A working group led by selectmen Ron Ricci and Stu Sklar continues to investigate traffic-calming measures for Ayer Road. The current focus is on traffic roundabouts—single-lane traffic circles—to reduce the speed of traffic on the road, which carries an average of 13,000 vehicles daily between Route 2 and the Ayer town line and 6,200 vehicles south of Route 2. The incidence of traffic accidents at Ayer Road intersections is among the highest in town, especially at Poor Farm Road, South Shaker Road, and the post office. Consequently, the selectmen set a goal in 2015 to improve safety on the road and hired Bristol Traffic & Transportation Consulting to create planning studies for roundabouts at Gebo Lane and near Dunkin’ Donuts.
Gebo Lane changes a concern
The study for the Gebo Lane roundabout is preliminary but detailed enough to show that its construction would touch upon the habitat, on conservation land, of the wood turtle, a species of “special concern.” (Imperiled Massachusetts species are classified as endangered, threatened, or of speciaI concern.) The roundabout would eliminate two entrances to Ayer Road (one at Gebo and one at the post office), slow vehicles to a maximum of 35 mph, and perhaps allow part of Gebo Lane to be converted to open space. The study for the Dunkin’ Donuts area is incomplete, but the group says a roundabout there would require significant negotiation with private property owners and would serve less to slow traffic than to improve access to commercial properties. The group will talk with the Conservation Commission, get more details about the plan for the Dunkin’ Donuts area, and determine which—if any—plan to pursue. The studies are paid for with Chapter 90 state highway funds.
