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Traffic Impact Study Updated - February 2024
Discover the startling findings from our analysis of massDOT Crash Data, aligned with the developer's February 2024 Traffic Impact Study, but diverging in findings. Within a 0.25-mile radius of the proposed project site at 17 Rice Road in Millbury, Massachusetts, we uncovered 12 recorded accidents, including a fatal incident on South Main Street attributed to speed. Furthermore, recurring collisions highlight critical safety concerns, urging immediate intersection reconfiguration. Explore the details to understand the urgency of implementing traffic control measures for safer roadways.
MassDOT Annual Average Daily Traffic
While the Massachusetts Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities (EOHLC) might not factor in traffic volume increases, they have emphasized that the Millbury Board of Appeals must prioritize public safety when evaluating any Chapter 40B project during public hearings. Those who have closely followed both the previous denied Rice Pond Village project and the current proposed Chapter 40B Rice Pond Village project have highlighted significant public safety concerns to town officials. These include, but are not limited to, issues with Rice Road—below the minimum pavement width for a minor road at 20-22 feet—as well as sightline challenges, the Providence & Worcester Railroad crossing, and the intersections at both ends of Rice Road intersecting with Providence Street (Route 122A) and South Main Street.
MassDOT Crash Data
We gathered 1,054,919 MassDOT Crash Data records from January 1, 2018, to November 27, 2023, covering the entire state. Our focus was specifically on incidents near the proposed Chapter 40B Rice Pond Village project. Using GPS coordinates, we plotted these accidents onto a Google Map for visualization (view below). Our analysis revealed significantly more information than what the traffic consultant provided. It's crucial for the traffic consultant to address and clarify these discrepancies and why only one minor accident is included in the updated traffic impact study, when clearly residents and the Millbury Planning Board members identified more accidents during the previous public hearings.
Inadequacies Of Rice Road
Rice Road’s public safety problems were taken off the table during the negotiations between the Millbury Board of Selectmen (Mary Krumsiek and David Delaney), the Town Manager (Sean Hendricks), and the developer (Steven F. Venincasa, and James Venincasa), and squarely placed the future burden on taxpayers, granting a significant financial benefit to the developers.