Complete Regional Transportation Plan 2012 - Cape Cod ...

conditions at the bridges. Radio stations also look up and provide updates on bridgetraffic. The Cape Cod Commission staff has included announcements of upcomingmaintenance activities and links to transportation providers on the Cape CodCommission Transportation Information Center (www.gocapecod.org). Included is alink to the ACOE website to provide travelers with the latest information on laneclosures. Working together, the MassDOT and Cape Cod Commission (CCC) staffoutlined ITS improvements for the Cape Cod Canal bridge area. MassDOT then hired aconsultant to design ITS improvements, and the project was bid for construction inSeptember 2010.• Improve Transportation Alternatives to Offset Automobile Crossings by increasingexpress bus service, and improving marketing of bus and other alternatives. Themarketing should inform travelers of the advantages of using alternatives and thedisadvantages of driving during the lane closures. An additional strategy to enhance theattractiveness of buses and high-occupancy vehicles would be to allow travel on theshoulders (currently nonexistent on Route 6) of Routes 3, 6, 25, and 28 to bypass thequeues (under police supervision). This concept would include construction ofshoulders/breakdown lanes that could be used as a bus lane during peak times.This would encourage a shift from single-occupant vehicles and would likely result in anoverall reduction of vehicles traveling through the lane closures.• Traffic Management: reduces traffic conflicts. During periods of traffic congestion atthe Canal crossings, motorists seek alternate routes - regardless of whether or not suchroutes actually save travel time. In addition, such routings have effect on the capacity ofthe bridges, and may actually create bottlenecks in other locations such as the Exit Oneon-ramp at the approach of the Mid-Cape Highway westbound at the Sagamore Bridge.Techniques to be considered should include police officer traffic control, signage, andturn restrictions.2.7.6 CANAL AREA TRAFFIC MOVEMENTSUsing the Cape Cod Transportation Demand Model, an analysis of cross-canal trafficpatterns can be made. Cape Cod was separated into four quadrants, based on thelocation’s primary approach to the Canal. For example, Route 6 is the primary point ofaccess to the Canal of people from Hyannis and easterly points in the region. Theprimary point of access to the canal for people in Boston is Route 3. Using the model,the levels of traffic between the 4 quadrants can be determined. These traffic flows areillustrated in the following figure.This analysis does not give specific traffic volumes over the bridges or supportingroadways. What it shows is that 56,000 vehicles per day have a choice of what bridge totake. Therefore, if traffic needed to be diverted to avoid congestion, 56,000 vehiclescould be potentially diverted based on a modeled average summer day.Chapter 2.7: Cape Cod Canal Area Cape Cod Regional Transportation Plan | August 2011Page 238