Acton residents question Kelly's Corner traffic islands; town manager defends design

Town Manager John Manjurati defended the design and purpose of the Kelly's Corner infrastructure project after residents raised safety and maintenance concerns.

Manjurati, the Town Manager, said the project reflects years of planning and community input and that street islands are a deliberate traffic-calming element. "The street islands were a key component of this entire project," he said, adding the islands aim "to slow people down." He noted sidewalk and driveway work is nearly complete and that light-pole delivery delays have postponed some final elements.

Residents told the forum the islands had already been struck twice before official opening and urged the town to consider temporary speed bumps or other measures. Resident (S3) said, "They were struck even before their official opening ... Who's gonna continually maintain them every time they're struck?" The resident also warned the islands can impede bicycle lanes and emergency vehicles.

Manjurati responded that much of the roadway is a state road and that the state will assume maintenance after construction is handed over; during construction the state retains maintenance responsibility. He added that snowplow crews mark obstacles and that islands will include signage and low plantings. "There'll be signage, and there'll be plants in the islands," he said, noting trees will be placed to avoid sight-line issues and islands will use low shrubs and grass rather than tall plantings.

On lane markings, Manjurati described a zipper-lane design to move two lanes through the intersection and merge before the gas station to improve throughput. He said the current markings are temporary and will be replaced with final pavement markings after the final paving. "But when it's finally done, there'll be extensive markings throughout the whole thing," he said.

Manjurati acknowledged trade-offs—including the elimination of some left-turn movements—to improve overall safety and traffic flow. "This design eliminates the turning movement," he said, adding the changes may feel inconvenient to some drivers but aim to reduce accidents and better protect drivers and pedestrians.

What happens next

The town manager said the construction timeline is likely to extend into the summer, with tree and shrub plantings planned in the coming month and final lane markings after paving. He said the town will monitor intersections after changes and make adjustments if the design does not perform as intended.

Provenance: Topic first introduced in the transcript at SEG 105 and last discussed at SEG 677.