Haydenville Rd in Whately: is redesign needed for cyclists?

[James Lowenthal]

MassDOT is planning a $10M reconstruction of 1.5 miles of Haydenville Rd in Whately from the W’burg town line to just past the intersections with Webber and Strippe Roads.  Whately Select Board members and MassDOT are saying the project is needed to make the street more bike-friendly.

Do you think that’s true?  Have you had any problems navigating that stretch of road (besides the bad road condition and the occasional obnoxious driver)?  Have you had any problems at the intersections of Webber and Strippe Rds with Haydenville?  Has MassDOT or Town of Whately reached out to NCC or any other cycling group for input?

This is certainly a corridor with a high volume of bike traffic; most of us ride there regularly.  It’s a picturesque and historic rural road running through gorgeous forest and stream-side settings.  Every spring I look for trillium blooming along the S-curves, and ferns along the river bank.

But it’s not a high volume of car traffic: The MassDOT website shows that Haydenville Rd carries less than 1700 vehicles per day (less than 1500 in 2020) vs. 10,000 to 15,000 on Route 5 in Whately.

NACTO suggests bike lanes for streets with >3,000 vehicles per day.  Haydenville has about half that amount of traffic.

I think just re-paving the road with no design changes, widening, or straightening would be a better approach that would preserve the lovely rural character of the road.

Here’s the project description from MassDOT:

https://www.mass.gov/event/whately-rehabilitation-of-haydenville-road-2022-01-12t180000-0500-2022-01-12t190000-0500

Unfortunately I couldn’t find detailed plans showing how much and where they plan to do any widening and/or straightening.  My concern is that they’ll unnecessarily widen the lovely S-curves through the woods that are currently such a special spot.

Here’s a recent Gazette article:

https://www.gazettenet.com/MassDOT-soliciting-feedback-on-design-update-for-Haydenville-Road-in-Whately-44574483

Comments are being accepted through Jan 22.  Send comments to:

Carrie E. Lavallee, P.E., Acting Chief Engineer, via e-mail to MassDOTProje...@dot.state.ma.us or via US Mail to Suite 6340, 10 Park Plaza, Boston, MA 02116, Attention: Project Management, Project File No. 605983

James Lowenthal

Northampton

[Joe Jewett]

I agree that repaving is all that is needed. It might not even be needed. Repaving involves a lot of use of fossil fuels

--
You are receiving this e-mail because you joined the NCC Discussion Group on our Website. By default, every new post is sent to you. This setting can be changed in your group preferences. **REPLIES ARE SENT TO THE ENTIRE GROUP**
---
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "NCC Discussion Group" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to ncc-discussion-g...@nohobikeclub.org.
To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/a/nohobikeclub.org/d/msgid/ncc-discussion-group/27DF57DC-85F5-4CCF-8D42-072AE2F9EA72%40gmail.com.

[John Poikonen]

Thanks for the heads up on this....

I ride this stretch regularly. Some Comments (that I will construct a reasoned response to MassDOT):

• Agree with James's observations, to a point...
• Morning traffic is light, but the speed of trucks and cars is horrible. Speeding is a regular thing. So more of a police thing than structural.
• Turning left onto Webber one needs to be cautious, but not a huge deal.
• The downhill going toward Whately past Webber is a 35+ mph stretch. At that speed, at speed limit, and narrow road I take the lane. Cars on my tail on a number of times has been a little harrowing. Widening and a bike lane would be fantastic.

John Poikonen | 617.329.1774 | jcp.p...@gmail.com

On Mon, Jan 17, 2022 at 10:07 AM James Lowenthal <james...@gmail.com> wrote:

[Richard Aslin]

James, can you clarify what section of the road they are focusing on?  According to my map, the Williamsburg townline is on Mountain Rd going North just at the reservoir.  The road there is fine (except for some bumpy sections).  As Mountain Rd climbs to the peak at the Webber Rd. cut-off (to the left) it is just fine.  The only sketchy part is the steep downhill to Westbrook.  And that just needs to be repaved.  Like others, I would hate to make that section of a scenic bike route into a major thoroughfare for vehicles.

Dick Aslin

On Mon, Jan 17, 2022 at 10:07 AM James Lowenthal <james...@gmail.com> wrote:

[Tim Cary]

There has been more posts over on the CTRV list, but here is the note I posted there:

This section sees 100's of cyclists each year- we all know that.  Some of us go up Webber to head into Conway, and some of us keep going and head into the center of Whately. There is absolutely nothing wrong with the road on this section.  I don't understand why money needs to be wasted here when there are so many other stretches of roads that are in dire need of repair.  Pedestrian access was mentioned above. I have never seen a pedestrian on this stretch of road in the 15+ years I have ridden (100's of times?). Take a look at the map I linked and zoom in - how many houses do you see?

This is a very rural area with no lane markings.  I share many of the same concerns above.  Adding "lanes" does not help here with anything.  And- are they going to take those to the end of the road at Chestnut Plain?  Probably not- so what is the point?  It only makes auto traffic go faster and care less about other vehicles (bikes!) on the road.

Coming from both a cycling background, and my father working at local hilltown DPW's- the only thing I can think of as to why Whately is pursuing this, is funding drainage work - particularly on the short descent to the bridge just before Conway Rd.

I will drop a note to the project manager as well as Whately selectboard- and I hope everyone who is concerned here does as well.  We only have a few more days.  My main angle is the lack of need for it, and funds are better allocated elsewhere at this time.

Tim Cary

Past President 2015-2019, Past Treasurer 2019-2020

Northampton Cycling Club (NCC)

P.O. Box 886

Northampton, MA 01061

Club Phone: (413) 238-6306

www.nohobikeclub.org

To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/a/nohobikeclub.org/d/msgid/ncc-discussion-group/CAEQadxS9L9GUrF7KsuCttFedXbG%3DKBZgiNYkY%2BUaa6GkpBD06g%40mail.gmail.com.

[Jeremy Coleman]

All good points. Notwithstanding inattention (good luck with that), high auto speeds present the biggest threat to cyclists. Widening and straightening roadways creates a more dangerous situation in a misguided attempt to create a safer one. Thanks for calling attention to this.

Jeremy Coleman

To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/a/nohobikeclub.org/d/msgid/ncc-discussion-group/CACxRDDhvSTYxjy45ZVOoYNsh-GJDYV_5Th-59GwEZvGF-aewzA%40mail.gmail.com.

[Eric Winkler]

I agree that there is very little obvious justification for changing that section of the road. I ride that route from Hadenville to Whately several times per week. Check out local legend data. I have no recollection of dangerous drivers or riding conditions that warrant a major change to the road.  The curves work fine to slow traffic and I, like others, take the lane on the decent from Webber Rd to the bridge.  Never got harassed for doing that.     I think the road surface is fine at this time as well.   So I support all the comments here.  

All this said there was a fatality last month 100 yards west of the town line near where this is proposed.  I suspect the accident was likely due to speed and inclement weather road conditions.  I don't know this for certain, but someone died.  It could be some of this is in response to this. 

The biggest downside for me is not the end result.  Rather, it is going to take months to complete and impede travel on what is a very very popular route.  

Best Regards,

Eric Winkler Ph.D., Principal

Winkler Energy Consulting LLC

ewin...@ericwinkler.com

413-530-9713

On Jan 17, 2022, at 7:16 PM, Tim Cary <tc...@nohobikeclub.org> wrote:



To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/a/nohobikeclub.org/d/msgid/ncc-discussion-group/CACxRDDhvSTYxjy45ZVOoYNsh-GJDYV_5Th-59GwEZvGF-aewzA%40mail.gmail.com.