A communication transmitted from Yi-An Huang, City Manager, relative to POR 2024#12 12 That the City Manager is requested to work with the Traffic & Parking Department to take immediate action and make safety improvements to the intersection of Cardinal Medeiros Ave, Binney St, and Bristol St

Page1 of 4 MEMORANDUM To: Yi-an Huang, City Manager From: Brooke McKenna, Transportation Commissioner Jeffrey R. Parenti, PE, PTOE, PTP, ENV SP, Assistant Commissioner for Street Management Date: February 29, 2024 Subject: Response to POR 2024 #12 That the City Manager is requested to work with the Traffic & Parking Department to take immediate action and make safety improvements to the intersection of Cardinal Medeiros Avenue, Binney Street, and Bristol Street as soon as possible. In response to Policy Order 2024 #12 requesting that we take immediate action and make safety improvements to the intersection of Cardinal Medeiros Avenue, Binney Street, and Bristol Street as soon as possible, we offer the following analysis and recommendations. Summary and Next Steps Engineering staff have considered a variety of options for change at Cardinal Medeiros Avenue at Binney and Bristol Streets, detailed below. After consideration of our options for action at the intersection, we will be installing all- way stop control. We will aggressively communicate the change to road users and measure compliance of the new STOP signs immediately after installation and about four weeks later to understand the safety benefit of the change. It will be important to monitor compliance to ensure that the change is improving rather than degrading safety at the intersection. Background and Context The intersection of Cardinal Medieros, Binney Street, and Bristol Street is a challenging intersection that has been the subject of community concern for some time. Cardinal Medeiros is the major roadway with two-way traffic, serving as a major north/south connection between Broadway and Hampshire Streets to the south and Cambridge Street to the north. “Little” Binney Street is a two-way road approaching the intersection providing access to various commercial buildings. Bristol Street is a one-way residential street operating in the eastbound direction approaching the intersection. The side streets (Bristol and Binney Streets) both have STOP signs, while Cardinal Medeiros does not.

Page 2 of 4 On January 12, 2024, a passenger car exiting Bristol Street collided with a northbound truck. As a result of the crash, the truck drove off the road and into the yard on the northwest corner of the intersection. Although no injuries were reported, there was damage to the property. The policy order directs us to make immediate safety improvements. We have completed our assessment of the safety history of the intersection and potential solutions. Safety History Using the state crash database administered by MassDOT, we found 54 crashes reported to police going back to February 2002. Over this 23-year span, the intersection has averaged 2.3 crashes per year. In recent years, crashes have been declining. In 2021 there were 5 crashes, then 2 in 2022, and 1 in 2023. Of the 54 total crashes, injuries were reported in 18 crashes (33%). One crash involved a person walking and a person on a bicycle was struck in 2 of the crashes. Most of the crashes – 37, or 69% -- were the angle type where a vehicle exits a side street and collides with a vehicle on Cardinal Medeiros Avenue. Solutions Considered Traffic control devices used in public ways are governed by the Federal Highway Administration. FHWA’s published guidance is the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (the Manual) and its 11th edition was published just last month. Any device used must comply with the Manual, which advises on the most appropriate solution for roadway segments and intersections with safety deficiencies. Accordingly, Engineering staff considered the following actions: 1. Reverse the direction of Bristol Street and designate Binney Street as a one-way, both away from the intersection. 2. All-Way Stop Control 3. Traffic Signal 4. Raised Intersection 5. No action Any change in traffic control may create new safety deficiencies and lead to new crashes, which is why we must consider taking no action along with the other actions. We evaluated the 5 proposed actions, and found the following: 1. Reverse the direction of Bristol Street and designate Binney Street as a one-way, both away from the intersection: The one-way action would eliminate all angle crashes since no vehicles would be entering the intersection at all from the side streets. However, this approach would change access to homes for abutters on Bristol

Page 3 of 4 Street and commercial properties on Binney Street, including the movie theater. 2. All-Way Stop Control can be effective provided nearly all drivers comply with all four stop signs. Creating new stop control on Cardinal Medeiros will result in additional noise because of decelerating and accelerating vehicles. 3. Traffic Signal: Similar to all-way stop control, a traffic signal can be effective, but it would introduce an idling line of traffic on Cardinal Madeiros, which will generate noise and exhaust emissions. A traffic signal would cost about $1 million to design and construct over about 18 months. 4. A raised intersection would reduce speeds of all vehicles on Cardinal Medeiros Avenue near the Binney Street, resulting in fewer and less severe crashes. We will need to investigate the feasibility of building a device here, though, because there are several engineering constraints. If feasible, design and construction would be 12 to 18 months and close to $1 million. It is important to note that either all-way stop control or a traffic signal may generate new crashes, especially rear-end crashes, so there is some risk that taking either action might have a negative effect on safety. On the other hand, rear-end crashes tend to be less severe than angle crashes, so this tradeoff is often prudent. Discussion Council has requested immediate action and a traffic signal or raised devices cannot satisfy this requirement. A one-way change would only take a few weeks to install the signs but would have more significant impacts for abutters that would require significant outreach to stakeholder groups who may object to the changes. The two remaining options are all-way stop control and no action. Consulting with the FHWA Manual, all-way stop control can be used in locations where sight distance is obscured. Building edges are close to the corners of the intersection and impede open lines of sight. However, all-way stop control works best when traffic is close to being balanced between both streets, which is not the case at this intersection Traffic volumes are significantly higher on Cardinal Medeiros. In this scenario, some drivers on the busier street ignore stop signs, which undermines the safety improvements of the all-way stop. Selected Alternative The Department is prepared to install all-way stop control at this location. In addition to the new stop signs, we will also use STOP AHEAD signs on Cardinal Medeiros and variable message boards temporarily to alert drivers of the change.

Page 4 of 4 Driving is highly habitual, so it is important that we make additional efforts to catch motorists’ attention. We will also observe compliance of the new stop signs. Drivers exiting the side streets and vulnerable users of the crosswalks across Cardinal Medeiros will reasonably expect everyone to stop for the new signs. Slowing down without stopping at the new STOP signs may positively address any speeding problem but is non-compliant and can result in a collision. Our observations will reveal if drivers are respecting the new sign. We expect compliance will improve with time. After a few weeks (once the variable message boards are removed), to realize the full safety benefit of the new stop signs, compliance should be near 100%. If we find that the compliance is so poor that it degrades safety at the intersection, we will reconsider all-way stop control and potentially pursue one of the longer- term options.