Safe Routes to School

Old County Road Intersection with Main Street Realignment

The intersection of Old County Road with Route 100/Main Street is a skewed "Y" configuration angled toward the south (away from the Waitsfield Elementary School) rather than a "T" intersection.  This reduces motorist visibility and enables traffic to roll through the intersection without coming to a complete stop – both significant hazards for pedestrian safety.

Specifically, the southerly boundary with Route 100/Main Street does not encourage vehicles on Old County Road to come to complete stop when making right hand (southerly) turns; it's easy to roll through and many vehicles do. It also impairs northward visibility by creating an awkward angle looking north for on-coming traffic.  Southbound vehicles turning on to Main Street from Old County Road are not positioned perpendicularly with Main Street, making an awkward turning movement to the left to see if traffic clear. Motorists would be looking for oncoming vehicles and not necessarily pedestrians.  Southbound vehicles turning right onto Old County Road from Route 100/Main Street, where the proposed crosswalk would be, have a sharper angle to negotiate, which may cause motorists to not be fully aware of pedestrians or bicyclists.

According to the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials: A Policy on Geometric Design of Highways and Streets, 5th Edition: "Regardless of the type of intersection, for safety and economy, intersecting roads should generally meet at or nearly at right angles. Roads intersecting at acute angles…tend to limit visibility, particularly for drivers of trucks."

This intersection is the primary access for trucks accessing and exiting Waitsfield Telecom, a local utility with a regular flow of service vehicles.  Reconfiguring this intersection to a "T" would improve the management of turning movements through and sight distances from this intersection.  It would also reduce the physical distance pedestrians and bicyclists need to traverse from north to south toward the Village or the Flemer recreation field.

Intersection Improvements Old County Road, Conceptual Plans, Stantec, June 2011