The Wellesley Traffic Committee makes safety recommendations for traffic pain points in town using data and established standards for traffic engineering decisions.
The Committee over the past year has conducted a review of the Grove St. and Benvenue St. intersection. That area drew increased attention due to a cluster of four crashes in January 2024.
Over the past ten years the annual crash rate at that intersection has been between zero and four, with more than half of those years having two or less.
The Committee’s recommendations, as expressed in an online letter to residents—”The near-term plan for the Town is to install two new crosswalk delineators on Grove St, one on either side of Benvenue. These delineators will be mounted into the pavement, so they cannot be easily moved. They will be placed at a distance from the intersection which should eliminate them being struck by larger landscape vehicles with trailers. Designs to account for those turn radius are being worked on now. Our assessment is that the delineators will increase awareness of the intersection, increase awareness of the crosswalks and aid with speed compliance and safety. We will continue to work with the abutters to keep vegetation trimmed back in a manner that allows for safe sightlines. The Police Department will continue to conduct regular traffic enforcement and observation of the intersection. We do not believe that any other modifications to the intersection are supported by the data and traffic engineering standards at this time.”
2024 Members of the Traffic Committee
Chair Lieutenant Scott Showstead
Executive Director, Meghan Jop
Public Works Director, Dave Cohen
Assistant Executive Director, Corey Testa
Town Engineer, Dave Hickey
