Harwich Roadways Least Safe On Lower Cape

 HARWICH – Harwich’s roadways are the least safe among four Lower Cape towns, according to the Cape Cod Commission.

Commission staff members were in Harwich last Thursday for one of several hearings being held on the agency’s Vision Zero Action Plan, which seeks to make roadways throughout the Cape much safer by 2050. The Harwich meeting focused on the Lower Cape communities of Harwich, Chatham, Orleans and Brewster, identifying crash statistics and intersections that need to be addressed to meet the goal of the action plan.

On an average day there are 13 crashes reported on the Cape. One pedestrian or bicyclist is struck every three days. From 2018 to 2023 there were 29,587 crashes reported on Cape Cod resulting in 81 fatalities and 644 serious injuries.

The Vision Zero Action Plan seeks to reduce fatalities and serious injuries by 50 percent by 2035 and 100 percent by 2050. The commission is working with Kimley Horn, a transportation and traffic engineering firm, through the Safe Streets and Roads for All grant program to develop the plan.

An assessment of accident data was undertaken in all Cape towns and identified by accident numbers and severity of dangerous conditions on roadways in each town. Public input has been collected through outreach sessions held last summer.

“Most accidents are preventable,” said Colleen Medeiros,   transportation program manager at the commission.

Of Harwich, Chatham, Orleans and Brewster, statistics indicate Harwich roadways are the least safe to travel of the four towns based on accident numbers, fatalities and serious injuries. The statistics provided were for a six-year period from 2018 to 2023. In Harwich during that time, there were 1,311 accidents, nine fatalities and 29 serious injuries.     

In Brewster there were 682 accidents, one fatality and 11 serious injuries. Orleans had 518 accidents, no fatalities and only eight serious injuries, and Chatham had 350 accidents, no fatalities and nine serious injuries.

The plan identifies the stretches of roadways where the highest numbers of crashes occur in each community. In Harwich there are two stretches with similar numbers: Main Street from Bells Neck Road to Chatham Road experienced 256 accidents, while the stretch from Depot Street, Queen Anne Road to Pleasant Lake Avenue experienced 248 accidents.

In Brewster it was the stretch from Main Street (Route 6A) from Harwich Road to Milestone Road with 222 accidents. There were 145 accidents at Eldredge Parkway-West Road from Skaket Beach Road to South Orleans Road (Route 28). In Chatham there were 377 accidents along Main Street (Route 28) from Pleasant Street to Old Harbor Road. The plan also identifies other roadways in the towns with high accident rates.

The entire Route 28 corridor was recognized as a high injury network. 

“We feel we understand where the critical locations are, intersections and lengths of street sections,” said William J. Scully of Kimley Horn. 

A plan will be drafted for review over the next month, she said. It will include recommendations for addressing the problematic areas, which will include redesigning intersections, removing shrubbery and vegetation, placing warning signs for curves and intersections, adding crosswalks, relocating stop signs, and instituting speed management measures, including narrowing roadways to slow vehicle movement.  Education will also be an important component in changing traffic safety culture, said Scully.

“Who will pay for all the improvements?” inquired Patrick Otton.    

Medeiros said along the two state roads, Route 28 and Route 6, the state and federal government will be responsible for the changes. She said the state will cover the remaining Vision Zero improvements, but the town will have to apply for the funding for projects once the report is completed. She said the towns should start talking about prioritizing the projects now. 

Money is committed through September 2026, Scully said. 

“Safety [is] part infrastructure, but a lot of issues can be done by towns without going for Vision Zero funds,” said Scully.

Among suggestions were towns taking the lead in having private property owners trimming vegetation to provide better lines of sight and the use of signage to warn motorists of various conditions. Other suggestions included having local traffic safety committees become more active in traffic safety education.

Harwich Traffic Safety Committee Chair Linda Cebula said the  primary focus seemed to be on vehicle safety improvements; she asked what steps will be taken to improve safety for pedestrians and bicyclists who often travel back roads or face vehicles zipping through crosswalks.      

“If you want to reduce accidents, that information should be here,” Cebula said.

 Scully said a lot of that information will be in the education portion of the plan. Medeiros said the concerns can also be addressed in partnership with local traffic safety committees through pamphlets and school education programs. 

 The plan is expected to be completed by June.