BRATTLEBORO — Spending a little time with the traffic-light engineers last Thursday was very instructive for me.
Engaging and friendly, the engineers from Moulison North Corp. didn't just observe traffic. They engaged pedestrians as well and readily explained how they were able to make improvements in the light system.
Their tweaks to the system were very effective, but they also made it clear that Brattleboro will need more than a well-tuned set of lights for traffic to flow smoothly.
The system has a number of constraints working against it. A larger volume of traffic goes through town than was ever anticipated by the various forces that created downtown's street layout more than 100 years ago. Our Main Street is too narrow, the downtown feeder streets are too close to one another, and the railroad passenger platform is too close to Route 119 traffic.
Compounding the problem, traffic heading to the new Wal-Mart has increased materially, and the entrance to the Co-op is at the worst possible location on its property vis-à-vis traffic management.
Our new traffic light system can do only so much with that layout. VTrans's engineers provided us with a state-of-the-art signal system, akin to a Steinway piano. Unfortunately, they programmed it to play the equivalent of Chopsticks.
We now know we have needed someone who could play it like Rudolph Serkin could play Chopin. In Moulison North, we have found our virtuoso artist, and they have earned our ovation.
But the analogy needs to be expanded: Making Main Street work is going to involve a full orchestra.
Drivers and pedestrians are also going to have to be part of the solution. Jaywalking is a material problem. Illegal turning is, too. Cars creeping over the big white stop bars at the intersections render the traffic cameras ineffective. And, in the words of the engineers, “double-parked delivery trucks are killing you."
In essence, drivers and pedestrians are playing out of tune. Our street layout, traffic volume, and downtown activity are too complex for Chopsticks. Everyone traveling Main Street is going to have to perform as though we were all musicians playing Beethoven's Fifth Symphony.
Before the new system was put in place, the junction at the base of Main Street risked an “F” rating by the state. To make traffic work well, the system will have to rate a “C.” (Interestingly, Beethoven's Fifth was written in the key of c minor.)
It's time to get with the program. We have a million-dollar system working for us, and we've had the best engineering available to tune it up.
It's now up to everyone using Main Street to make the system work and play it well.