Northborough panel weighs 4-way stop at Allen and Hudson; consultant study quoted at $10,000

The Town of Northborough Traffic Safety Committee discussed a resident request for a traffic safety audit and possible installation of a 4-way stop at the Allen and Hudson intersection near the Aqueduct Bridge, and directed staff to gather more data and quotes rather than acting immediately.

Tom, a town staff member, said he pulled crash-history data from Jan. 1, 2021, to the present and found 14 crashes at that location over five years. He said, "There was 6 accidents in 2022," and that 2022 looked like an outlier compared with other years. Josh summarized MUTCD guidance and noted that for a four-leg intersection the MUTCD looks for five or more reported crashes in a 12-month period to consider a four-way stop; Tom and Josh said the 2022 total meets that threshold but other years do not.

DPW contacted consultant Weston & Sampson for a formal traffic study; according to Tom, "Weston and Sampson said they could they could perform the traffic study within the next 45 days ... The total value for, the fee was $10,000." Committee members questioned whether a study at that price should be paid from the committee's town allocation and suggested soliciting quotes from other on-call engineering firms (Woodland Curran, TY Lin & Bond were mentioned, and the planning director is awarding a peer review contract to Tetra Tech). Bill suggested checking a recently procured firm already on contract to see if it could do the work more cheaply.

Members raised operational concerns that could limit the feasibility of a 4-way stop even if crash counts warranted one. Josh and others cited sight-distance requirements to see a stop sign (MUTCD sight-distance thresholds: roughly 270 feet in a 30 mph zone) and said field measurements showed about 190 feet from a theoretical stop location to the aqueduct, which is inadequate. Scott warned that a 4-way stop on Hudson ' a busier, minor-arterial segment ' could cause long queues under the bridge and potentially gridlock if large vehicles stopped there.

The committee agreed on these next steps: staff will retrieve full crash reports, collect baseline traffic counts and speeds using temporary radar/sign boards, perform measured site-distance checks in the field, and solicit comparative quotes from on-call consultants before deciding on a funded study or engineering remedy. Tom said he would make the crash-history data available to committee members and begin coordination on the measurements and quotes.

The committee did not authorize a consultant contract at the meeting; members asked staff to return with collected data and cost comparisons for further consideration.