Williams College to Undertake Six-Month Transportation Study
We are conducting a comprehensive evaluation of transportation on campus to allow us to understand and proactively address the impacts of evolving academic needs, student life, planned facility and infrastructure renewal and new development on roads, buildings, parking lots and open spaces. The resulting plan will offer a forward-looking strategy for transportation as a whole on the campus and a framework for mobility that is integrated with our sustainability and universal access goals including parking, pedestrian and bicycle networks, accessibility. The plan will also inform policies and commuter support programs appropriate to ensuring ongoing commuter choice.
Vanasse Hangen Brustlin (VHB), who will conduct the comprehensive six-month study, is a national engineering and transportation planning firm with extensive experience with transportation planning in higher education and municipal settings.
One aspect of the study involves traffic safety and focuses on the movement of vehicles at specific intersections where both Campus Safety Services and the town have noted safety concerns. The study will evaluate the movement of vehicles at those locations and recommend improvements that can be implemented through projects and/or ongoing operations. Over the coming months, the study will identify opportunities for enhancing pedestrian and bike circulation on the campus, as well as accessibility in coordination with other ongoing planning studies and infrastructure improvements.
Temporary video cameras will be mounted on poles on Sunday, February 16 to record vehicular traffic on Tuesday, February 18 at the following intersections:
- Water Street at Main Street;
- Spring Street at Main Street;
- Lynde Lane at Stetson Road;
- Park Street and Hoxsey Street at Main Street;
- Park Street at Whitman Street/Mission Park;
- North Street/South Street at Main Street; and
- North Street at Whitman Street.
The cameras will record the number of vehicles passing through each intersection and their travel direction (through, left, right). Four hours of data will be collected and analyzed for peak traffic between 7-9 a.m. and 4-6 p.m. The cameras will stop recording after 6 pm on the 18th, and may remain in place for an additional day, if delayed by weather conditions.
Pedestrians will not be identifiable in the video, which is reviewed by software. A human will review the footage only if there is a particular concern with the traffic volume reported, to confirm the count. Volumes are recorded in 15-minute increments.
Videos are processed independently for each intersection, so there is no possibility to link trips or trip patterns. Access to the data and video will be treated as confidential information by the vendor and VHB, in accordance with the college’s contract provisions.
The vehicle volumes will allow VHB to evaluate the existing traffic and safety conditions at these intersections, and to understand the potential impacts of future changes to parking, roadways, and/or campus land uses. Findings from the study will inform both near-and long-term planning and improvements.
The traffic safety study is just one piece of a six-month comprehensive transportation study overseen by the college’s Planning Design and Construction department. Throughout the process, VHB will work in close collaboration with Campus Safety Services and in consultation with the Zilkha Center for the Environment, Office of Accessible Education, and other campus partners as needed.
For more information, contact Mina Amundsen, Associate Vice President for Campus Planning and Operations.
