By Tom Dalton
SALEM — A busy downtown intersection that one resident called a "miserable mess" will have a full traffic signal and synchronized pedestrian crosswalks by next summer.
Mayor Kim Driscoll gave the green light for installation of traffic lights in the no-man's land of Hawthorne Boulevard, Congress Street and Derby Street following a public meeting last night at The House of the Seven Gables.
"I've got two traffic reports recommending it, and I've got police recommending it," she said after the meeting. "We're going for it."
Although several of the more than 30 residents who attended the meeting opposed a light, more spoke in favor, including several who gave first-person accounts that sounded like war stories from the front.
"I was hit in that intersection on my bike a year ago," Lisa Connolly said.
She said the accident, in which she was not seriously injured, happened during the Halloween season. The driver, she said, blamed her and actually struck her twice.
"As I ... got back on the bike, he hit me and knocked me down again," she said.
She asked that the intersection include highly visible signs reminding motorists of the state law that requires drivers to stop for pedestrians in a crosswalk.
Justin Melanson, who lives in that area, said he was "clipped" by a car a few weeks ago while walking through the intersection and only recently was able to stop using a cane he needed after the mishap.
"I hear the tires screech all night long," he said.
Shirley Walker, a Derby Street resident, said she came out of the South Harbor Garage a few weeks ago, right after an elderly man was struck crossing the street and thrown onto the hood of a car.
"It was just horrific," she said.
Lucy Corchado, a former city councilor, said she was sideswiped a few years ago driving through the same Route 1A crossing.
"Thank God there hasn't been a fatality there," she said.
A study by traffic consultants Beta Group Inc. of Norwood said there were 32 reported accidents at that site from 2005 to 2007, but only a few involving injuries and no fatalities. Most were fender benders, the study found.
"The small number of injuries and the large number of property-damage-only crashes indicate that the crashes are low-speed and may be caused by driver confusion at this highly congested intersection," the Beta study concluded.
At rush hours, it is possible for seven vehicles in seven different lanes to arrive at the intersection simultaneously, a Beta official said.
"You can just see the motorists are confused," said Ken Petraglia, a company vice president.
Several people spoke out for the children who cross there to go to the Salem Boys & Girls Club or to Immaculate Conception and other churches, and for the large elderly population that lives nearby at a Salem Housing Authority building on Charter Street.
"I think pedestrian traffic is the major concern," said the Rev. Timothy Murphy, pastor of Immaculate Conception.
Those opposing a light gave a number of reasons, including concerns it would not be synchronized with other downtown signals, causing long backups, and fears motorists would only drive faster, resulting in more serious injuries.
Jennifer Reardon, owner of the nearby In a Pig's Eye restaurant, said there is a joke going around that with all of the new downtown traffic improvements Salem is becoming a "city of lights."
She also called it "incredibly naive" to assume that pedestrians would wait for signals to cross. "If you think people are going to stand on the corner and wait, then you haven't (been) in Salem in October," she said.
But Petraglia said studies have shown that lights move traffic more smoothly and make it safer for drivers and pedestrians.
He also warned that "the situation is only going to get worse if nothing is done."
After hearing that the new intersection will have 12 sets of signal lights and a number of signs, one woman asked if there were any way to lessen the visual impact in this historic neighborhood.
Hearing that, another person in the audience said the aesthetics of the traffic light was not his biggest concern.
"The view is not going to pay for my medical bills," said Melanson, the injured pedestrian.
The city did a 2004 study that also called for a new light, but no action was taken. Since then, conditions have only gotten worse, one person said.
"I have watched the intersection change through the years," Pam Greaves said, "and it is now one miserable mess."
Construction is expected to start in January.
Hawthorne Blvd./Derby St. Intersection 2005-2007
Total accidents: 32
Property damage: 24
Personal injury: 7
Unknown: 1
Crash rate: 1.08/million vehicles
State crash rate average: 0.66/million vehicles
Source: 2009 traffic study, Beta Group Inc.
