WESTFIELD — In an effort to enhance the safety at the intersection of Elm and Franklin streets for pedestrians and motorists, the Police Department will be making some temporary lane adjustments to the streets over the next few months.
“It’s called a road diet,” said Police Capt. Steve Dickinson about the adjustment motorists will see over the next several weeks and months primarily on Franklin Street.
The adjustments are geared toward improving pedestrian safety on Franklin Street, said Sgt. Juanita Mejias, who leads the department’s traffic bureau.
It’s no secret that one of the city’s most dangerous crosswalks is the one that crosses Franklin Street at Maple Street.
The city has already installed yellow flashing warning lights that are activated by pedestrians wanting to cross, but Mejias said more needs to be done to prevent pedestrians being struck.
To slow traffic turning right off Elm Street onto Franklin Street heading westbound, the department has placed orange plastic barrels and water-filled barriers about 8 feet from the curb in a line from the intersection to the entrance of the CVS.
The barrels and barriers are about 8 feet from the dividing line between Franklin Street eastbound and westbound, starting a few feet beyond the entrance of Grader Auto Services and stopping at the crosswalk.
Orange traffic barriers will also be placed on each side of the crosswalk.
Plans are to have these remain in place until winter weather arrives, Mejias said.
Future improvements to the crosswalk include installing a slightly elevated island in the center of the crosswalk with yellow traffic stanchions, similar to the crosswalk islands with stanchions on Western Avenue, she said.
The department is also looking at ways to slow traffic on Franklin Street going eastbound toward downtown.
Mejias said when the traffic signal turns green at the intersection of Washington and Franklin streets, too often, motorists in the right-turn-only lane will speed up to get in front of motorists in the left lane.
The department is considering installing a speed bump in the right lane — not both lanes — a few feet east of Summer Street to encourage motorists to slow down before approaching the crosswalk, and discourage them from merging into the left lane.
Another safety improvement along Franklin Street is moving the crosswalk at the intersection of Kellogg Street about 10 feet west and installing a pedestrian hybrid beacon, which resembles a traditional traffic signal pole but instead has signal lights to warn motorists of the crosswalk ahead and stop traffic if activated by a pedestrian.
The department is also considering placing traffic stanchions on southbound Elm Street as it approaches Orange Street, Mejias said. The stanchions would separate the right-turn-only lane from the through lane.
Mejias said significant traffic backups are caused by motorists in the right lane trying to merge left into the through lane instead of taking the right turn onto Orange Street.
She said signs have already been ordered to indicate that only one lane of Elm Street is a through lane, and to designate the left-turn lane for Union Avenue and right-turn lane for Orange Street. The signs will be installed on the superstructure of the Great River Bridge where the radar-speed sign has been placed.
“If it all looks good and we have no problems or huge pushback from city motorists, we’ll start looking at planning and hopefully starting in the spring,” Mejias said.
