GREENFIELD — With cursory support from the Public Safety Commission and the Planning Board, Fire Chief Robert Strahan is hoping to switch the one-way directions of traffic flow on Davis and School streets.
Strahan explained to the Planning Board on Thursday that the goal is to make Davis Street a northbound-only road from Main Street until its intersection with Ames Street, and make School Street southbound-only from Main Street to Ames Street. He said this change would make it easier for the Fire Department to access the area.
“We were having a staff meeting,” Strahan said, “and we always talk about challenges within the Fire Department, and one of the captains said, ‘You know, we’re really having a challenge getting down Davis Street or getting to the area of the neighborhood past the first block of Davis Street.’
“We’ve had a couple of fires there and we’ve got two big projects in the area,” he continued, referencing JaDuke and the former Wilson’s Department Store redevelopment, “so access to a large building like that, the quicker and simpler access to those buildings is pretty important to the Fire Department.”
He explained that to reach that area, firefighters have to make the turn onto School Street, which briefly requires the department to go against the flow of oncoming traffic on Main Street due to the location of the island in the roadway. The detours could add 30 seconds to a minute to the department’s response time, he said.
“In my world, that’s a big deal. Especially with two of the big, paramount buildings in town,” Strahan said. “So when it was brought to me by my officers, I told them I’ll bring it forward to the town.”
Strahan joked that he thought it would be easier to change the direction of the Green River than to change the direction of the streets, but so far, people have been in support of improving access for public safety.
He said the Mayor’s Office wants the proposal to be reviewed by different departments and boards, and has already received cursory support from the Police and Public Works departments.
He added that Main Street is in the process of being redesigned, and if the city can make the change before that project gets kicked off, the directional changes can be implemented into the final design. Slated to begin in 2029, the Main Street redesign project will include repaving and reconfiguring a portion of Main Street from Colrain Street to High Street.
Planning Director Ella Wise said the recently completed city bike plan had identified Davis Street as a possible north-south corridor that would allow bicyclists to reach Main Street from Greenfield High School. She asked whether having cyclists heading in the opposite direction of traffic, if the road were to switch from southbound to northbound, would be detrimental.
“I don’t want to prevent the goals of public safety, obviously, but I do wonder if there could be a counter-flow bike lane to allow folks to bike from the high school, down Davis, to be able to do that legally all the way to Main Street?” Wise said.
Without experience as a traffic engineer, Strahan said he could not speak to the impact of having bicyclists and vehicles heading in opposite directions on the road.
During the July 22 Public Safety Commission meeting, members expressed concern over motorist safety during the transition period, with Chair Ed Jarvis, who also formerly served on the Fire Department, saying there would need to be flashing lights and adequate signs for motorists who are accustomed to Davis Street being southbound and School Street being northbound.
“I’m not going to come out and say I’m opposed to it, but I want us to think about the fact that we have probably 30,000 people in Greenfield during the day, and changing the direction of streets can be very dangerous because of getting everybody on board to understand, and proper signage,” member David Lanoie said. “We really have to consider the broader picture of the average motorist.”
Strahan noted the direction of the two streets had been switched during the pandemic and then back again. He agreed there would need to be proper signs during the transition.
The Public Safety Commission ultimately voted unanimously to support changing the travel direction on Davis and School streets. The Planning Board did not take a formal vote on Thursday, but members voiced support.
The proposal will still need to be reviewed by other departments and City Council before the directions of the streets could officially be switched. Strahan said he plans to reach out to the city’s Community & Economic Development Department and a few of the businesses in the area as well to see if they have any concerns.
