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A communication transmitted from Louis A. DePasquale, City Manager, relative to Awaiting Report Item Number 18-55, regarding a report on improving road safety conditions on Clinton Street
City of Cambridge
Community Development Department
Iram Farooq, Assistant City Manager
Department of Public Works
Owen O’Riordan, Commissioner
Traffic, Parking, and Transportation
Joseph E. Barr, Director
MEMORANDUM
To:
Louis A. DePasquale, City Manager
From: Joseph E. Barr, Director of Traffic, Parking, and Transportation
Iram Farooq, Assistant City Manager for Community Development
Owen O’Riordan, Commissioner of Public Works
Date: July 11, 2018
Re:
Awaiting Report 18-55: Report on Improving Road Safety Conditions on Clinton Street
This memo is in response to Order #3 from the May 14, 2018 City Council Meeting (Awaiting Report 18-55)
regarding a request for improved road safety conditions on Clinton Street following receipt of a resident
petition by the City Council.
According to the petition, residents have reported instances of speeding on their street, including a recent
crash involving a vehicle backing out of a driveway. Speed data collected during the peak hour (4:30pm-
5:30pm) on a weekday evening showed that the 85th percentile speed, which is the speed below 85 percent
of the vehicles travel and the standard for measuring vehicle speed in traffic analysis, was 22 mph. The speed
limit on the street is 25 mph. The results also showed 33 vehicles travelled on Clinton Street during that hour,
with none of the vehicles traveling at speed above 25 mph. The highest speed recorded on the street during
the count was from one vehicle traveling at 24 mph. A graph summarizing the results of the speed and volume
study is shown in Figure 1.
Figure 1: Speed Distribution on Clinton Street
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Number of Vehicles
Speed (MPH)
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As the results of the speed and volume study indicate that road users are travelling at less than the speed
limit, we do not recommend any short-term changes to the roadway infrastructure at this time. In general,
traffic calming changes to streets are constructed in conjunction with other roadwork such as paving and
sidewalk reconstruction. At this time no roadway work is scheduled for Clinton Street. We will continue to
monitor traffic speed and evaluate the potential for traffic calming measures if Clinton Street (or the streets at
either end of Clinton Street) is scheduled for roadwork in the future.