Traffic Commission addresses South Side, West End infrastructure issues

The Traffic Commission is taking steps to synchronize traffic signals on some of Waltham’s arterial roads.

City Traffic Engineer J. Michael Garvin proposed synchronizing traffic signals as a solution to multiple issues in front of the commission at its Nov. 20 meeting.

Last month, Ward 7 Councilor Paul S. Katz asked Garvin to propose solutions to traffic in the city’s West End, drawing from the 2023–2024 West End Traffic Study. At Thursday’s meeting, Garvin proposed a list of options to reduce traffic volume, including restricting left turns off of Prospect Street, installing speed cushions and improving signage. 

Still, he told the commission that the most effective way to address West End traffic would be to address the underlying infrastructure issues before addressing specific symptoms, by fixing problems on the city’s main arteries so they can carry more traffic and send fewer cars onto side streets. 

He suggested that synchronizing the traffic lights at the Main and Prospect streets and Main and Weston street intersections would greatly improve traffic flow. Wires Department Director Tim Kelly told the council that although the department had done a lot of work to fix detection issues at these intersections, none of the nearby signals were coordinated with each other.

Ward 9 Councilor Robert G. Logan asked the council to look into coordinating the signals going down Prospect Street to improve traffic along that corridor as well. “It’s torture. It’s one of the worst corridors, sections of road in Waltham,” he said.

The Traffic Commission voted to investigate the cost of synchronizing signals on Prospect Street and along the west end of Main Street.

The Traffic Commission also authorized Garvin to write to the state asking to synchronize traffic lights along Weston Street at the intersection with Tavern Street and Cedarwood Avenue and the intersection with Stow Street. He is also requesting signage and timing changes for both lights.