North Street For All Project - Frequently Asked Questions

There have been many questions raised since the installation of the new design on North Street. These changes were prompted by concerns related to speeding and unsafe roadway conditions on North Street, for drivers, pedestrians, and bicyclists.

The FAQ here is intended to help provide fact-based responses to common questions related to this project. As always, if you have specific questions or concerns, you can reach out to the Traffic and Parking Department at 978-619-5697 or submit a specific service/work-order request using SeeClickFix at www.salemma.gov/seeclickfix or via the SeeClickFix app.

Thank you for your ongoing patience as Salem continues to work to make our roadways safe, accessible, and functional for all.

Why were changes made to North Street?

Over the last five years there have been over 200 crashes on North Street between Franklin Street and the Peabody line. 24% of those resulted in injuries. A significant number of drivers drove up to 10mph over the legal speed limit, with some drivers reaching as high as 79mph. This high level of speeding and crashes were attributable to the streets overly wide travel lanes: North Street had lanes 15’ wide and a speed limit of 25mph; as a comparison, Route 128 has a speed limit of 55mph but only 12’ wide lanes. The previously existing condition of North Street, while familiar to many drivers, was unsafe for them, for pedestrians attempting to cross the street, and for bicyclists who either avoided the road or used it at great risk to their safety.

How did these changes come about?

From 2020 through 2022, the City worked through staff, the Traffic and Parking Commission, and the Bicycling Advisory Committee to develop a cohesive plan to improve the safety of North Street. Outside traffic engineering experts were retained to help design changes reflective of best practices to reduce vehicle speeds and increase safety and accessibility for all users. This process came out of many years of complaints and requests for corrective action to the street by surrounding neighbors, the Ward Councillor, and the public in general.

What kind of study or analysis happened before these changes were developed?

The final design elements reflect the goals identified in the City’s Complete Streets Policy, Bike Master Plan and the findings of a Walk Audit conducted in 2019. The effort to develop the design plans began when the city implemented piloted temporary bicycle lanes on weekends in the summer of 2019. During that time staff collected data related to parking impacts as well as surveying users of the temporary lanes. In the fall of 2019, a walk audit was conducted which evaluated the walkability of the corridor considering safety and comfort levels for pedestrians. A parking analysis of North Street was then conducted in February 2020 identifying utilization on both weekdays and weekends. On average, during the week 41% of the spaces along the corridor were utilized throughout the day and 59% were empty. On weekends, 40-45% were occupied and 55-60% were unoccupied.

Were there any chance for public input into this design?

The City held a public workshop in July 2020 to kick off the design process. This involved creating a website where the public could learn more about the project and provide feedback. Since that initial workshop, there have been an additional seven public meetings with the Traffic & Parking Commission or jointly with the Bicycle Advisory Committee, as well as a survey of several businesses along the corridor. Opportunities to provide input were also provided during two public comment periods through the project website. Those opportunities were advertised throughout the community and on the City’s website and social media.

What’s changed on North Street?

The travel lanes were reduced from 15 feet to 11 feet, to help reduce speeding to lessen the probability of a crash or the severity of a crash if one takes place. In addition, parking spaces were delineated and a 5 foot “parking separated” bicycling lane was added. Parking separated bicycle lanes are a MassDOT-authorized and completely legal configuration, and increasingly common. They help delineate bicyclists from traveling vehicles, adding additional safety enhancements to the roadway. They also prevent parked drivers from inadvertently striking a passing bicyclist when they open their car door. A gradual jog (called chicanes) in the travel lanes was incorporated in the striping, to further diminish speeding that is induced by long, straight travel lanes.

Lastly, additional buffer areas to mark “no parking” or to provide better visibility and safety around crosswalks, intersections, and driveways have been striped onto the roadway and made clearer using flexible posts. These no parking areas are compliant with City ordinances and with Massachusetts General Law. Parking in these locations can obstruct driver visibility, increasing the likelihood of crashes.

Why add bicycle lanes to North Street? I never see bicycles on North Street.

The very reason why we don’t commonly see bicyclists on North Street is a good argument for improving the bicycling infrastructure on the roadway. Creating the conditions for safe bicycling – for adults and for children – will increase the number of bicyclists riding on North Street. This, in turn, can help reduce the number of car trips overall in the community, as residents opt to bike to their destination rather than drive, because it is now safer. Indeed, feedback generated from the 2019 temporary bicycle lane pilot referenced above indicated that there was greater interest in bicycling along this corridor than the previous roadway conditions made possible.

How much has on-street parking been impacted by these changes?

Prior to this project, there were approximately 114 legal on-street parking spaces on North Street, which included 4 handicap parking spaces. Following the project’s completion there are now 73 legal on-street parking spaces, which includes 3 handicap parking spaces. One space was relocated to Liberty Hill Ave based on a resident request). Based on the February 2020 parking analysis, on average about 46-51 cars parked on the street, meaning the 73 spaces within the new configuration still provides sufficient parking to exceed the average parking need on the corridor.

Can the intersections and flexible posts be changed so I can make a passing right turn again?

Drivers often used the overly wide travel lanes to pass stopped traffic on the right in order to take a right turn, for example turning right onto Mason Street from North Street or turning right onto North Street at Orne Street. While convenient, this type of passing and turn action is not legal and is very dangerous. The new configuration may add a few more seconds wait in stopped traffic before you can make that right turn, but it is both more reflective of traffic laws and safer.

Will this new configuration impact snow removal on North Street?

It is not expected to. The City possesses snow removal equipment designed intentionally for clearing bicycle lanes, paths, and trails, and it will be utilized on North Street. Snow removal along the roadway will still be possible via standard plows, so long as drivers obey temporary snow emergency no parking requirements. The City does anticipate some flexible posts will be damaged by plow operations, even if plow drivers use great care; there is an inventory of replacement posts that can be redeployed here, and on other streets where they are installed, should it be necessary.

How do these changes effect trash pick-up?

Businesses and residents along North Street have received notifications outlining how to place their trash and recycling toters out in a manner that does not obstruct bicycle and vehicle lanes, and allows for the WM truck to be able to access them. In the past, when a WM truck pulled partially to the side of the travel lane to collect a toter, vehicles behind the truck would often pass it on the left and continue onward. This action is less possible now that the travel lane has been reduced by four feet, but it is not impossible. Vehicles doing so, however, are likely to need to partially cross the median to do so, which is neither safe nor legal. Therefore, on trash and recycling collection days along North Street there will be, during the brief period of time when the WM truck is collecting on the street, some added delays.

Can emergency vehicles get by?

Yes, the roadway was designed to permit emergency vehicles to pass. In most places, the loss of the four feet in the travel lane should not negatively impact the ability of a vehicle to move sufficiently to the side of the lane to permit an emergency vehicle to pass down the left of the travel lane or over the median. In all places there are sufficient space between flexible posts for most standard-size vehicles to be able to pull in if there is a true need to do so. If a flexible post is struck for any reason, they are designed to cause minimal damage to a vehicle and to be easily replaceable.

It should be noted that the additional no parking buffers at intersections will, in fact, facilitate greater access for turning emergency vehicles onto and off North Street, as they will no longer need to contend with a parked vehicle blocking a turning radius.

Who paid for this project?

This project has been partially funded through a MassDOT Shared Streets grant, which also included funding to purchase the new equipment to assist with the plowing and sweeping of the bicycle lanes.  As part of the grant, the City is required to monitor the effects of the new design and report back the findings. The Traffic and Parking Department will be collecting additional speed and volume data as well as crash history over the next several months. Utilization of the bicycle lane is also being monitored during this period. Lastly, the department will shortly re-open the comment period on the project’s webpage and will identify other opportunities to continue to collect public input.

Is this project over?

While the monitoring and data collection described above is underway there is more work that will occur, including the installation of a new crosswalk at the intersection of Cressey Avenue and Garden Terrace, sidewalk improvements at a few bus stops, and the installation of new signage along the corridor to reflect some of the parking changes. The City’s contractor will also be returning in the spring to finish striping of green demarcations in the bicycle lanes. In addition, the Traffic and Parking Department will be working with the City Electrician to move forward with upgrading the corridor’s traffic signals with video cameras, to better monitor traffic and adjust signal timing accordingly, and smart signal equipment to allow the signals to communicate between each other to better regular and platoon traffic flow along North Street.

The changes made to North Street are significant and there will be an adjustment period. As noted above, the goal is to reduce the number and severity of crashes while introducing opportunities for other users on this major corridor. The design was developed after two years of data collection and reviewing feedback from the public. There is still more to be done and monitoring to occur, but the end goal is to provide a safe, accessible, and functional North Street for all.