Route 6A Study Focuses On Safety, Preservation

BREWSTER – Throughout the month of June, the Cape Cod Commission hosted three public meetings to engage community members, obtain feedback and provide more information on the agency’s Route 6A Transportation Visioning Study.

The two-year study will explore ways to improve safety along the corridor while protecting its unique character. 

Route 6A is a nationally designated scenic byway. Much of the corridor is owned by the Massachusetts Department of Transportation, while there are two town-owned sections, in Barnstable Village and Provincetown. The study will focus mainly on the state-owned segments. 

The commission is working with local towns, as well as MassDOT, to help create more accessible options for walking, biking and other forms of transportation along Route 6A. 

On June 17, Project Manager David Nolan and his team visited Brewster to speak with residents about the data-gathering process. Nolan, a senior transportation planner at the commission, provided an in-depth overview of the data that’s already been collected as well as a look at the future stages of the study. 

The study was kicked off in the fall of 2024. In early 2025, the team started to collect information on traffic speeds, accident statistics, pedestrian usage and seasonal travel. They are currently in the public outreach portion of the study and will continue to visit the towns along Route 6A to gather more data. This will likely last through July. Nolan said they would be popping up at local events such as Cape Cod Baseball League games to gather input. 

In the fall, the agency will begin reviewing public comments and looking into alternative screening methods. By the winter, officials hope to have conceptual alternatives to what the byway currently looks like. Public outreach on the alternatives will begin again next spring, with the draft and final reports expected by the fall of next year. 

As of now, the team has identified specific sites along the corridor that will need direct attention. For example, Nolan showcased areas of low-lying roads that are subject to flooding. There are also multiple intersections that are considered dangerous and could use updated crosswalks, signage or a complete redesign. 

While speed limits range from 20 to 45 mph, many of the residents present at the June 17 meeting said the limits vary so abruptly that it is hard to keep track of where they change. They also felt motorists tended to speed along the corridor, making it more dangerous to walk or bike. 

In the last few months, the commission has started collecting traffic volumes and vehicle speeds for off-peak and peak seasons. While traffic volumes soared in the peak season, median speeds decreased by one or two mph. 

Team members also staked out commonly used pedestrian points along the road, noting that even in the dead of winter an average of at least 23 people were walking along Route 6A. 

They also researched accident numbers to see how dangerous portions of the roadway are. While much of it was not as dangerous as they thought, some areas still experienced around 20 crashes in the last year. Between 2020 and 2024, there were two fatal crashes along the byway. 

Many residents were worried about changing the look of Route 6A, saying that each town has a distinctive appearance and feel, so the sections should be treated differently across town lines.

Cyclists were also a major concern. In some sections of the road, it is impossible for vehicles to give cyclists four feet of room, a state law, without crossing into oncoming traffic. While the commission cannot promise to fix that specifically, Nolan said the team did look into how much space was on either side of the roadway, which averaged around 18 inches on either side. 

Many residents who live along Route 6A were in attendance to voice their concerns over the lack of pedestrian accessibility, noting that without crosswalks, leaving their properties on foot can cause a few headaches. 

Nolan and his team recorded the feedback from all three meetings. He said they also have an online comment tool which can be used to submit comments on specific parts of the roadway, provide other comments or respond to feedback. He is hoping to get a great deal of feedback from the tool to help shape the conceptual design process. 

To access the comment tool, visit capecodcommission.org/our-work/route-6a-corridor-study and scroll to the bottom of the page. Nolan said organizations, committees and groups interested in inviting commission staff to present on the project or hold set up a pop-up information booth are encouraged to reach out to transportation@capecodcommission.org.