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Vanasse Hangen Brustlin, Inc.
B 2.3.4 Crash Evaluation
\Wwhbipr)\BedtordS27100.00) Nawhua
‘Circulation Study\reports\Fina! Repor\Final
Report. docx
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Crash data for the years 2002 through 2010 were gathered for selected locations from
the NHDOT crash database. The data was reviewed to identify high crash locations
within the study area and the characteristics of the crashes occurring at these
locations. Table 3 provides a summary of the crash history. Note that crashes
reported for the intersections of Pine Street with Central Street and West Hollis Street
are before Pine Street became one-way southbound as part of improvements for the
Broad Street Parkway.
A total of 402 crashes occurred at the selected locations during the nine-year period.
This equates to an average of 45 crashes per year (with a high crash total of 80 in 2006
and a low of 22 in 2005). Fifty percent of the crashes resulted in a personal injury
with the other fifty percent resulting in only property damage. No fatalities were
identified and of the injury related crashes, only six were identified as resulting in a
severe injury.
The majority of crashes were identified as general motor vehicle crashes (76 percent)
with some rear-end (5 percent), sideswipe (1 percent), and angled (6 percent) crashes
also identified. The remaining crashes include fixed object crashes, bicycle crashes,
and pedestrian crashes. Crashes with vulnerable road users (pedestrians and
bicyclists) make up 9 percent of the total crashes.
There were 26 (6 percent) pedestrian related crashes. No discernible pattern is
present for locations where pedestrian crashes occur, but there were five
intersections out of fifteen locations where more than one pedestrian crash occurred.
The Main Street intersection at West Hollis Street /East Hollis Street identified the
most with eight pedestrian crashes. Note that this intersections experiences the
highest volume of traffic in relation to pedestrian crossings. Additionally, 18 of the
26 (70 percent) pedestrian/vehicle related crashes occurred at signalized
intersections that have pedestrian crossing signals. Crash data was inconclusive as to
whether these crashes at the signalized intersections were a result of pedestrian
crossings against the solid “Don’t Walk” signal.
Twelve bicycle crashes occurred at seven intersections. The signalized East Hollis
Street intersection at Spring Street had four bicycle crashes. None of the bicycle
crashes were in areas where there are existing bike lanes or multi-use paths.
Figure 11 illustrates the average number of crashes per year. The Main Street
intersection at West Hollis Street/East Hollis Street has the most reported crashes.
With an average of more than 10 crashes per year, 96 crashes were reported at the
Main Street intersection with West Hollis Street/ East Hollis Street. While this
intersection has the most identified crashes, it also experiences the highest volume of
traffic in the study area. No type of crash or trend was identified through the
available records at this location. Figure 11 also identifies 10 locations where crash
history is between one and five crashes per year and 14 locations where less than one
crash per year has been reported. The only general pattern observed from the crash
data is that locations with more traffic control, traffic signals and all-way stop
control, experience larger numbers of crashes.
Existing Conditions
