MAKING TRACKS/Traffic Light Coming in Roundabout Way

Excerpt From www.wickedlocal.com; by Tom Gruber and Mark Brennan, Gatehouse New Service, April 15, 2010:

Cohasset — Greenbush Station Traffic Light — What an intricate web this story weaves.  The saga of the traffic light at the Greenbush Commuter Rail Train Station and Route 3A has more twists and turns than you can imagine.  Originally, when the Greenbush line was just a glimmer in the eye of the MBTA, the MBTA and the Board of Selectmen, on behalf of the Town, negotiated a Mitigation Agreement that spelled out the “give and take” arrangement between the Town and the MBTA. One of the Mitigation Agreement items was that the MBTA would provide a traffic light at the station and Route 3A to assist the exiting traffic.  Originally, when this agreement was signed the driveway connecting the station to North Main Street was to have been one-way in to the station only.  Thus, all traffic exiting the station would need to enter Route 3A to exit from the station. 

However, there was a caveat in the agreement that the traffic light must be approved by the Massachusetts Highway Department (MHD).  When the MBTA submitted the traffic light for consideration to MHD, MHD denied the light.  Immediately thereafter, the MBTA removed the funds for the Route 3A traffic light from their construction budget.  However, after reconsideration of the traffic light, MHD subsequently approved its installation.  Now, what was the Town to do?  The MBTA was obligated to install the light, but had no funds available.

Now, enter the Transportation Oriented Development project (TOD) of the Connell Companies adjacent to the station site.  (A TOD is a mixed use residential and business development that takes advantage of its proximity to a transportation hub in order to lessen some of the zoning requirements such as parking requirements.)  The TOD, since it depends on its close proximity to the rail system, wanted an easy access between the two properties.  If that could be achieved, rail users could easily travel between the station and the TOD without entering Route 3A.  This would make the commercial aspects of the TOD development very convenient for commuter rail users.  A private driveway to connect the two sites was negotiated.  As a part of the negotiations, the TOD project agreed to construct the Route 3A traffic light.  So now, Connell had the responsibility to construct the traffic light as agreed by the MBTA in the 2001 Mitigation Agreement.

A week ago, the traffic light construction began at the station entrance on Route 3A.  Large truck-mounted drills bored large holes for the footings that will support the traffic light poles.  Lest the 3A motorists worry about the addition of another traffic light on Route 3A, this light will be a “demand” light.  That is, it will not change to red on Route 3A unless cars are trying to exit from the station.  Otherwise, the light will be green on Route 3A.  As of this week, the foundations are in place and they await the installation of the traffic light support poles and the electronic controls.