This story by Tommy Gardner was first published by the Stowe Reporter on June 29.
“Rush hour” has long been a grossly inaccurate way to describe making a left turn off West Hill Road during the afternoon commute. Now, drivers have the green light.
Last week, workers finally flipped the switch on Stowe’s very first tri-colored traffic signal, located at the corner of Route 100 and West Hill Road, one of the town’s worst intersections.
“All the feedback I’m getting from locals has been positive, although I do wonder how some of the people from the northern part of the county are feeling,” Stowe public works director Harry Shepard said this week. “There’s no doubt that the people on West Hill can more practically make a left-hand turn.”
Stowe police Detective Lt. Fred Whitcomb said Wednesday shortly before press deadline that, in the traffic light’s first week in operation, there hadn’t been any vehicle crashes. Police did nab one person for running a red light, but Whitcomb said no one has been busted doing it on purpose.
“We’re just trying to make sure people stay patient with the biggest traffic pattern change in Stowe in some time,” he said.
Years of increasingly large traffic buildups on West Hill Road caused by people trying to make a left turn onto Route 100 spurred the town in 2016 to hire a consulting firm to study the best way to solve problems at the intersection, and it was determined a traffic light was the best way.
According to the 2016 study, there were 17 crashes at West Hill Road and Route 100 during the five prior years. Six were broadside crashes, the type most linked to sight-line restrictions.
The traffic light construction started last year, but only included the road work necessary to widen Route 100 — also known as Pucker Street — north of West Hill Road and Maple Street south of it. That’s because supply chain problems caused a backlog on the actual signal components.
Shepard, an engineer by training, said traffic signal technology has evolved over the years. Gone are the days of waiting for a traffic light on a static timer to change when you’re the only one at the intersection.
“Pre-emption is an important part,” Shepard said.
Whitcomb said he has already seen one promising change in traffic patterns — more people are abiding by the 25-mph speed limit on Maple Street. He thinks that’s because drivers who get stopped at a red light are not approaching the village at 40-plus mph. Now, they are accelerating to reach 25 mph, not having to brake to do so.
“That’s the other thing I’m looking at, the constant pressure on Maple Street,” he said. “Hopefully, they won’t have that running start anymore.”
Now that the latest state highway project in Stowe is finished, Shepard is looking forward to the next big one on the list: the intersection of Luce Hill Road and Route 108. There, the state Agency of Transportation plans on widening the highway, adding a left-hand turn lane, and doing away with the Y-shaped intersection.
The state over the winter fast-tracked the project, with legislators in January citing in part the increased traffic along Mountain Road in recent winters caused by skiers and riders bound for Stowe Mountain Resort.
“This (traffic light) has been a long process, and hopefully Luce Hill can be done quicker,” Shepard said.
