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2.4 Existing Conditions Summary

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A review of existing conditions revealed a vibrant and thriving Downtown. Traffic
volume demand is high, not only during the peak commuter hours, but throughout
the day. Traffic flow is controlled along the major arterials of Main Street, West
Hollis Street, and East Hollis Street by a total of nine traffic signal controlled
intersections. Additionally, as part of the Broad Street Parkway project, two new
traffic signals will be installed at the Central Street/Pine Street and Central
Street/Palm Street intersections.

The results of the operational analyses, with the Broad Street Parkway in place,
indicate that each of the signalized intersections are expected to operate acceptably
(LOS D or better). Similarly, the results of the evaluation show acceptable operating
conditions at the unsignalized study area intersections with the exception of the
Walnut Street Oval which revealed an LOS F operation during the weekday evening
peak hour.

The most dominating feature of the Downtown’s existing roadway network is the
presence of numerous one-way streets. Factory Street and Temple Street form a one-
way east-west couplet with East Pearl Street and West Pearl Street. Similarly, West
Hollis Street forms a one-way east-west couplet with Kinsley Street. There are also
numerous north-south one-way couplets such as Pine Street with Palm Street, Ash
Street with Vine Street, and Chestnut Street with Walnut Street. Other one-way
streets include School Street, Cedar Street, Eldridge Street, Spring Street, Foundry
Street, South Street, Cottage Avenue, Court Street, and Park Street.

The Downtown is well served by public transportation with the Nashua Transit
Center located on Elm Street in the heart of the Downtown. The Nashua Transit
System runs Citybus (a daytime fixed route service); After 7 (an evening fixed route
service); and City Lift (a paratransit senior citizen service, with routes throughout the
Downtown.

Pedestrian mobility is accommodated primarily with the presence of sidewalks,
crosswalks, pedestrian phase actuation at traffic signal controlled intersections, and
off-road facilities such as the Nashua Heritage Rail Trail and the Nashua Riverwalk.
Sidewalks are provided along nearly all streets within the study area with only
minor exceptions. Crosswalks are present at major roadway intersections while
midblock crossings are present along East Pearl Street, Main Street, Temple Street,
Pine Street, and Palm Street.

The Nashua Heritage Rail Trail, which runs parallel to West Hollis Street, provides
access to both pedestrians and bicyclists. While the trail has some roadway crossings,
it provides an important alternative to the high traffic volume route of West Hollis
Street.

Other than the Nashua Heritage Rail Trail, there are few defined bicycle facilities
within the study area. Defined bicycle lanes are provided on Temple Street, between
Spring Street and East Pearl Street, and on East Pearl Street, between Spring Street
and Temple Street. Bicycle lanes are marked and include both diamond and bicycle
shaped identification markings. Bicycle shoulders are also provided along Pine

Existing Conditions

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Street, Palm Street, and will be provided along the soon-to-be completed Broad Street
Parkway.

Also, the Nashua Heritage Rail Trail and the defined bicycle lanes along such
roadways as Temple Street and East Pearl Street are not well connected. This absence
of connectivity tends to discourage recreational bicyclists and young bicyclists from
using the existing bike facilities. Additionally, no bicycle racks were observed.
However, the City has recently purchased bike racks as part of the City’s sidewalk
reconstruction project. The City is currently considering where best to locate the bike
racks.

A review of crash data over the nine-year period of 2002 through 2010 showed the
Main Street/West Hollis Street/East Hollis Street intersection to have the most
reported crashes with an average of over 10 crashes per year. This intersection also
showed the highest occurrence of pedestrian related crashes with a total of eight
pedestrian related crashes over the nine-year period. Also of note, 70 percent of all
pedestrian related crashes within the study area occurred at signalized intersections
that have pedestrian crossing signals.

A summary of the existing conditions is depicted graphically in Figure 12.

Existing Conditions

3/7/2013

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Potential Area of Circulation Improvement_ Other Existing Information Figure 12

LOS D or worse for one or Bicycle crashes, noted in areas without bike Nashua Transit Center New geometry/control from «ue ele
more approach or condition lanes, facilities, or interconnectivity Broad Street Parkway Existing Conditions Summary
Public parking lots/garages

More than 5 crashes per year Turn restrictions - not related Traffic signal control

to one-way streets Bus stops
Pedestrian crashes Bike lane / multi-use path

6) No signed traffic control

600 Feet
No Sidewalk

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Vanasse Hangen Brustlin, Inc.

Alternatives
Evaluation

Having evaluated the existing conditions and having worked closely with city staff
and city officials (May 2, 2013 Joint meeting of Board of Aldermen Committee on
Infrastructure and Planning & Economic Development Committee) on defining
study area problems, issues and constraints, and potential solutions, a range of
alternatives were developed. Based on this initial input, the developed alternatives
focused on opportunities to convert some of the many one-way streets to two-way
flow. In addition, alternatives were developed that considered opportunities to
reconfigure the Walnut Street Oval in an effort to both improve mobility and to
encourage economic development. Once the initial alternatives evaluation was
completed, the alternatives were presented to the public at a public workshop for
additional input and consideration.

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3.1. Conceptual Alternatives

The following sections describe the various alternatives that were brought to the
April 30, 2014 public workshop. The alternatives include various configurations for
the Walnut Street Oval, pedestrian enhancements for the Water Street area,
considerations for converting several Downtown streets from one-way to two-way
operation, and consideration of introducing concurrent pedestrian phasing at all
Downtown traffic signals.

B 3.1.1 Walnut Street Oval

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Reconfiguring the Walnut Street Oval would not only afford the City an opportunity
to enhance access to the Downtown from the west (complimenting the Broad Street
Parkway), but it would also provide a tremendous opportunity to both encourage
redevelopment and introduce a more pedestrian friendly appeal to the area. A range
of reconfiguration alternatives were considered. Alternatives included reconfiguring
the Walnut Street Oval into a grid pattern, reconfiguring into a more conventional

Alternatives Evaluation

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signal or roundabout in the southern or northern portion of the oval, and
reconfiguring the Oval using two roundabouts.

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Figure 13: Walnut Street Oval Grid Pattern Circulation Alternative

Reconfiguring the Oval into a grid pattern would closely follow the existing roadway
layout as shown in Figure 13 while maintaining the building located in the center of
the Oval. This would increase circulation between the western portions of the study
area with Main Street particularly if combined with traffic flow modifications along
West Pearl Street and Factory Street. This alternative would provide an important
connection from the Broad Street Parkway entering the Mill Yard along Central
Street, onto West Pearl Street and onto Main Street. However each intersection
within the grid would require traffic control modifications. A combination of stop
sign controlled and/or traffic signal controlled intersections may be required
depending on the modified traffic volume patterns.

Reconfiguring the Walnut Street Oval into a single consolidated intersection at the
southerly end of the existing Oval (near West Pearl Street) could be controlled by
either a traffic signal or a roundabout. The traffic signal and roundabout
configurations are depicted in Figure 14.

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ROUNDABOUT CONCEPT

Figure 14: Walnut Street Oval Southern Consolidation Alternatives

30

Similarly, alternatives were developed and considered that create a single
consolidated intersection at the northerly end of the existing Oval. Like the southerly
options, this intersection could also be placed under traffic signal control or be
constructed as a roundabout. The Northern Alternatives are shown in Figure 15.
Note that one downside to the single consolidated intersection is that it limits direct
access to side streets such as High Street and School Street. The consolidated
northern intersection also limits the amount of available developable land.

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” SIGNALIZED CONCEPT ROUNDABOUT CONCEPT |
Figure 15: Walnut Street Oval Northern Consolidation Alternatives

Because the single consolidated intersection (both the northern concept and the
southern concept) limit redevelopment opportunities, an additional set of
configurations were developed. As shown in Figure 16, these concepts involve the
construction of two roundabouts — one to the south near West Pearl Street and one to
the north near High Street. The advantage of these configurations is that they leave
substantial developable land that can serve to encourage redevelopment and
economic opportunities.

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CHESTNUT ST. CHESTNUT ST. CLOCKTOWER & CHESTNUT ST.
SEPARATION CONCEPT INTEGRATION CONCEPT INTEGRATION CONCEPT

Figure 16: Walnut Street Oval Dual Roundabout Alternatives

The Chestnut Street Separation concept provides two 3-legged roundabouts, one in
the north and one in the south. The northern roundabout combines High Street,
Factory Street and Walnut Street while the southern roundabout combines Walnut
Street Central Street and West Pearl Street. There is a T-intersection of Clocktower

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Place with Walnut Street and a second T-intersection of Chestnut Street with Central
Street. Of the concepts with two roundabouts, the Chestnut Street Separation
concept results in the least amount of property impact with only the central oval
property being encroached upon. However the T-intersection of Central Street and
Chestnut Street is located in close proximity to the approach to the southern
roundabout. Under current traffic flow patterns, Chestnut Street has a high
southbound volume. These left-turns would be in conflict with the Central Street
traffic. This would be an area of concern for an increase in conflicts, delay and
confusion to drivers.

To address this issue, the Chestnut Street Integration Concept was developed. This
eliminated the conflict for the Chestnut Street traffic by combining Chestnut Street
into the southern roundabout in a 4-leg design. This concept results in property
impacts to multiple properties.

Table 4 — Clocktower & Chestnut St Integration Concept Roundabout Analysis Summary

North Roundabout South Roundabout

AM Peak Hour PM Peak Hour AM Peak Hour PM Peak Hour

Delay** LOS*** Delay LOS Delay LOS Delay LOS

NB 5 A 7 A N/A N/A N/A N/A
WB 6 A 7 A 10 B 13 B
SB 5 A 6 A 8 A 12 B
EB 8 A 8 A 10 A 13 B
Overall 7 A 7 A 9 A 12 B

** Delay in seconds per vehicle.

*** Level of Service

A final dual roundabout alternative was considered that consolidates the roadways
into two 4-legged roundabouts. This concept would connect Clocktower Place
directly into the northern roundabout. Additional properties are impacted with the
configuration. Table 4 shows the summary of the analysis results of the Clocktower
& Chestnut St Integration Concept. With this alternative the roundabouts will
operate at LOS B or better without having nearby intersections that would creating
confusion and increasing overall delay.

Although each option has its advantages and disadvantages, the duel roundabout
option would appear to provide the best opportunity to enhance vehicular and
pedestrian mobility while encouraging area redevelopment. The dual roundabout
alternative, specifically the Clocktower & Chestnut St Consolidation Concept
therefore will be the alternative included for screening and evaluation purposes.

B 3.1.2 Water Street

If one or more private developers, in collaboration with the City, were to advance a
pedestrian friendly redevelopment plan for the Walnut Street Oval area, it would be
advantageous to provide continuous pedestrian connectivity to the Nashua River at

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Vanasse Hangen Brustlin, Inc.

Water Street. This could be done by converting the western segment of Water Street
to a pedestrian corridor/park. This conversion to a pedestrian corridor could be
relatively straight forward as the existing western segment of Water Street could be
closed to vehicular traffic and converted. Figure 17 shows a concept of what Water
Street could look like as a pedestrian corridor.

Figure 17: Water Street Pedestrian Corridor

Full vehicular access and egress would be maintained for all businesses on Water
Street by way of the traffic signal controlled Main Street intersection. Traffic
operations at the Water Street /Park Street /Main Street intersection would be
expected to show a modest improvement due to the reduced traffic volume on the
Water Street approach. Vehicles that currently use Water Street and are not destined
to one of the local businesses on Water Street would divert to other existing
roadways, primarily Factory Street.

While this would reduce some vehicular circulation throughout the downtown, it
would increase pedestrian and bicycle use. The pedestrian corridor, which would
connect to Factory Street, would not only provide access to pedestrians and
bicyclists, but it would provide an aesthetically pleasing area with landscaping,
benches, and great views of the River.

B 3.1.3 Factory Street

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The portion of Factory Street from Water Street to Main Street and Temple Street
from Spring Street to East Pearl Street would be transitioned from existing one-way
eastbound (except the section of Temple Street from Main Street to Spring Street that
presently services two-way traffic flows) to two-way traffic flow under the Factory
and/or Temple Street two-way conversion alternative. This alternative is illustrated
in Figure 18.

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Figure 18:

Table 5 - Signalized Inter:

Vanasse Hangen Brustlin, Inc.

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Factory Street and/or Temple Street Two-way Conversion Alternative

Converting Factory Street to two-way operation while maintaining full access/egress
at Water Street would be problematic given the poor sight line available for motorists
turning from Water Street. The sight line is limited by the building located on the
northeast corner of the Factory Street/Water Street intersection. However, the sight
line issue would be negated if the Factory Street two-way conversion was combined
with the closure of the west segment of Water Street as provide under the Water
Street Pedestrian Corridor alternative.

section Capacity Analysis Summary

Main St. at Water/Park St.

Main St. at Factory/Temple St.

2-Way Alternative

Existing 1-Way (2-Lane West Approach

(Excl. PED) Split Phase and Excl. PED)

v/c* Delay** LOS*** v/c Delay LOS
PM 0.62 29 G 0.63 26 Cc
PM 0.46 26 Cc 0.71 36 D

* Volume to Capacity Ratio.
** Delay in seconds per vehicle,

*** Level of Service.

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Under this two-way conversion, the intersection of Main Street at Factory

Street /Temple Street show an increase in delay and drop a level of service from LOS
C to LOS D during the weekday evening peak hour. This deterioration in operations
is due to the need to add phases to the existing traffic signal. The rule of thumb is
when a phase is added to an existing traffic signal, operations will decrease one level
of service. This is what occurs here. There is potential to mitigate some of this
increase in delay if the exclusive pedestrian phase was removed and current
pedestrian phasing was used at this intersection.

Alternatives Evaluation