‘Safe by design’: Roads strategy depends on unspecified funding

Acton could be looking at a future with more buses, safer crossings, and streets designed to slow drivers down.

That’s if everything in the new Comprehensive Transportation Strategy makes it to reality. 

The Transportation Advisory Committee and consulting firm Stantec wrote the strategy, which the Select Board approved on August 31. It lays out recommendations including expanding local bus service, improving pedestrian and bicycle connections, and making changes to some of Acton’s busiest intersections.

But this isn’t a list of projects that have been approved or funded. “It’s a blueprint for action and investment,” Select Board member Paul Boehm said.

Boehm, the board’s TAC liaison, said the strategy is meant as a framework for deciding which projects should move ahead if funding becomes available.

Town staff will develop an action plan to prioritize projects in advance: “There are a number of steps between the strategy and actual funding that has to take place,” Boehm told The Acton Bridge. 

Acton trips by type of transportation*

Trip Type | Vehicle | Walk | Bike | Transit | Other

Trips within Acton | 73% | 22% | 1% | <1% | 3%

Trips departing Acton | 94% | 1% | 1% | <1% | 4%

Curtailing cars 

One recommendation is to consider augmenting public transportation options, including coordinating a local bus route through a regional transit authority or expanding CrossTown Connect, a bus service that links nearby communities.

According to data presented in the strategy, 62% of fall 2023 trips in Acton started and ended within town limits.

TAC Chair Ellen Quackenbush told the Select Board that she had already fielded inquiries about bus service. She argued that public transportation could be one of the most effective ways to reduce the number of cars on Acton’s roads.

“Cycling is weather- and season-dependent,” Quackenbush said. “If you really want to get people out of cars, give them a really good public transit system.” 

The plan also calls for improving access to the MBTA’s Fitchburg Line, including better connections for people walking and biking to stations and adding ramps and platforms at the commuter rail platforms.

Traffic calming

Route 2 is a focus of the strategy. 

The plan identifies several Route 2 intersections where the town could advocate for upgrades, including Sudbury Road, Cambridge Turnpike, ORNAC, and the rotary.

Quackenbush told The Bridge the town is also looking at ways to make roads “safe by design,” including narrower travel lanes, dedicated bike lanes, and continuous sidewalks.

TAC is working with Acton Public Works to determine which projects should come first, she said: “We’ve got a list of 120 safety projects, and we’re trying to kind of figure out which ones are the top priority.”

The strategy also identifies potential improvements at the intersections of Main Street and Sudbury Road, Main Street and Church Street, and Thoreau Street and Middle Street, as well as in Monument Square.

It suggests ways to better connect neighborhoods, schools, train stations, and commercial areas, such as creating safe crossings for pedestrians and bicyclists over Route 2 and other major roadways. 

How Concordians got to work, 2019-2023

Mode | Count | Percentage

Car, truck, or van | 3,980 | 56%

Bus | 30% | 0.4%

Train (subway or commuter rail) | 262 | 3.7%

Bicycle | 117 | 1.7%

Walked | 153 | 2.2%

Worked from home | 2,474 | 35%

Other means | 73 | 1%

Total | 7,089 | 100%

Project by project 

Putting the ideas into practice will require work across town departments, Boehm said. The plan also recommends creating a dedicated staff role focused on transportation planning and coordination.

Funding will come in project-by-project increments, potentially through state and federal grants as well as via town funding, he said. 

Town Meeting voters will have a role in deciding which projects receive funding.

For Boehm, the strategy is ultimately about preparing for Acton’s future development. 

“Central to all of that is how people move around and through the town,” he said.