Station Avenue problems aired. Here is what's next for Yarmouth road.
SOUTH YARMOUTH — Residents had plenty of ideas to offer Wednesday night to Cape Cod Commission officials during a Town Hall forum about making Station Avenue a safer and less congested road.
About 30 people attended in person and half a dozen watched on Zoom to discuss the Station Avenue Corridor Study .
The major north-south route from the Route 6 on- and off-ramps to the Wood Road intersection includes a large business district, schools and a Cape Cod Rail Trail crossing. The road has regular traffic congestion, a large number of crashes, difficult left turns, inadequate sidewalks and too many curb cuts, commission Senior Transportation Planner David Nolan pointed out in his presentation.
The three main goals of the study are to improve safety, reduce congestion and make the road usable for all: drivers, walkers, bicyclists, school buses and disabled people, said Nolan who lives in Yarmouth.
“The idea is to develop alternatives for all users,” he said. He showed photos of problem areas he took during visits last summer. He noted the lack of crosswalks by Station Avenue Elementary School. One was recently installed for the intermediate school that will open in February.
PHOTO GALLERY: Topping off the new D-Y Intermediate School
Here are some of the problem areas people identified
Several people suggested more attention to traffic near the schools. During a “visioning session” around three large maps of the area where people could add suggestions, Nick Pasquarosa, Yarmouth schools resource officer, said the driveways out of Dennis-Yarmouth Regional High School need to be wider and redesigned. He also suggested adding an automatic light at the high school crosswalks and pointed out traffic problems caused by the drop-off area at the high school. Nolan agreed to take a look.
Yarmouth Selectman Mark Forest said he hopes for “a combination of traffic management measures at the schools” so the situation doesn’t worsen when the new school opens.
In other areas along the corridor, Julian Mallett talked about a long left turn wait onto the road at CVS pharmacy and a short right turn lane onto White’s Path. Robert MacLean said he would like more lights off the Route 6 ramps and suggested a school drop-off area off Regional Avenue. He said the study should also evaluate traffic near St. Pius X church and school.
Station Avenue in South Yarmouth has problems. Planners want details.
Bill Glass asked if other town entities like the Chamber of Commerce would be consulted about the corridor plans. Nolan said he will meet with any groups, and all residents can continue to comment on the study by sending him an email at david.nolan@capecodcommission.org.
The commission officials also will do a road safety evaluation this spring at the White’s Path intersection, compile traffic volume data and set up automatic traffic recorders along the route.
The intersection of Station Avenue and White’s Path/Workshop Road is ranked as one of the top 50 crash locations in the region based on the “Barnstable County High Crash Locations”. A total of crashes of 19 crashes have occurred at the intersection between 2018-2020.
Officials will return in the summer or fall with draft concepts of a plan and aim for a final report in the fall, Nolan said.
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This article originally appeared on Cape Cod Times: Station Avenue problems aired. Here is what's next for Yarmouth road.
