The Planning Board met with Leggat McCall Properties LLC on Monday to discuss the traffic plan for the Glover Residences development project.
The proposed project — which will span 4.06 acres of land between Vinnin Street in Salem, Salem Street in Swampscott, and Tedesco Street in Marblehead — includes two buildings with 96 rental units in Swampscott and one building with 44 rental units in Marblehead.
At a previous meeting, the board discussed pedestrian traffic and gave suggestions including new crosswalks, curb ramps, and pedestrian signal equipment. Leggat McCall Properties took the suggestion and planned a shorter, more visible crosswalk in a more realistic location.
Monday’s meeting turned its attention to car traffic. According to Chair of the Planning Board Angela Ippolito, an independent traffic study conducted by Vanasse Hangen Brustlin Inc. — a multidisciplinary American civil engineering consulting and design firm — shows vehicle circulation issues at Vinnin Square. Ippolito said quite a few neighbors have expressed concerns.
Jeffrey Dirk, a transportation expert at Vanasse & Associates Inc. who has been hired by the site developer, analyzed Vinnin Square. He suggested the use of sensors — already in place on the traffic lights — to help with the delicate balance of traffic between the closely spaced intersections.
He said, “If the Paradise Road traffic signal turns red, the sensor on Vinnin Street, you want to make sure that it shuts off the traffic on Vinnin Street, at a point where no more cars are introduced between the two intersections.”
Such a sensor can tell how many cars are passing over into the intersection, which then allows the Planning Board to re-time the traffic signals.
“The key thing when you have closing space intersections is to make sure you never introduce more traffic between the intersections that can physically fit,” said Dirk.
Dirk said three things will be done. The first is to make sure the traffic signal works properly. The second is to make upgrades to the pedestrian accommodations. And lastly is re-timing the traffic.
“The light at Salem Street turns green, but the light at Paradise Road is still red and it basically goes through the whole cycle … where you’re sitting stuck at a green light because the light 20 feet ahead of you at Paradise is red … Making sure that they’re synchronized with each other to avoid the situation we currently have, I think is the most important piece,” said David Zucker, a member of the Planning Board.
