 (Pleasant Valley Street) at Milk Street has a crash rate of 1.23
crashes/mev, which is a rate that is 50 percent higher than that of the statewide average rate.
Only approximately 27 percent of the crashes occur during adverse driving conditions of wet or
icy roads or during non-daylight hours.
The crashes do not appear to be that severe at this location. Nearly all of the crashes only
involve property damage only; only one of the thirty-three crashes involved personal injury,
which was a cross-movement type collision. The predominant types of collision occurring at the
intersection were sideswipe type, followed by rear-end type, and then angle or cross-movement
type collisions; all of which accounted for 94 percent of all crashes.
Only one of the collisions over the three year period involved personal injury. The collision
involved a vehicle traveling westbound on Pleasant Valley Street, running a red light, and
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Road Safety Audit—Route 113 (Pleasant Valley Street) at Milk Street – Methuen, MA
Prepared by the Merrimack Valley Planning Commission
colliding in an angle type collision with a southbound traveling vehicle exiting the Loop
driveway.
As mentioned before, side swipe collisions predominate at the intersection. The greatest amount
of collisions that are alike for any two lane movements at the intersection are the six sideswipe
collisions that occurred between vehicles in adjacent lanes that were exiting the Loop and turning
left. Additionally, there were two sideswipe collisions between vehicles in the two adjacent
lanes exiting the Loop in which a vehicle on the inside lane proceeded straight ahead and a
vehicle on the outside lane turned left. In both cases, the operators of the vehicles in the inside
lane were unaware that the inside lane is an exclusive left-turn lane. One of the operators stated
that no left-turn arrow pavement markings were present.
There were two side swipe collisions between vehicles in the 230 foot long weaving section of
Pleasant Valley Street between the Route 213 ramps and the Loop Driveway/Milk Street. The
lane from the ramp becomes an exclusive right turn lane at the Loop driveway. There is also one
collision that involved a vehicle weaving into the exclusive right turn lane and striking the rear
side of a vehicle in the lane coming from the ramp.
There was a lone sideswipe collision between vehicles in adjacent lanes traveling eastbound on
Pleasant Valley Street. It happened when the operator of a vehicle traveling in the inside lane
got her sandal stuck in the gas pedal causing the vehicle to swerve to the right into the adjacent
lane.
The next most frequent type of collisions are the rear-end collisions; a type typical for signalized
intersections. Six of the thirteen rear-end collisions at the intersection occurred on the Pleasant
Valley Street westbound approach. Three occurred in the exclusive left-turn lane: one between
vehicles making the left-turn maneuver, one between vehicles stopping or stopped at a red light,
and one between a vehicle stopped at a red light and the trailing vehicle attempting to move right
into the adjacent through lane. There were two that occurred in the through lane: one between
vehicles stopping or stopped at a red light, and one between a vehicle switching to the through
lane adjacent to and to the right of the lane it was in, immediately prior to the STOP bar and the
vehicle behind it, already in the lane, striking it. There was one rear-end collision in the
exclusive right turn lane in which the operator was traveling in the westbound through lane was
distracted by picking up a phone and wandered into the adjacent right turn lane, striking the rear
of the vehicle in the lane that was stopped at a red light.
There were three rear-end collisions between vehicles traveling eastbound on Pleasant Valley
Street. In all cases the leading vehicle was stopped at a red light. For one case, the trailing
vehicle had difficulty stopping due to icy roads.
There were two rear-end collisions between vehicles traveling northbound on Milk Street, both
of which involved the leading vehicle stopped at a red light. For one collision, the operator of
the trailing vehicle claimed that she was slowing when the vehicle idled high and jerked into the
leading vehicle. The other collision involved a vehicle exiting the Burger King driveway,
turning right, and while attempting to maneuver to the left-turn through lane, failed to clear the
rear bumper of a vehicle stopped in the exclusive right-turn lane.
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Road Safety Audit—Route 113 (Pleasant Valley Street) at Milk Street – Methuen, MA
Prepared by the Merrimack Valley Planning Commission
There were two rear-end collisions between vehicles traveling southbound on Milk Street. In
both cases, the leading vehicle was stopped and waiting to turn left into the Burger King
driveway.
Of the six angle type collisions, two occurred between westbound traveling vehicles on Pleasant
Valley Street and southbound traveling vehicles from the Loop driveway. One collision
involved a westbound traveling vehicle running a red light and the other involved a westbound
vehicle stopping on green in the middle of the intersection due to crossing juveniles and then
proceeding on red to clear the intersection. In both cases the Loop driveway vehicles had a green
indication. There was one angle collision between an eastbound traveling vehicle that had a red
light and a vehicle that was exiting the Loop that had a green indication.
There were two angle type collisions involving vehicles turning right from the exclusive right
turn lane into the Loop. One involved a vehicle traveling straight from Milk Street that had a
green indication and striking a vehicle turning right that also had a green light. The other
involved a vehicle turning left from Pleasant Valley Street into the Loop on green and a vehicle
turning right on red from Pleasant Valley Street.
The crash reports from the Methuen police department were also reviewed for statistics relating
to the vehicle operators involved in the collisions. Table 4 presents a summary of those
statistics.
Table 4. Vehicle Operator Statistics
Numbera
#
%
One
2
6%
Two
31
94%
1524
9
14%
2534
15
23%
3544
13
20%
Operator Ageb
45556554
64
74
10
5
5
16%
8%
8%
Operator Sexc
75+
5
8%
Un
2
3%
Male
34
53%
Female
28
44%
Un
2
3%
Source: Methuen Police Department and MassDOT. Un = Unknown in all sections.
a
Number of Vehicles involved in Collisions. b
Age of Vehicle Operators involved in Collisions.
c
Sex of Vehicle Operators involved in Collisions. As shown in Table 4, of the 31 two-vehicle crashes and 2 one-vehicle crashes, there are slightly
more men that are involved in the collisions than women. Approximately 30 percent involve
young or old drivers: approximately half of which are 24 or younger and the other half are 65 or
older. Nearly 60 percent of all operators involved in collisions were between the ages of 25 and
54.
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Road Safety Audit—Route 113 (Pleasant Valley Street) at Milk Street – Methuen, MA
Prepared by the Merrimack Valley Planning Commission
Operations Analysis
The operation of the signalized intersection of Route 113 (Pleasant Valley Street) at Milk Street
was analyzed with the SYNHRO micro simulation computer model, which follows the
methodology presented in the 2000 Highway Capacity Manual. A summary of the methodology
can be found in the Appendix of this study.
Existing Conditions
Table 5 presents the results of the existing conditions operations analysis results for the
signalized intersection of Route 113 (Pleasant Valley Street) at Milk Street. Operations analysis
sheets are provided in the Appendix of this study.
Table 5. Intersection Operations Analysis Results – Existing Conditions
Lane Movement/Totala
V/Cb
ADc
LOSd
Queuee
Lengthf
Weekday Morning
Route 113 EB LT
Route 113 EB TH/RT
Route 113 WB LT
Route 113 WB TH
Route 113 WB RT
Milk Street NB LT/TH
Milk Street NB RT
Loop Drive SB LT
Loop Dr SB LT/TH/RT
Intersection
0.01
0.21
0.19
0.18
0.09
0.36
0.07
0.42
0.35
0.26
9.4
12.0
6.8
8.1
5.1
40.2
37.9
42.4
41.6
17.1
A
B
A
A
A
D
D
D
D
B
0.3
4.3
2.4
3.8
0.7
3.4
1.7
3.5
3.1
7
107
60
96
18
85
43
88
77
Weekday Evening
Route 113 EB LT
Route 113 EB TH/RT
Route 113 WB LT
Route 113 WB TH
Route 113 WB RT
Milk Street NB LT/TH
Milk Street NB RT
Loop Drive SB LT
Loop Dr SB LT/TH/RT
Intersection
0.03
0.39
0.43
0.27
0.21
0.56
0.14
0.73
0.72
0.51
15.5
21.0
12.8
16.1
8.1
37.5
32.9
48.2
47.5
24.3
B
C
B
B
A
D
C
D
D
C
1.0
6.5
4.0
5.0
1.2
6.6
2.3
8.4
8.4
24
163
101
126
30
165
58
209
209
Peak Hour
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, the critical movements at this signalized intersection operate overall well
within capacity at level-of-service (LOS) B during the weekday morning commuter peak hour
and at LOS C during the weekday evening peak hour. Since the signal at this intersection is part
of an interconnected and coordinated traffic control system on Pleasant Valley Street, all efforts
are made to progress traffic on the roadway and the operations of traffic on Route 113 is always
good, even during commuter peak hours. Through traffic on Route 113 operates well at LOS B
or better during the weekday morning peak hour and at LOS C or better during the weekday
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Road Safety Audit—Route 113 (Pleasant Valley Street) at Milk Street – Methuen, MA
Prepared by the Merrimack Valley Planning Commission
evening peak hour. Traffic turning onto Milk Street or the Loop Driveway operates at LOS A
during the weekday morning peak hour and at LOS B during the weekday evening peak hour.
Traffic turning from Milk Street or the Loop Driveway operates at LOS D, during the weekday
morning peak hour while the signal is operating in free operation and during the weekday
evening peak hour while it is operating in coordinated operation. According to the analysis,
during the weekday evening peak hour, the 95th percentile vehicle queues extend some 165 feet
on Milk Street, or up through and blocking the Burger King driveway, and some 210 feet on the
Loop Driveway, or up through and blocking the internal drive for the Loop. The 95th percentile
queue is the longest queue that occurs once or twice during the peak hour under study.
Recommended Improvements
Some of the safety enhancements recommended by the RSA team were analyzed for their impact
to operations of the intersection.
Some short-term recommendations included lengthening the Pleasant Valley Street through
vehicle phase clearance interval, increasing the Milk Street phase maximum time, and the
Pleasant Valley Street left-turn phase maximum time. Table 6 presents the results of the analysis
for those improvements to the intersection.
Table 6. Intersection Operations Analysis Results – Recommended ShortTerm Improvements
Lane Movement/Totala
V/Cb
ADc
LOSd
Queuee
Lengthf
Weekday Morning
Route 113 EB LT
Route 113 EB TH/RT
Route 113 WB LT
Route 113 WB TH
Route 113 WB RT
Milk Street NB LT/TH
Milk Street NB RT
Loop Drive SB LT
Loop Dr SB LT/TH/RT
Intersection
0.01
0.21
0.19
0.18
0.09
0.36
0.07
0.42
0.35
0.26
9.4
12.0
6.8
9.7
5.1
40.2
37.9
42.4
41.6
17.1
A
B
A
A
A
D
D
D
D
B
0.3
4.3
2.4
3.8
0.7
3.4
1.7
3.5
3.1
7
107
60
96
18
85
43
88
77
Weekday Evening
Route 113 EB LT
Route 113 EB TH/RT
Route 113 WB LT
Route 113 WB TH
Route 113 WB RT
Milk Street NB LT/TH
Milk Street NB RT
Loop Drive SB LT
Loop Dr SB LT/TH/RT
Intersection
0.08
0.42
0.43
0.28
0.21
0.52
0.16
0.73
0.72
0.50
16.3
23.4
13.6
17.5
9.4
35.6
32.0
48.2
47.5
25.2
B
C
B
B
A
D
C
D
D
C
1.1
7.2
4.5
5.6
1.4
6.1
2.3
8.4
8.4
27
179
113
139
35
153
58
209
209
Peak Hour
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
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Road Safety Audit—Route 113 (Pleasant Valley Street) at Milk Street – Methuen, MA
Prepared by the Merrimack Valley Planning Commission
As shown in Table 6, with the identified short-term safety improvements, there are hardly any
impacts to the operations of the intersection. It will still operate at LOS B during the weekday
morning peak hour and at LOS C during the weekday evening peak hour, with a slight increase
in average delay, due to the lengthening of the clearance intervals. During the weekday evening
peak hour, the queues will decrease slightly on the Milk Street approach with the recommended
maximum green time for the Milk Street phase. The 95th percentile queue will decrease to a
point somewhere in the middle of the Burger King drive rather than it blocking it completely
during the weekday evening peak hour.
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Road Safety Audit—Route 113 (Pleasant Valley Street) at Milk Street – 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 out at the audit site. Potential
safety enhancements were discussed out at the site and at the post audit meeting. Following is a
summary of the identified safety issues and the potential safety enhancements.
 Guidance of Left-Turning Vehicles from the Loop Driveway – By far, the greatest
number of collisions occurring at one location in the intersection between any two
movements are the ones that
occur between two vehicles
making the like movements
of turning left from the Loop
driveway
onto
Pleasant
Valley Street eastbound.
Eight of the thirty-three total
crashes that occurred at the
intersection over the threeyear study period were
collisions between vehicles
exiting the Loop driveway
from the driveway’s adjacent
lanes. Six of those eight
collisions involved both
vehicles turning left and one
side-swiping the other. The
inside lane is an exclusive left-turn lane while the outside lane is a shared left/through/rightturn lane. It was observed during the RSA that the lane line extension markings through the
intersection do not extend to a point tangent with the single white broken lane lines on
Pleasant Valley Street for eastbound traffic. City officials noted that the markings also fade
quickly, despite the yearly application of paint. The faded pavement marking is also noted in
one crash report filed by a police officer in March of 2009. It was observed, too, that there is
little reveal to the granite edging that surrounds the center median island on Pleasant Valley
Street, east of the Loop driveway. The low curb reveal in combination with the bituminous
concrete surface of the median can make the median visually inconspicuous from a distance.
To help facilitate the orderly exit of vehicles that are turning left from the Loop driveway,
thermoplastic broken yellow center line extensions should be set or reflective line paint
should be painted on the pavement through the intersection next to the broken white lane line
extensions that exist, as shown in the “Examples of Lane Line Extensions” figure (Figure
3B-13 (D)) of the latest Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD). The
existing broken white lane line extensions through the intersection should extend a little
further to a point tangent with the broken white lane lines on Pleasant Valley Street
eastbound. The proposed broken yellow center line extensions should extend from a point,
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Road Safety Audit—Route 113 (Pleasant Valley Street) at Milk Street – Methuen, MA
Prepared by the Merrimack Valley Planning Commission
which is located at the driveway’s
crosswalk and which is tangent
with the yellow lane line adjacent
to the driveway median, to a point
at the center median on Pleasant
Valley Street, which meets its
adjacent yellow lane line. The
broken yellow center line extension
markings should have a radius that
is 12 to 15 feet smaller than the
existing broken white lane line
extensions. The 12- to 15- feet of
width of lane extension through the
intersection for the exclusive left-turn lane will help to guide vehicles in this lane by showing
the amount of room that there is to work with in performing the maneuver. This may help to
prevent vehicles in the exclusive left-turn lane (the driveway’s inside lane) from traveling too
close to the broken white lane line extensions; because the operators fear that they may strike
the median. This safety enhancement could be performed by the City at little cost in the
short-term. To keep these pavement markings bright, the City should also consider restriping
the existing white lane line extensions and the proposed yellow center line extensions
through the intersection on a biannual basis rather than an annual basis, since these markings
tend to fade quicker. The painting could be done perhaps once in the early spring and once
during the fall. Alternatively, the City could use on a less frequent basis a more durable
product, such as thermoplastic material, for the centerline and lane line extension markings.
The paint or the thermoplastic markings should also have some element within their
composition, such as glass beads, that makes them retroreflective to headlights during the
night time.
In the mid-term, the City should consider excavating the granite edging that surrounds the
median island on Pleasant Valley Street, east of the Loop Driveway, and raising it to a
minimum reveal of 6 inches. This should offer a distant visual cue to drivers exiting the
Loop driveway from the inside lane and turning left that they are nearing a center median
island on Pleasant Valley Street, as they travel through the intersection. If the short-term or
mid-term enhancements do not provide a future safety benefit, then in the long-term the City
should place the intersection under further study with a focus on reducing the side-swipe
collisions between traffic that is turning left from the adjacent lanes of the Loop driveway.
The study could perhaps evaluate the percentage of left-turning traffic destined to Routes 213
and 113 and review the need for widening the receiving lanes on Pleasant Valley Street.
 Unclear Movement Lane Control For The Loop Driveway’s Exclusive Left Turn Lane –
Over the three year study period, there were two angle type collisions between two vehicles
exiting the Loop driveway: one turning left from the outside lane and one proceeding
straight from the inside exclusive left-turn lane. In both cases, the operator of the vehicle in
the exclusive left-turn lane was unaware that the Loop Driveway left lane is used for leftturning vehicles only. One related that she did not see the “LEFT LANE MUST TURN
LEFT” sign and did not see the left-turn arrow marking on the pavement.
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Road Safety Audit—Route 113 (Pleasant Valley Street) at Milk Street – Methuen, MA
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The City should encourage the owners of the Loop to provide some safety enhancements on
their driveway approach to the intersection. These safety enhancements should be done in
the short-term and will be at little cost to the Loop. The enhancements will give adequate
information to operators traveling on the driveway’s approach to the intersection as to what
are the permitted and restricted
movements for each of the two
exiting lanes.
These
recommended
enhancements include first
providing an additional set of
arrow pavement markings on
the driveway, approximately
100 feet back from the STOP
bar. These markings should be
exactly the same as the
existing arrow markings, with
a left arrow on the pavement
of the inside lane and a shared
left/through/right arrow on the
pavement of the outside lane. Currently, there are arrow markings only near the STOP bar
and if there are vehicles stopped
over these markings, the vehicles
behind them are unable to look to
the roadway pavement to gain an
understanding of the permitted
movements within the lane that
they occupy.
It is further
recommended that an “ONLY”
legend supplement the existing
and proposed left-turn arrows.
The “ONLY” legend should be
painted behind the arrows and be
approximately 6 feet in width and
8 feet in height as provided by the
standard in the MUTCD.
An additional “LEFT LANE MUST TURN LEFT” (MUTCD R3-7) sign should also be
posted on the median to give additional notice to drivers in the left turn lane that this lane is
restricted to this movement only. The sign should be posted adjacent to the STOP bar on the
driveway approach. It should be placed at the nose of the median on an existing post, backto-back with the existing KEEP RIGHT (MUTCD R4-7) sign that faces traffic entering the
Loop driveway. The dimensions of the proposed R3-7 sign should be the same as the
dimensions of the existing R4-7 sign. This mandatory movement lane control sign will alert
drivers approaching or waiting at or near the STOP bar that they can only turn left.
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Road Safety Audit—Route 113 (Pleasant Valley Street) at Milk Street – Methuen, MA
Prepared by the Merrimack Valley Planning Commission
The existing “LEFT LANE
MUST TURN LEFT” sign is
located approximately 50 feet
behind the STOP bar. There is
a tree in front of this sign,
which when foliated, may
obscure the sign from
approaching drivers. Either
the post supporting this sign
should be moved back or the
tree in front of the sign where
it is currently located should
be trimmed or removed to
enhance the visibility of the
sign.
To provide advance notice of the exclusive left turn lane, a “BEGIN LEFT TURN LANE”
(MUTCD R3-20L) sign should be posted on the center median, near its northerly tip, and
facing exiting traffic. This will inform the drivers in the inside lane of the driveway as they
approach the intersection that the travel lane is now becoming an exclusive left-turn lane.
The sign should be far enough behind the existing KEEP RIGHT (MUTCD R4-7) sign,
which is located at the median’s nose, so as not to be hidden by it.
There is a post with a sign
missing adjacent to the curbside
lane. If the missing sign was a
guide sign for travelers, then it
should be replaced. It could have
also been potentially an advance
intersection lane control sign
(MUTCD R3-8 sign)/guide sign,
that reads much like the one that
is approximately 65 feet in
advance of it. This existing sign
shows the allowed movements for
each lane and whether the lanes
lead to Route 213 or Route 113.
In the mid-term, the City can at low cost aid in enhancing the safety of the intersection, due
to the movement lane control issue. To reinforce the exclusivity of the left-turn lane, a signal
head with left arrow indications should be suspended from the span wire, aligned with and
facing the left-turn lane. This will supplement the sole existing left-arrow signal head, which
is mounted upon the span wire assembly support on the southeast corner of the intersection.
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Road Safety Audit—Route 113 (Pleasant Valley Street) at Milk Street – Methuen, MA
Prepared by the Merrimack Valley Planning Commission
This existing signal head can sometimes be obscured by
heavy vehicles passing through the intersection. The leftturn movement from the driveway is the major movement
by volume on this
intersection approach,
as shown in Figure 3,
and the two lanes for
the movement run in a
protected only phase.
The MUTCD (in its Section 4D.11) recommends that in
either case where two or more left-turn lanes run in a
protected phasing only operation or the left-turn
movement represents the major movement from an approach, two or more primary left-turn
signal faces should be provided.
 Pleasant Valley Street Red Light Running – There were two angle type collisions over the
three year study period between a vehicle traveling through the intersection from the Loop
Driveway on a green indication
and a vehicle traveling through the
intersection from Pleasant Valley
Street on a red indication. For the
vehicles that ran the red light on
Pleasant Valley Street, one was
traveling in the westbound
direction and the other in the
eastbound direction. It appears
that there is enough time for
vehicles to come safely to a stop
on Pleasant Valley Street during
the 4 second yellow change
interval portion of the change and
clearance interval. However, it
was observed that some vehicle operators traveling through some zone of indecision on the
Pleasant Valley Street approaches chose to proceed through the intersection, rather than slow
and stop, and there was not enough time to clear them through the intersection. There is only
1 second of all red clearance time that is given to these vehicles.
The City should reprogram the controller with appropriate clearance intervals as soon as
possible. According to calculations from the Insitute of Transportation Engineer’s Traffic
Engineering Handbook, the 4 second yellow change portion of the change and clearance
interval appears to be appropriate for the Pleasant Valley Street signal phases (phases 2 and
6). However, the 1 second red clearance portion of the interval is too short and should be
lengthened to 2 to 2.5 seconds. The resulting operations of the intersection, from a change to
2 seconds for the clearance interval, is presented previously in Table 6. As shown in that
Table, there is little to no increase to the average vehicle delay at the intersection during the
peak hours because of more time given to the red indications and less to the green.
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Road Safety Audit—Route 113 (Pleasant Valley Street) at Milk Street – Methuen, MA
Prepared by the Merrimack Valley Planning Commission
 Pleasant Valley Street Westbound Weaving Section – In the weaving section between the
Route 213 off-ramp and the Loop
Driveway entrance there have been a
couple of side-swipe collisions over
the three-year study period. Many
operators of vehicles traveling from
the off-ramp know that the lane
empties into the exclusive right-turn
lane and only some slow past the
YIELD sign on the ramp approach to
the lane. It was observed that some,
in fact, turn right off of the ramp at a
high rate of speed into the lane.
Because of the high rate of speed of
some traveling around the corner, for
those operators who wish to remain
in the exclusive right turn lane, some must swerve into the adjacent through lane to keep
from tipping, before swerving back
into the exclusive right-turn lane.
Also because of the high speeds, for
those vehicle operators who wish to
weave down to the Pleasant Valley
Street through lanes, they must do so
hastily or are otherwise stuck in the
exclusive right-turn lane and may
choose to improperly use this lane as a
through lane. A peak hour count in
this weave section shows that there are
more than 400 vph taking a right off of
the ramp during the weekday evening
peak hour. Approximately 40 to 45
percent of the right-turners weave down onto the Pleasant Valley Street through lanes. Of
those who weave down, nearly half
weave all the way over to the
exclusive left-turn lane on the
Pleasant Valley Street approach to
the Milk Street intersection.
MassDOT and the City should work
in concert with one another to
possibly implement one or more of
the following suggested safety
enhancements. In the short-term the
City may want to try converting the
existing exclusive right turn lane on
the westbound approach of Pleasant
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Road Safety Audit—Route 113 (Pleasant Valley Street) at Milk Street – Methuen, MA
Prepared by the Merrimack Valley Planning Commission
Valley Street to a through lane. This will require that this curbside lane, which is proposed to
be the third through lane, be merged, by striping, beyond the intersection into the existing
two through lanes. To accommodate three through lanes downstream of the intersection
before the merge, the westbound direction of Pleasant Valley Street will need to be restriped
into three 11-foot travel lanes. The lane reconfiguration will also require a removal of the
exclusive right turn lane pavement markings, signing, and signal head on the intersection
approach. The existing doghouse style signal head on the span wire support will need to be
replaced with a standard three face signal head. Alternatively, the exclusive right turn lane
should remain as such and the lane from the Route 213 off-ramp should empty onto the
Pleasant Valley Street westbound through lane instead. MassDOT should work with the City
in doing so. This will require a reconfiguration of the geometry between the ramp and the
roadway so that curbside edge line from the ramp is carried to the lane line of the through
lane. This lane line, which is now the roadway’s edge line, will be tangent for some distance
and then taper back to the existing edge line, thereby opening up the exclusive right turn lane.
It first may be done in the mid-term on a trial basis with striping and barrels. If operations
and safety do in fact improve with the trial, then a more permanent, long-term solution can be
implemented, with a bump out and taper of the curbing. Both the trial and permanent
measure will require the strict enforcement by the police of the “YIELD” requirement of
vehicles coming from the ramp.
 Pleasant Valley Street Westbound Right Turning Vehicle Conflict with Milk Street
Through and Pleasant Valley Street Eastbound Left Turning Vehicles – There has been
one collision over the three year study period in which a vehicle turned right on red from
Pleasant Valley Street and onto
the Loop drive and collided with
a vehicle turning left onto the
drive that was given a green
indication.
Vehicles are
currently allowed to turn right
on red from the Pleasant Valley
Street westbound approach
exclusive right turn lane;
however the operators of these
vehicles must yield the right-ofway to other traffic.
In the short term, the City can do
one safety enhancement at very
little cost. To protect vehicles
turning right from Pleasant Valley Street from colliding with Milk Street through vehicles or
left-turning vehicles from Pleasant Valley Street, it may be beneficial to prohibit vehicles
from turning right on a red light indication. To do so, a “NO TURN ON RED” (MUTCD
R10-11) sign facing Pleasant Valley Street should be strapped on the span wire assembly
support, which is located on the northwest corner of the intersection. Sufficient capacity at
the intersection exists to accommodate this prohibition, since plenty of time within the signal
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Road Safety Audit—Route 113 (Pleasant Valley Street) at Milk Street – Methuen, MA
Prepared by the Merrimack Valley Planning Commission
cycle is already given to a green indication for vehicles turning right from Pleasant Valley
Street into the Loop driveway in the exclusive right turn lane.
 Milk Street Vehicle Queue – There have been two rear-end collisions on Milk Street in the
southbound direction at the Burger King driveway. Both of the collisions occurred during
the weekday evening peak period.
In both cases, the lead vehicle was
waiting to turn left into the Burger
King driveway, when it was
struck in the rear by a moving
vehicle. Only approximately 13
feet of roadway travel lane width
(curb to centerline) is available for
southbound traveling vehicles as it
passes the driveway. Therefore
through vehicles are not able to
pass to the right of vehicles
wanting to turn left and waiting,
because of a blockage due to a
vehicle queue in the northbound
direction. In one case, the vehicle
operator who was waiting to turn left and was struck, explicitly stated that he was waiting for
traffic to clear to perform his maneuver.
To prevent this gridlock from happening in the future the City should either widen the
roadway for a wider southbound travel lane that allows vehicles to bypass left-turning
vehicles or the City should reprogram the signal controller to shorten vehicle queues on the
intersection approach of Milk Street to open up the driveway. The latter of these two is
recommended, since it is much less costly. The coordinated signal timing plan for the
weekday evening commuter peak period for this intersection location should be adjusted so
that the force offs do not come so early for the Milk Street phase and the maximum green
time for this phase is extended by approximately 5 seconds. This may require that the
minimum green times for Pleasant Valley Street phases (phases 2 and 6) at this intersection
and along the corridor are decreased by an equal amount of 5 seconds. There is sufficient
intersection capacity to allow this. Table 6 presents the results of this recommended
improvement. With this signal timing in place at the intersection, vehicle queues should not
extend back beyond the Burger King driveway, thereby leaving it open to entering leftturning vehicles.
In place of the adjustment to the signal timings, the City could alternatively post a “DO NOT
BLOCK DRIVEWAY” sign facing northbound traffic on Milk Street in advance of the
Burger King driveway. This could also help to keep the driveway open to southbound
entering traffic. However, before the City installs this sign, it should consider whether this
will set a precedent in which other private commercial property owners within the City will
demand the same signs for their driveways, whether they are appropriate or not.
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Road Safety Audit—Route 113 (Pleasant Valley Street) at Milk Street – Methuen, MA
Prepared by the Merrimack Valley Planning Commission
 Orientation of Pleasant Valley Street
Eastbound Left Turn Signal Face – The
signal head facing the Pleasant Valley
Street eastbound exclusive left-turn lane is
slightly rotated and faces the eastbound
through lanes. This may lead to some
confusion when the green left arrow
indication comes up and a vehicle operator
waiting at the STOP bar in the through lane
sees it out of the corner of his eye. It may
cause him to proceed before it is intended.
The City should rotate this signal head in
the short term, whenever it gets a chance.
 Position of Signal Head above the Milk Street Left-Turn/Through Lane – One of the two
signal faces that are suspended
from the span wire and facing the
Milk Street approach is aligned
directly over the lane line. It
should be aligned, so that it is
centered over the left-turn/through
lane itself. This may be done by
perhaps moving it and attaching it
to the adjacent suspended signal
that faces the Pleasant Valley
Street eastbound approach.
In addition, for the signal head that
is facing Milk Street and is
mounted on the span wire support
on the northwest corner of the intersection, the bulb for the green indication lens is not
working properly.
 Milk Street Approach Grade – There is
a somewhat significant up-grade of the
Milk Street approach to the intersection,
near the STOP bar. This may cause
some drivers to spin their tires on wet or
icy pavement when moving from a
stopped position on the approach, and
sliding into an adjacent or oncoming
vehicle. The City should make sure that
this section of the roadway is properly
maintained during the winter with sand
and salt during snow or ice storms. In
the long-term, the City should look into
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Road Safety Audit—Route 113 (Pleasant Valley Street) at Milk Street – Methuen, MA
Prepared by the Merrimack Valley Planning Commission
regrading the approach of the intersection. This will involve an intersection design and
reconstruction, which will be somewhat costly, and should be done in the long-term.
 Traffic Signal Responsiveness – It was noticed during the RSA that the left turn phase for
the Pleasant Valley Street
eastbound traffic is coming up
whether vehicles are present in the
exclusive left turn lane or not.
Since this phase comes up when
vehicles are not present, the
westbound through traffic is
unduly delayed. Some operators
of vehicles waiting at the STOP
bar on the Pleasant Valley Street
westbound approach may notice at
times that there is no conflicting
traffic and wonder why they have
not been given a green indication.
Some may even leave their
stopped position aggressively, due
to impatience. There may be a reason why the eastbound left turn phase is not being actuated
and running in a default “pretimed” operation. It may be that the loop detector in the
pavement within the exclusive left-turn lane is failing or the call signal is not making it to the
controller due to a malfunction of the amplifier. City engineering officials report that there
was some excavation work done recently within the intersection and this may have caused
the loop detector to fail.
The City should hire its signal maintenance company to run a diagnostics of the traffic signal
controller and its associated equipment to determine why the vehicle detection signal is not
being processed within the controller box for the exclusive left turn lane.
 Pleasant Valley Street Westbound Left Turn Lane Signal Cycle Failure – Although the
operations of traffic in the exclusive
left-turn lane on the Pleasant Valley
Street westbound approach was fine
during the weekday evening peak
hour in the month of June, the
operations was poor at other times of
the year. The maximum green time
for this phase in the signal cycle is
observed to be 10 seconds for the
timing plan that is used for the
coordinated operations during the
weekday evening peak period.
During a weekday evening peak hour
in the fall, it was observed that the
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Road Safety Audit—Route 113 (Pleasant Valley Street) at Milk Street – Methuen, MA
Prepared by the Merrimack Valley Planning Commission
vehicle queue extended back beyond the limits of the left lane pocket into one of the through
lanes and there were signal cycle failures in which all of the vehicles were not processed
during the left-turn phase, causing
residual backups. The poor operations
of the signal with its inability to clear
all vehicles at times from this left-turn
lane may cause some vehicles to depart
the left-turn lane, due to frustration and
impatience of the operator, or may
cause some vehicles to strike another
vehicle from behind, due to the
unexpected nature of the starting and
stopping.
Given the queueing issue for traffic in
the Pleasant Valley Street westbound
left-turn lane, the City should evaluate the appropriateness of the the existing left-turn phase
timings that are programmed into the traffic signal controller as part of the coordinated signal
timing plan during weekday evening peak period.
 Pedestrian Push Buttons – During times of coordinated operation of the traffic signals on
Pleasant Valley Street (Route 113), the pedestrian phase
on the pedestrian signal heads comes up automatically
for the Milk Street and Loop Driveway crossings. It
happens concurrently with the Pleasant Valley Street
through traffic phase (phases 2 and 6). However, the
pedestrian phase never comes up for the Pleasant Valley
Street crossing. It was also found that during the RSA,
which was during an off-peak time, the pedestrian push
buttons were not working, while the signal was in free
operation. The pedestrian phases did not come up at all for any of the crossings during this
time. The City should have signal maintenance company look into fixing these push buttons.
 Crosswalk Markings – The transverse
crosswalk pavement markings across Milk
Street and Pleasant Valley Street are not
tremendously conspicuous as observed during
the RSA. The City should consider restriping
the walks with longitudinal, ladder style,
markings as provided by the standard in the
MUTCD. These markings will increase the
visibility of the pedestrian crossings to
approaching vehicles at a greater distance. The
markings will require more paint, however, if
the striping is spaced properly, the tire wear
across the markings will be reduced and the markings may last longer.
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Road Safety Audit—Route 113 (Pleasant Valley Street) at Milk Street – 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 7 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).
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Road Safety Audit— Route 113 (Pleasant Valley Street) at Milk Street – Methuen, MA
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Table 7. Potential Safety Enhancement Summary
Safety Issue
Guidance of Left-Turning
Vehicles from the Loop
Driveway
Unclear Movement Lane
Control For The Loop
Driveway’s Exclusive Left
Turn Lane
Potential Safety Enhancement
Set thermoplastic broken yellow center line extensions through the
intersection to help guide left-turning traffic from the Loop drive.
Ensure that existing broken white lane line extension markings
extend from points tangent with the Loop Drive solid white lane line
and the Pleasant Valley Street eastbound broken white lane line.
To keep the pavement markings bright, consider restriping the lane
line extension markings on a biannual basis or restripe on a less
frequent basis with a more durable product, such as thermoplastic
markings.
Raise the granite edging that surrounds the median island on
Pleasant Valley Street, east of the Loop Driveway, to offer a distant
visual cue to drivers exiting the Loop driveway.
Place the intersection under further study with a focus on reducing
the side-swipe collisions between traffic that is turning left from the
adjacent lanes of the Loop driveway: evaluate the percentage of
left-turning traffic destined to Routes 213 and 113 and review the
need for widening the receiving lanes on Pleasant Valley Street.
Provide an additional set of arrow pavement markings on the
driveway in advance of the existing ones with “ONLY” legends
supplementing the left-turn arrows.
An additional “LEFT LANE MUST TURN LEFT” (MUTCD R3-7) sign
should be posted on the median to give additional notice to drivers
in the left-turn only lane.
Trim or remove the tree in front of the existing MUTCD R3-7 sign or
move the sign to enhance the visibility of this existing sign.
To provide advance notice of the exclusive left turn lane, a “BEGIN
LEFT TURN LANE” (MUTCD R3-20L) sign should be posted on the
center median’s tip.
Replace missing advance intersection lane control/guide sign on
post adjacent to the curbside lane.
A signal head with left arrow indications should be suspended from
the span wire facing the left-turn lane.
Safety
Payoff
Time
Frame
Cost
Responsible
Agency
High
Short-Term
Low
City
High
Short-Term
Low
City
High
Short-Term
Low
City
High
Mid-Term
Medium
City
High
Long-Term
Low
City
Medium Short-Term
Low
The Loop
Medium Short-Term
Low
The Loop
Medium Short-Term
Low
The Loop
Medium Short-Term
Low
The Loop
Medium Short-Term
Low
The Loop
Medium
Low
City
Mid-Term
Page 27
Road Safety Audit— Route 113 (Pleasant Valley Street) at Milk Street – Methuen, MA
Prepared by the Merrimack Valley Planning Commission
Safety Issue
Potential Safety Enhancement
Pleasant Valley Street Red
Light Running
Revise clearance interval times to the amount required based on
ITE.
Convert the existing exclusive right turn lane on the westbound
approach of Pleasant Valley Street to a through lane and merge
downstream of the intersection.
The Route 213 off-ramp should empty onto the Pleasant Valley
Street westbound through lane, with striping and barrels on a
temporary trial basis.
The Route 213 off-ramp should empty onto the Pleasant Valley
Street westbound through lane, with a permanent reconstruction of
the roadway.
Pleasant Valley Street
Westbound Weave Section
Time
Frame
Medium Short-Term
Cost
Responsible
Agency
Low
City
Low
Short-Term
Low
City
Low
Mid-Term
Low
MassDOT
Low
Long-Term
High
MassDOT
Low
Short-Term
Low
City
Low
Short-Term
Low
City
Low
Short-Term
Low
City
Rotate the signal head so that it faces only the exclusive left turn
lane in which it sits above.
Low
Short-Term
Low
City
Align the signal head so that it is centered above the leftturn/through lane.
Low
Short-Term
Low
City
Low
Long-Term
High
City
Low
Short-Term
Low
City
Low
Short-Term
Low
City
Low
Low
Short-Term
Short-Term
Low
Low
City
City
Vehicle Conflict between
Pleasant Valley Street Right
Turners and Milk Street
Through or Pleasant Valley
Street Left Turners
Prohibit vehicles from turning right on a red light indication by
posting a “NO TURN ON RED” (MUTCD R10-11) sign that faces
Pleasant Valley Street westbound approach exclusive right turn
lane.
Milk Street Vehicle Queue
Blocking Burger King
Driveway
Reprogram the signal controller to shorten vehicle queues on the
Milk Street approach, thereby opening up the Burger King driveway
to entering left-turning traffic.
Post a “DO NOT BLOCK DRIVEWAY” sign near driveway.
Orientation of Pleasant
Valley Street Eastbound
Left Turn Signal Face
Position of Signal Head
above the Milk Street LeftTurn/Through Lane
Milk Street Approach Grade
Traffic Signal
Responsiveness
Pleasant Valley Street
Westbound Left Turn Lane
Signal Cycle Failure
Pedestrian Push Buttons
Crosswalk Markings
Safety
Payoff
Regrade the Milk Street approach near the STOP bar.
Run a diagnostics of the traffic controller and peripheral equipment
to ensure full actuation.
Evaluate the appropriateness of the the existing left-turn phase
timings that are programmed into the traffic signal controller during
weekday evening peak period.
Fix the pedestrian push buttons.
Consider longitudinal markings in place of existing transverse ones.
Page 28
Appendix A. RSA Meeting Agenda Road Safety Audit
METHUEN – Rt. 113 (Pleasant Valley St.) at Milk Street
Meeting Location: City Hall (Searles Building) Engineer’s Office
41 Pleasant Street, Methuen, MA
Wednesday, November 16th, 2011
1:00 PM – 2:30 PM
Type of meeting:
High Crash Location – Road Safety Audit
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
1:30 PM
Visit the Site
 Drive to the intersection
 As a group, identify areas for improvement
2:00 PM
Post Visit Discussion / Completion of RSA
 Discuss observations and finalize findings
 Discuss potential improvements and finalize recommendations
2:30 PM
Adjourn for the Day – but the RSA has not ended
Instructions for Participants:
 Before attending the RSA on the 16th, participants are encouraged to drive
through the intersection 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:
Nov. 16, 2011
Audit Team Members
Kathleen Colwell
Frank Russo
Stephen Gagnon
Mike Buote
Mike Havey
Lisa Schletzbaum
Tony Komornick
Jim Terlizzi
Location:
Methuen City Hall, 41 Pleasant St., Methuen, MA
Agency/Affiliation
Methuen Planning Dept.
Methuen Engineering
Methuen Engineering
Methuen Fire Department
Methuen Police Dept.
MassDOT
MVPC
MVPC
Email Address
kbcolwell@ci.methuen.ma.us
frusso@ci.methuen.ma.us
sjgagnon@ci.methuen.ma.us
mgbuote@ci.methuen.ma.us
mhavey@ci.methuen.ma.us
lisa.schletzbaum@state.ma.us
akomornick@mvpc.org
jterlizzi@mvpc.org
Phone Number
(978) 983-8560
(978) 983-8550
(978) 983-8550
(978) 983-8940
(978) 983-8698
(617) 973-7685
(978) 374-0519
(978) 374-0519
Appendix C. Detailed Crash Data MassHighway Crash Report for MET HUEN in the year 2007
Crash Crash Crash
Date Time Severity
# of Total Total Manner of Vehicle Action
Veh. Injuries Fatal Collision Prior to Crash
11-Jan- 4:00
2007 PM
Property
damage only
(none injured) 2
02-Apr- 1:16
2007 PM
Non-fatal
injury
07May2007
Property
damage only
(none injured) 2
6:48
PM
21Nov2007
0
1:00
PM
0
7:56
PM
Unknown
0
17-Oct- 3:02
2007 PM
18Nov2007
1
Property
damage only
(none injured) 2
Property
damage only
(none injured) 2
11-Jul- 8:30
2007 AM
27-Jul2007
02Aug2007
2
0
1
Property
damage only
(none injured) 2
Property
12:49 damage only
PM
(none injured) 2
6:49
PM
Unknown
2
04-Jan- 1:45
2007 PM
Property
damage only
(none injured) 2
28-Mar- 2:27
2007 PM
Property
damage only
(none injured) 2
11May2007
Property
damage only
(none injured) 2
1:24
PM
0
0
0
0
0
0 Angle
0 Angle
0 Angle
Vehicle
Configuration
V1: Collision with motor
V1:Eastbound / vehicle in traffic / V2: Collision V1: Not reported /
V2:Eastbound with motor vehicle in traffic
V2:Not reported
Road
Surf. Ambient Weather At Roadway
Cond. Light
Cond.
Intersection
Daylight Clear
PLEASANT
VALLEY STREET
/ MILK STREET
Cloudy/
Daylight Rain
PLEASANT
VALLEY STREET
/ MILK STREET
V1: Collision with motor
V1:Southbound vehicle in traffic / V2: Collision V1: Passenger car
/ V2:Eastbound with motor vehicle in traffic
/ V2:Passenger
car Dry
g
Daylight Clear
MILK STREET /
PLEASANT
VALLEY STREET
/ V2:Light truck(van,
mini-van, panel,
pickup, sport utility) Dry
Daylight Clear
V1: Passenger car
/ V2:Passenger car Dry
Daylight Clear
Dry
V1:Southbound V1: Collision with motor
/
vehicle in traffic / V2: Collision V1: Passenger car
V2:Westbound with motor vehicle in traffic
/ V2:Passenger car Wet
Sideswipe
V1:Southbound V1: Collision with motor
, same
V1: Turning left /
vehicle in traffic / V2: Collision
0 direction / V2:Turning left V2:Southbound with motor vehicle in traffic
V1:Southbound V1: Collision with motor
V1: Turning left /
vehicle in traffic / V2: Collision
0 Rear-end / V2:Turning left V2:Southbound with motor vehicle in traffic
Single
vehicle
V1:Not
0 crash
V1: Turning left reported
V1: Collision with curb
V1: Travelling
straight ahead /
V2:Slowing or
V1: Collision with motor
stopped in
V1:Eastbound / vehicle in traffic / V2: Collision
0 Rear-end traffic
V2:Eastbound with motor vehicle in traffic
V1: Motorcycle
Dry
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,
Sideswipe V1: Turning left V1:Southbound V1: Collision with motor
, same
/ V2:Travelling /
vehicle in traffic / V2: Collision pickup, sport utility)
with only four tires / Dry
0 direction straight ahead V2:Southbound with motor vehicle in traffic
V1: Slowing or
stopped in
traffic /
V1:Southbound V1: Collision with motor
V2:Travelling
/
vehicle in traffic / V2: Collision V1: Passenger car
0 Rear-end straight ahead V2:Southbound with motor vehicle in traffic
/ V2:Passenger car Dry
0 Angle
0
0 Angle
0
Sideswipe
, opposite
0 direction
Property
29-Jun- 12:50 damage only
2007 PM
(none injured) 2
0
0 Rear-end
16Aug2007
0
0 Angle
9:00
AM
Property
damage only
(none injured) 2
11-Oct- 4:43
2007 PM
Property
damage only
(none injured) 2
0
0 Unknown
23Dec2007
2:50
PM
Non-fatal
injury
1
0 Angle
31Aug2007
Property
11:36 damage only
PM
(none injured) 2
0
Sideswipe
, same
0 direction
2
V1: Turning left
/ V2:Turning left
V1: Travelling
straight ahead /
V2:Travelling
straight ahead
V1: Travelling
straight ahead /
V2:Travelling
straight ahead
Vehicle Travel
Directions
Most Harmful Events
V1: Light truck(van,
mini-van, panel,
V1: Travelling V1:Southbound V1: Collision with motor
straight ahead / / V2:Not
vehicle in traffic / V2: Collision pickup, sport utility)
with only four tires /
V2:Turning left reported
with motor vehicle in traffic
V1: Passenger car
/ V2:Light truck(van,
V1: Slowing or
stopped in
V1: Collision with motor
mini-van, panel,
traffic /
V1:Eastbound / vehicle in traffic / V2: Collision pickup, sport utility)
V2:Turning left V2:Southbound with motor vehicle in traffic
with only four tires
V1: Travelling V1:Not
straight ahead / reported /
V1: Collision with motor
V2:Travelling
V2:Not
vehicle in traffic / V2: Collision V1: Passenger car
straight ahead reported
with motor vehicle in traffic
/ V2:Passenger car
V1: Travelling
straight ahead /
V2:Slowing or V1:Westbound V1: Collision with motor
stopped in
/
vehicle in traffic / V2: Collision V1: Not reported /
traffic
V2:Westbound with motor vehicle in traffic
V2:Not reported
V1: Turning
right /
V1:Westbound V1: Collision with motor
V2:Travelling
/
vehicle in traffic / V2: Collision V1: Passenger car
straight ahead V2:Northbound with motor vehicle in traffic
/ V2:Passenger car
V1: Light truck(van,
mini-van, panel,
V1: Travelling
pickup, sport utility)
straight ahead / V1:Eastbound / V1: Not reported / V2: Not
with only four tires /
V2:Turning left V2:Westbound reported
V2:Passenger car
V1: Travelling
straight ahead / V1:Northbound V1: Collision with motor
V2:Entering
/
vehicle in traffic / V2: Collision V1: Passenger car
traffic lane
V2:Westbound with motor vehicle in traffic
/ V2:Passenger car
V1: Travelling
straight ahead /
V1: Collision with motor
V2:Changing
V1:Eastbound / vehicle in traffic / V2: Collision V1: Passenger car
lanes
V2:Eastbound with motor vehicle in traffic
/ V2:Passenger car
Daylight Clear
Nearest
Roadway
Intersection
PLEASANT
VALLEY STREET
/ MILK STREET
VALLEY STREET
Rte 113 W / MILK
STREET
PLEASANT
VALLEY STREET
/ MILK STREET
Daylight Clear
Rte 113 E
Daylight Clear
PLEASANT
VALLEY STREET
/ MILK STREET
PLEASANT
VALLEY
STREET /
MILK
STREET
Dark lighted
roadway Rain
MILK
STREET /
PLEASANT
VALLEY
STREET
Dry
Daylight Clear
90
PLEASANT
VALLEY
STREET
Dry
Clear/Cl
Daylight oudy
Wet
Daylight Cloudy
Dry
Clear/Cl
Daylight ear
Dry
Daylight Clear
Wet
Dawn
Cloudy
Wet
Daylight Cloudy
Dry
Dark lighted
roadway Clear
90
PLEASANT
VALLEY
STREET
90
PLEASANT
VALLEY
STREET
90
PLEASANT
VALLEY
STREET
90
PLEASANT
VALLEY
STREET
90
PLEASANT
VALLEY
STREET
90
PLEASANT
VALLEY
STREET
95
PLEASANT
VALLEY
STREET
MassDOT Crash Report for MET HUEN for the year 2008
Crash
Date
Crash Crash
Time Severity
05-Jan- 1:10
2008
PM
27-May- 3:40
2008
PM
Property
damage
only (none
injured)
Property
damage
only (none
injured)
Property
damage
12-Jun- 4:03 only (none
2008
PM
injured)
Property
damage
01-Jul- 3:45 only (none
2008
PM
injured)
Property
damage
09-Aug- 10:45 only (none
2008
AM
injured)
02-Oct- 9:00
2008
PM
Property
damage
only (none
injured)
15-Oct- 2:20
2008
PM
Property
damage
only (none
injured)
12-Dec- 5:15
2008
PM
Property
damage
only (none
injured)
# of Total Total Manner of Vehicle Action
Veh. Inj.
Fatal Collision
Prior to Crash
1
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
0
0 Angle
0
0
25-May- 4:05
2008
PM
2
1
2
0
0 Angle
2
V1: Slowing or
stopped in
traffic /
V2:Travelling
straight ahead
V1: Collision with motor
V1:Northbound vehicle in traffic / V2:
/
Collision with motor
V2:Northbound vehicle in traffic
Dry
0
0
0 Angle
Single
vehicle
0 crash
2
V1: Collision with cyclist V1: Light truck(van, mini-van,
(bicycle, tricycle,
panel, pickup, sport utility)
V1:Westbound unicycle, pedal car)
with only four tires
V1: Travelling
Sideswipe straight ahead / V1:Westbound
, same
V2:Travelling
/
V1: Not reported / V2:
0 direction
straight ahead V2:Westbound Not reported
0
0
Property
damage
24-Dec- 12:55 only (none
2008
PM
injured)
Property
damage
03-Jul- 5:58 only (none
2008
PM
injured)
V1: Travelling
straight ahead
Road
Nearest
Surface Ambient Weather At Roadway Roadway
Condition Light
Condition Intersection Intersection
0
0
2
14-Dec- 8:15
2008
AM
Vehicle Configuration
V1: Passenger car / V2:Light
truck(van, mini-van, panel,
pickup, sport utility) with only
0 Rear-end
four tires
Dry
V1: Light truck(van, mini-van,
panel, pickup, sport utility)
V1: Slowing or
V1: Collision with motor with only four tires / V2:Light
stopped in
V1:Westbound vehicle in traffic / V2:
truck(van, mini-van, panel,
traffic /
/
Collision with motor
pickup, sport utility) with only
V2:Travelling
four tires
Dry
0 Rear-end straight ahead V2:Westbound vehicle in traffic
V1: Travelling
V1: Collision with motor
straight ahead / V1:Westbound vehicle in traffic / V2:
V1: Passenger car /
V2:Travelling
/
Collision with motor
V2:Passenger car
Dry
0 Rear-end straight ahead V2:Westbound vehicle in traffic
V1: Changing
V1: Collision with motor V1: Passenger car / V2:Light
truck(van, mini-van, panel,
lanes /
V1:Westbound vehicle in traffic / V2:
pickup, sport utility) with only
V2:Slowing or /
Collision with motor
four tires
Dry
0 Rear-end stopped in
V2:Westbound vehicle in traffic
V1: Travelling
straight ahead /
V1: Collision with motor
V2:Slowing or V1:Westbound vehicle in traffic / V2:
stopped in
/
Collision with motor
V1: Passenger car /
0 Rear-end traffic
V2:Westbound vehicle in traffic
V2:Passenger car
Dry
V1: Light truck(van, mini-van,
panel, pickup, sport utility)
V1: Collision with motor with only four tires / V2:Light
Sideswipe
V1:Eastbound vehicle in traffic / V2:
truck(van, mini-van, panel,
, same
V1: Turning left /
Collision with motor
pickup, sport utility) with only
0 direction
/ V2:Turning left V2:Eastbound vehicle in traffic
four tires
Dry
Property
damage
19-Apr- 10:50 only (none
injured)
2008
AM
Non-fatal
injury
Property
damage
only (none
injured)
Vehicle Travel
Directions
Most Harmful Events
0
0
0 Angle
0 Rear-end
V1: Travelling
straight ahead /
V2:Travelling
straight ahead
V1: Turning left
/ V2:Not
reported
V1: Travelling
straight ahead /
V2:Travelling
straight ahead
V1:Westbound
/
V2:Westbound
V1:Westbound
/ 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:
Not reported
V1:Northbound
/
V1: Not reported / V2:
V2:Eastbound Not reported
Daylight Clear
Daylight Clear
MILK
STREET /
PLEASANT
VALLEY
STREET
Daylight Clear
PLEASANT
VALLEY
STREET /
MILK
STREET
Daylight Cloudy
Dark lighted
roadwa
y
Clear
Daylight Clear
Wet
V1: Passenger car /
V2:Passenger car
Dry
Clear/Un
Daylight known
V1: Motorcycle / V2:Not
reported
Dry
V1: Passenger car /
V2:Passenger car
V1: Light truck(van, mini-van,
V1: Travelling V1:Not
V1: Collision with motor panel, pickup, sport utility)
straight ahead / reported /
vehicle in traffic / V2:
with only four tires / V2:Light
V2:Travelling
V2:Not
Collision with motor
truck(van, mini-van, panel,
straight ahead reported
vehicle in traffic
pickup, sport utility) with only
V1: Turning left
V1: Collision with motor V1: Light truck(van, mini-van,
/ V2:Slowing or V1:Northbound vehicle in traffic / V2:
panel, pickup, sport utility)
stopped in
/
Collision with motor
with only four tires /
traffic
V2:Northbound vehicle in traffic
V2:Passenger car
90 PLEASANT
VALLEY
STREET Rte
113 W
Cloudy/U
Daylight nknown
Dark lighted
roadwa
y
Rain
V1: Not reported / V2:Not
reported
90 PLEASANT
VALLEY
STREET Rte
113 / Rte 113
PLEASANT
VALLEY
STREET /
MILK
PLEASANT
VALLEY
STREET /
MILK
STREET
90 PLEASANT
VALLEY
STREET /
MILK STREET
PLEASANT
VALLEY
STREET Rte
113 / MILK
STREET
90 PLEASANT
VALLEY
STREET
90 PLEASANT
VALLEY
STREET
Dry
Daylight Clear
Dark lighted
roadwa
y
Clear
Wet
Rain/Clo
Daylight udy
90 PLEASANT
VALLEY
STREET
Wet
Cloudy/R
Daylight ain
95 PLEASANT
VALLEY
STREET
90 PLEASANT
VALLEY
STREET
MassDOT Crash Report for MET HUEN for the year 2009
Crash
Date
Crash Crash
Time Severity
07-Jan- 4:59
2009
PM
# of Total Total Manner of Vehicle Action
Veh. Inj.
Fatal Collision
Prior to Crash
Property
damage
only (none
injured)
2
Property
damage
20-Jan- 11:55 only (none
2009
AM
injured)
2
10-Mar- 6:24
2009
PM
Property
damage
only (none
injured)
2
Property
damage
02-May- 12:04 only (none
2009
PM
injured)
2
Property
damage
15-Aug- 10:11 only (none
2009
PM
injured)
2
09-Sep- 5:49
2009
PM
Property
damage
only (none
injured)
2
11-Sep- 7:30
2009
PM
Property
damage
only (none
injured)
2
27-Sep- 4:16
2009
PM
Property
damage
only (none
injured)
2
27-Oct- 7:12
2009
PM
Property
damage
only (none
injured)
1
Property
damage
12-Dec- 12:18 only (none
2009
PM
injured)
2
13-Jan- 3:25
2009
PM
Property
damage
only (none
injured)
2
14-Nov- 3:15
2009
PM
Property
damage
only (none
injured)
2
Property
damage
30-Dec- 12:45 only (none
2009
PM
injured)
2
Property
damage
20-Aug- 10:40 only (none
2009
AM
injured)
2
0
0
0
0
Vehicle Travel
Vehicle
Directions
Most Harmful Events Configuration
V1: Slowing or
V1: Collision with
stopped in traffic
motor vehicle in traffic
/ V2:Slowing or V1:Eastbound / / V2: Collision with
stopped in traffic V2:Eastbound motor vehicle in traffic
Road
Surface Ambient Weather
Condition Light
Condition
V1: Light truck(van,
mini-van, panel,
pickup, sport utility)
with only four tires /
V2:Passenger car Ice
0
Angle
0
V1: Collision with
Sideswipe
V1:Southbound motor vehicle in traffic
, same
V1: Turning left / /
/ V2: Collision with
V1: Passenger car /
direction
V2:Turning left V2:Southbound motor vehicle in traffic V2:Passenger car Wet
0
0
V1: Collision with
Sideswipe
V1:Southbound motor vehicle in traffic
/ V2: Collision with
V1: Passenger car /
, same
V1: Turning left / /
direction
V2:Turning left V2:Southbound motor vehicle in traffic V2:Passenger car Wet
V1: Light truck(van,
V1: Collision with
mini-van, panel,
V1:Northbound motor vehicle in traffic pickup, sport utility)
with only four tires /
V1: Turning left / /
/ V2: Collision with
Angle
V2:Turning right V2:Northbound motor vehicle in traffic V2:Passenger car Dry
Angle
V1: Slowing or
V1: Collision with
stopped in traffic V1:Eastbound / motor vehicle in traffic
/ V2:Slowing or V2:Not
/ V2: Collision with
V1: Passenger car /
stopped in traffic reported
motor vehicle in traffic V2:Passenger car Dry
V1: Light truck(van,
V1: Collision with
mini-van, panel,
V1: Travelling
straight ahead / V1:Westbound motor vehicle in traffic pickup, sport utility)
/ V2: Collision with
with only four tires /
V2:Changing
/
lanes
V2:Westbound motor vehicle in traffic V2:Passenger car Dry
V1: Light truck(van,
mini-van, panel,
V1: Travelling
V1: Collision with
straight ahead / V1:Southbound motor vehicle in traffic pickup, sport utility)
V2:Travelling
/
/ V2: Collision with
with only four tires /
straight ahead V2:Westbound motor vehicle in traffic V2:Passenger car Wet
0
Rear-end
V1: Slowing or
V1: Collision with
stopped in traffic V1:Southbound motor vehicle in traffic
/ V2:Travelling /
/ V2: Collision with
V1: Passenger car /
straight ahead V2:Southbound motor vehicle in traffic V2:Not reported
Wet
0
0
Single
vehicle
crash
V1: Travelling
straight ahead
0
0
Rear-end
V1: Collision with
V1: Travelling
V1:Southbound motor vehicle in traffic
/ V2: Collision with
straight ahead / /
V2:Turning left V2:Southbound motor vehicle in traffic
V1: Passenger car /
V2:Light truck(van,
mini-van, panel,
pickup, sport utility)
with only four tires
Dry
Unknown
V1: Travelling
straight ahead / V1:Westbound
V2:Travelling
/
straight ahead V2:Southbound
V1: Passenger car /
V2:Light truck(van,
mini-van, panel,
pickup, sport utility)
with only four tires
Wet
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
Rear-end
Rear-end
V1: Collision with curb V1: Passenger car Wet
V1: Light truck(van,
V1: Collision with
mini-van, panel,
Sideswipe
motor vehicle in traffic pickup, sport utility)
with only four tires /
, same
V1: Turning left / V1:Eastbound / / V2: Collision with
direction
V2:Turning left V2:Eastbound motor vehicle in traffic V2:Passenger car Dry
Not
reported
Angle
V1:Eastbound
V1: Collision with
motor vehicle in traffic
/ V2: Collision with
motor vehicle in traffic
V1: Passenger car /
V2:Light truck(van,
mini-van, panel,
pickup, sport utility)
with only four tires
Dry
V1: Light truck(van,
V1: Travelling
V1: Collision with
mini-van, panel,
straight ahead /
motor vehicle in traffic pickup, sport utility)
V2:Entering
V1:Eastbound / / V2: Collision with
with only four tires /
traffic lane
V2:Northbound motor vehicle in traffic V2:Passenger car Dry
V1: Travelling
V1:Not
straight ahead / reported /
V2:Entering
V2:Not
traffic lane
reported
V1: Collision with
motor vehicle in traffic
/ V2: Collision with
motor vehicle in traffic
At Roadway
Intersection
Nearest
Roadway
Intersection
Snow/Sleet
, hail
Dark (freezing
PLEASANT
lighted
rain or
VALLEY STREET
roadway drizzle)
/ MILK STREET
Daylight Clear
MILK STREET /
PLEASANT
VALLEY STREET
Dusk
Clear
PLEASANT
VALLEY STREET
Rte 113 S / MILK
STREET
Daylight Clear
PLEASANT
VALLEY STREET
Rte 113 / MILK
STREET
Dark lighted
roadway Clear
PLEASANT
VALLEY STREET
Rte 113 E / MILK
STREET
Daylight Clear
Rte 113 W /
PLEASANT
STREET / MILK
STREET
Rte 113 /
Dark PLEASANT
lighted
Cloudy/Rai VALLEY STREET
roadway n
/ MILK STREET
Cloudy/Rai
Daylight n
MILK
STREET /
PLEASANT
VALLEY
STREET
Rte 113 /
PLEASANT
Not
Clear/Clou VALLEY STREET
/ MILK STREET
reported dy
VALLEY STREET
Rte 113 E /
ALBERT SLACK
HIGHWAY / MILK
Daylight Clear
STREET
Daylight Clear/Clear
90
PLEASANT
VALLEY
STREET
Rain/Cloud
Daylight y
90
PLEASANT
VALLEY
STREET
Daylight Clear
90
PLEASANT
VALLEY
STREET
Daylight Clear
91
PLEASANT
VALLEY
STREET
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 2000 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 2000;
Transportation Research Board; Washington, DC; 2000;
Exhibit 16-2, page 16-2.
Appendix H. 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.