Concerns Raised About Route 137 Shared Lane Proposal
by William F. Galvin

EAST HARWICH –Residents and business owners in the area got their first public viewing Thursday night of proposed improvements along the two-mile Route 137 corridor from the Brewster to Chatham town lines.

The meeting among project designers, state and town officials was identified as an informal setting in which to get comfortable with the project, Joseph Magni, P.E. , a principal with Vanasse Hangan Brustlin, Inc., the design engineers, told a group of about 30 people.

Magni said the road is considered an important regional road, serving as a connector for Brewster, Harwich and Chatham, and that is why the Massachusetts Department of Transportation has chosen to fund it.

In general, the goals are to improve operations at the Route 6/Route 137 interchange; reconfigure lanes and improve the off–ramp and vehicle delays. There will be a four-foot wide space to the right of each of the travel lanes to allow vehicles to work around stopped cars and also to be used for bicycle travel. There will be pedestrian and bicycle connections from one end to the other, Magni said.

The engineered plans were taped to a wall in the Donn B. Griffin hearing room at town hall and residents had ample opportunity to examine the particular changes in their neighborhoods or around their place of business. Many residents held individual discussions with members of the engineering firm.

Two issues were raised during a general discussion, one centered on the use of the four-foot shoulder lane by both vehicles and bicycles and the other related to lane closures during construction periods, especially in the commercial district.

“It seems dangerous to me,” Ted Nelson of the East Harwich Community Association said of having bicycles and vehicles negotiating the four-foot lane along the edge of the highway. He recommended that lane be marked by a double line.

“I’ve heard that a lot. This is a share-the-road concept available to both bikes and vehicles,” Magni responded. “Bicycles are vehicles too; it’s a share–the-road

concept.”

“I think it’s a very big mistake,” Nelson replied. “People are impatient and won’t wait for people to turn and will go on ahead in that lane.”

Magni said the four-foot lane is for bicycle accommodation and it is not a bike lane. He said the lane would have to be five feet to be classified a bike lane and have the graphics on the pavement indicating so.

Nelson said his association has been working hard to develop bike access and use throughout that area. Magni said he understands Cape Cod is a bike-friendly community. Pamela R. Haznar, P.E. with the Massachusetts Department of Transportation, which is funding the $4 million project, said the lane is only four feet and vehicles will squeeze lightly past moving slowly.

The issue of extending that lane to five feet and making it a committed bike lane was raised by Nelson, but highway department foreman Chris Nickerson said that would impact the ability to site drainage in a shorter shoulder. Division of Highways and Maintenance Director Lincoln Hooper also said this project was designed to do as much as they could without requiring private property easements.

“This was designed to balance property rights with safety,” Hooper said of the present design.

Town Planner David Spitz asked if there would be anything else placed in that four-foot lane. Magni said there would be two-foot-by-two-foot drains in that lane. Nelson requested the engineers take a serious look at keeping vehicles out of that lane. Nelson also said he would like to see more of a separation between the roadway and sidewalks, possibly by adding split rail fencing. But the engineers said they are following federal and state guidelines for the project.

Rick Morris, owner of Rose Cottage, wanted to know if lanes would be closed during construction periods. Magni said it would be rare and in off-peak times. He also said there would not be much work done in the commercial zone surrounding the four-corner intersection. The engineer said improvements were made at that intersection when Stop & Shop expanded and very little work, other than sidewalks would be installed there.

Morris also wanted to know about plans for loop roads around that intersection. Nelson said that was a long term plan being examined by his association and a coalition of planning grounds and is not part of this plan. Project engineer Stephen Farr of VHB, Inc., concurred.

Farr provided an overview of the work, starting with relocation of the island at the intersection of Route 137 and Queen Anne Road for better traffic flow. A pedestrian sidewalk would begin there.

Hooper, citing the massive puddle there after rains last week, said drainage improvements would be made to accommodate a 50-year storm. Farr also said sight distance improvements would be made at the intersection with Cemetery Road and drainage improvements would be made along that stretch. At Southwest Drive sidewalks on both sides will be installed and run through the commercial district.

There is a small adjustment planned at the Hinckley’s Home Center entrance and driveway cuts will be adjusted for consistency. Several leaching systems will also be installed going north.

They will be cutting into the hill on the west side of Route 137 near Pleasant Bay Road and a left lane turn will be established heading south and allow for better through flow.

The major changes will occur at the east interchange of Route 6 and Route 137 where the signalization will be installed to establish smoother traffic flow and provide a loop for traffic to head north. There will be no signalization on the westbound interchange there.

However, a turning lane will be established coming from Brewster to allow through flow while providing for better access to the west bound entrance to Route 6. Additional storm drainage will be installed near the Brewster town line, Farr said.

The project is expected to cost $4 million and the state will hold a 25 percent design public hearing in April and two more hearings at 50 and 75 percent design stages. The project is expected to be bid in July 2011 and construction would take place between October 2011 and May 2013. Construction would be halted from June 15 to Labor Day of 2012.

12/17/09