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Roadway and Pedestrian Safety Improvements on State Street to begin on June 1, 2022

|   City News

Mayor Domenic J. Sarno, Department of Public Works (DPW) Director Chris Cignoli and Police Superintendent Cheryl Clapprood announced today that variable message signs for the temporary measures for roadway and pedestrian safety improvements on State Street by the Springfield Central Library will be posted this week. It is anticipated that the temporary traffic patterns to enhance roadway and pedestrian safety on State Street will be installed on June 1, 2022.

The changes to the traffic patterns on State Street by the Springfield Central Library will include the narrowing of the roadway with traffic cones, barrels and barricades to review the impact on traffic while an engineering design for roadway and pedestrian crossing alterations are reviewed.  The engineering design will include a raised crosswalk and the installation of RRFB/HAWK system.  The engineering design will include roadway alterations for grading, merging, visibility, sight distances, and will be ADA compliant.  The total project cost is approximately $650,000.    

Mayor Sarno states, “I want to thank DPW Director Chris Cignoli and his team of engineers for doing a thorough job in reviewing this study to help mitigate traffic on State Street and increase pedestrian safety.  Simply put, this is not about money, it’s about public safety.  This new design plan will enhance the safety for our pedestrians, and help control and mitigate the flow of traffic on one of our city’s busiest public roads.  Working with Police Superintendent Cheryl Clapprood and her brave and dedicated men and women in blue, we will continue with our active traffic enforcement not just on State Street but across our City.  Now we need our courts to back these citations and not dismiss them.”

DPW Director Cignoli stated, “The pedestrian and roadway improvement analysis, which was started back in June 2021, carefully reviewed the data and previous traffic and pedestrian studies for the corridor.  These included a recent roadway safety audit, traffic study for the casino development and field observations counting pedestrian crossings.  Together, they all played a part in determining the safest location on where a crossing could be installed while adhering to all state and local statutes for public roads and intersections.  The installation of these temporary traffic pattern measures that will narrow the roadway will help us to determine the proper roadway layout to alter the traffic flow to accommodate the new installation of the raised pedestrian crossing with the RRFB/HAWK system.  The DPW will review and monitor the impact on traffic before any construction is slated to begin.”      

The Springfield Police Department will continue with their active traffic enforcement initiatives along State Street and across the city.  Recent traffic enforcement efforts by the Springfield Police Department during the month of April 2022 resulted in 1,586 citations or warnings issued for traffic offenses.     

Police Commissioner Clapprood said, “The brave and dedicated women and men of the Springfield Police Department will continue with their enhanced traffic enforcement not only at State Street but across the City.  The goal here is to save lives and get drivers to slow down and not drive distracted.  We all want drivers and pedestrians to get home safely.  The Springfield Police Department’s Traffic Unit, Metro Unit and Squad Officers will continue to work closely with the DPW during this engineering process and in support of their efforts to help slow traffic on State Street and increase pedestrian safety.”   

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Page last updated:  Tuesday, March 1, 2022 01:32 pm