Traffic Improvements Needed Near New England Tech
While New England Tech students will add to an already overwhelmed intersection, several mitigation techniques are in the works.
The intersection of South County Trail and Division Street is already busy, but several plans are in the works to help mitigate the increase in traffic New England Tech students will cause.
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Even before the New England Institute of Technology moved to town, the crossroad of South County Trail and Division Street was the most congested intersection in East Greenwich.
"Without a doubt it's the busiest," said Lt. Jim Poccia of the East Greenwich Police. "Between 3 and 5 in the afternoon it routinely gridlocks."
But even with more than 1,000 students slated to start commuting to the new New England Tech campus starting in January, state traffic experts expect the situation will get better, not worse. That's because there are a series of road and traffic improvements in the works that are designed to mitigate the congestion.
"According to our analysis, even with the additional traffic generated by New England Tech, we think the improvements are going to more than mitigate the situation," said Bob Rocchio, the managing engineer of the trafic design division of the state Department of Transportation.
"In fact," he said, "we think it actually should be better than the conditions were before New England Tech."
New traffic lane on Division Street
The most visible change will be an additional lane of traffic on Division Street between South County Trail and the Route 4 on-ramp. This project should be complete by the end of spring, said Town Manager Bill Sequino. It is being paid for by New England Tech.
Rocchio said the extra lane will ease the congestion caused by people trying to drive from I-95 North to Route 4 South.
"The congestion is caused because so many people are trying to go eastbound [on Division] to get to either Route 4 or 95," Rocchio said.
Currently there is no way to get either from 95 North to Route 4 South, or Route 4 North to 95 South, without going through the intersection at South County Trail and Division Street.
Rocchio said the best solution would be to make a connector between those two roads. However, that project could cost $100 million, and RIDOT is currently in a funding crunch. "It's not looking good unless we get another funding source," he said.
More traffic improvements
But even without that big picture solution, RIDOT has implemented several other strategies to help alleviate traffic at this busy intersection.
A new traffic light just south of this intersection between the new CVS and the entrance to the shopping plaza across the street will help, Rocchio said. Lt. Poccia agreed.
"Coming out of Walgreens is where we get some of our most severe accidents in town," Poccia said. "I don't pull out there. I drive around and go through the intersection, even if I'm going south."
The new traffic light, which is being constucted now, should both reduce the number of accidents there and alleviate some of the congestion at the intersection, said Rocchio.
Another improvement, Rocchio said, is that the three consecutive traffic signals on Division between South County Trail and the 95 North on-ramp will soon be synchronized so drivers will have a better chance of getting three straight green lights.
"It will try to establish what's called a green wave," Rocchio said. "In theory, there will be more of a chance to get three straight green lights."
A round-about is also supposed to be constructed on Division Street between NEIT and Amtrol to the north, but the town is still negotiating with several property owners on the north side of Division Street, including Amtrol, because additional land is needed to construct the traffic circle.
"They haven't given us the land yet," said Sequino, the town manager. "But there is no reason why they shouldn't. It will benefit them, as well."
Phil Parsons, the chief counsel for NEIT, said students and faculty won't have a large impact on the traffic situation even without the improvements because at most times of the day students will be on an opposite schedule as local commuters.
"Our busiest time of day will be in the morning," he said, noting that about 450 students will be coming to class at that time of day. "When people are leaving for work, our students will be on their way here."
However, NEIT's second busiest time of day will be for its night session, which starts at around 6 p.m. — not long after Lt. Poccia said was the busiest time of day for the already overwhelmed intersection. For that session, NEIT anticipates some 300 students coming to school, and this time they will be going the same way as the commuter traffic.
How do you think New England Tech will affect traffic in the area?
Tell us in the comments.
Renu Englehart
9:02 am on Wednesday, December 22, 2010
I agree with every point in this article and would add there appears to be no enforcement of the traffic lights during the evening rush. As someone who lives right up the street, I avoid that intersection any time after 4:00 pm. One of the biggest obstacles is cars rushing the lights, particularly the lights to go left coming south on Rt 2 from Warwick. The 2 lanes turning left often block any traffic that hope to go straight (north on Rt 2). I think one police car sitting there at rush hour could prevent some of that rushing the light. Another big obstacle as stated is the lack of synchronization on the lights. One light will turn green only to have the following light turn red. This is esp. bad going east on Division to the 95 N on ramp and the Rt 4 ramp. These lights never appear to be on the same schedule.
I do find it hard to believe that the additional traffic from students and teachers will not affect the intersection. These intersections were already failing and most of the improvements will not bring them up to a service level A or even a B if we are lucky.
I agree the extra lanes will be very helpful and I commend NEIT for making the improvements. I am highly critical of RIDOT who has made many empty promises. I would love to see more traffic enforcement in this whole Rt 2/Division area. Traffic travels at a high rate of speed and when you get college students in that mix, I think it could be a lot worse.
Elaine Vespia
10:57 am on Wednesday, December 22, 2010
I agree with Renu. I see the cars blocking the intersection on a daily basis. A couple of days here and there with a police car posted there may alleviate the problem for a short time.
The lights need to be synchronized with the lights on Division for the entrance to Dave's Marketplace and also the entrance to Rt 4.
I know that after January I will be avoiding that intersection and take an alternate route home. It may add a few miles to my communte but I think that there will be less stress.
James E. Smith
1:58 pm on Wednesday, December 22, 2010
In Manhattan, there are certain intersections covered diagonally in white paint and the City has called this area "The Box". Posted clearly at the intersection are signs warning motorists not to "Block The Box" or face a $500.oo fine. Division and Rt 2, Division at the Showcase and Division and Rt 4 appear to be perfect opportunites for this type of enforcement.
Mutato
12:39 pm on Tuesday, January 4, 2011
In regards to "blocking the box" which thankfully has helped NYC drivers, we need to educate RI drivers to do the same by installing signage right next to the lights. Also, some cameras that photograph the violators? Maybe then, we'll see some behaving drivers.