Traffic at East Plain, School St., Will Stay Through Winter, Says Board

Article submitted by the town of Wayland

On Monday, Nov. 18, the Wayland Board of Selectmen voted to continue the change of traffic pattern at East Plain Street/School Street/ Commonwealth Road through the winter. To accomplish this, the Department of Public Works will remove the barrels that have been in place since October 20th and use street line painting to designate the travel lanes. In addition, the exit to the businesses located at the end of East Plain Street will be amended to allow for right turn only when exiting the parking area to head west on East Plain Street. It is expected that this may lessen the amount of vehicles cutting through the parking lot at the Villa Restaurant to access East Plain Street and School Street.

This intersection, which encompasses the Lokerville Green, has been the scene of many traffic crashes, including fatalities, over the years. A traffic study by TEC, Inc. traffic consultants recommended that the Town of Wayland consider implementing several options to improve overall safety of the intersection. All of the options would reduce the number of conflicting traffic streams, better control the speed of turning movements, and consolidate turns onto Route 30 to a singular location.

Motorists are asked to use extra caution when driving through this intersection and to use School Street to access Route 30. Town staff and the traffic consultant will be monitoring the results of the temporary changes as long-term solutions are considered.