Town and Village

Dummerston Selectboard warned of Route 30 dangers

By Morgan Broadfoot/The Commons

DUMMERSTON—Lew Sorenson, the town’s representative to the Windham Regional Commission (WRC), cautioned the Selectboard about several dangerous traffic patterns in the town.

“Route 30 is now designated as a high-crash zone statewide,” warned Sorenson, who serves on the regional planning agency’s transportation committee, at the board’s Nov. 28 meeting.

“There are warrants that justify a left-turn lane at the covered bridge,” he said.

He said that danger arises when a vehicle is sitting in the southbound lane of Route 30 waiting for the northbound lane to clear before crossing the West River via the West Dummerston covered bridge to Camp Arden Road.

In 2008, the Selectboard wrote a letter to the Vermont Agency of Transportation (AOT) requesting that turn lanes be created in both the northbound and southbound lanes at the covered bridge intersection.

Sorenson also stressed how dangerous the intersection of Route 30 and Williamsville Road, at the Newfane town line, has become. He suggested widening the shoulder and providing parking for the recreational area on the West River.

“I am always been amazed that Dummerston hasn’t done more with that potential,” he said.

Sorenson suggested to the board that the town apply for assistance under the federal Safe Routes for Schools program, which could provide funds for the town to work toward “providing a path for pedestrians or a speed feedback sign that is available under that program.”

According to the AOT’s High Crash Locations Report 2006-2010, an average 6,188 cars traveled each day along the stretch of Route 30.

Over the five years of the report, 12 crashes occurred, resulting in one death and nine injuries. Another five accidents caused property damage.

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