EASTHAMPTON — For many that call Easthampton home, the intersection at South and Main streets is a travel route that’s avoided, if possible.
Navigating the intersection can prove to be difficult as a vehicle coming from South Street needs to not only look out for right-of-way traffic driving along the Main Street (Route 10) corridor, but also those stopped on the other side of the street. In the last two decades, the intersection has been the site of 75 car crashes.
Although there is currently no traffic light at the intersection, one city resident is hoping to send a signal to the state of the urgent need for one.
In just over a week, Joni Bullough has collected more than 550 signatures on an online Change.org petition at https://bit.ly/3ulD2Jm urging the state to approve funding for the installation of a traffic light at the intersection. City Councilors Owen Zaret and Vice President Salem Derby have both promoted the petition on Facebook.
Bullough also collected more than 200 signatures on physical copies of the petition, which are available at Big E’s Supermarket and the city clerk’s office.
“I don’t feel safe crossing the street right now in my car,” Bullough said. “It’s dangerous. Route 10 is a well-traveled state corridor, but many seek alternate routes in order to avoid this dangerous intersection, but this is not a solution.”
A few years back, Bullough says she was almost hit by a car while attempting to cross Route 10. One vehicle had stopped to let her cross and another passed them on the shoulder.
“Had I not stepped back onto the curb, I would have been hit. When that happened, it really jolted me to say, ‘OK, we need to do something about this’,” she said.
The more people she’s spoken to about it, the more she’s learned how many others have had a similar experience at the intersection.
The Pioneer Valley Planning Commission prepared a report for the city regarding the safety of the intersection in 2017. The commission analyzed crash data from 2010 through 2014 and found that the average crash rate was 1.05 per million entering vehicles — higher than the state Department of Transportation’s average of 0.7 for the region. At the time, the commission determined that based on the data, the intersection did not meet the requirements necessary to require a traffic signal.
A study also was conducted by MassDOT in 2019 after there were two car crashes at the intersection within two weeks.
According to an earlier Gazette report, there were 24 collisions at the intersection from Jan. 1, 2015 to Sept. 23, 2019. Of the total number of crashes, reports on at least 15 indicated that one of the vehicles was stopped at a South Street stop sign before crashing, while three made no mention of stopping.
In a letter addressed to Easthampton Mayor Nicole LaChapelle, MassDOT District 2 Project Development Engineer Richard Masse wrote that “even without some assumed growth since the PVPC counts (and any projected growth from the future opening of the White Brook consolidated school) all three vehicular volume warrants (8-hours, 4-hour and peak hour) are satisfied, meaning the intersection meets the minimum conditions under which installing a traffic control signal might be justified.”
One of the challenges in moving this proposal forward is funding as the cost to design and construct a traffic light would fall on Easthampton. The city has jurisdiction over South Street and the northern part of Main Street, whereas MassDOT owns the southern end of the intersection on Route 10, LaChapelle said.
Although LaChapelle said the city is looking into grants to fund the project, the city is also juggling a number of major infrastructure projects. Many of the projects, like the imminent Union Street overhaul, which has an estimated price tag of more than $5 million, are funded largely by competitive state grants that require following a very specific, detailed process. “It’s not about which project is less or more important, it’s about where the money is,” LaChapelle said.
In the meantime, the city has installed a flashing stop sign at the intersection. Bullough says that while the flashing light may have improved awareness of pedestrians walking in the area, she still doesn’t feel comfortable or safe at the intersection and is particularly concerned about when her son starts attending the new Mountain View School later this year.
With students in kindergarten through eighth grade shifting into Mountain View, the way that people travel is changing and South Street will become a new and significant route to the new school, Bullough said.
After attending a City Council meeting, Bullough said she reached out to Councilor Dan Rist, who has been working with Derby on trying to find solutions to the intersection problem for several years. Rist advocated for Bullough to be a “squeaky wheel” and gather the city’s collective voices together on a petition that could be delivered to the State House and put in front of legislators.
“I think the best avenue we can take is go directly to the State House and put this petition in front of them,” Rist said.
Bullough has a goal of gathering at least 1,000 signatures on the petition. “We are trying to prevent more accidents and any more tragedies from occurring,” she said. “We can not wait for something truly horrible to happen to someone, especially a child, before change takes place.”
Emily Thurlow can be reached at ethurlow@gazettenet.com.
