With our Main Street reconstruction getting underway for the third year, I can’t resist opining on a topic I know so little about.

I do know the new Fruit Street bridge is planned at 32 feet wide, curb to curb, features a 5-foot-wide paved walk on one side and, according to the MassDOT [Massachusetts Department of Transportation] Fruit Street traffic study, carried approximately 4,000 vehicles/day in 2021.

The plans for Hayden Rowe Street, incorporating a 10-foot-wide shared multi-use trail (SMUT) on one side, depict a road width, curb to curb, of 26 feet. Interestingly, I have not been able to learn of a traffic count for Hayden Rowe Street. One might think, with another new school being planned there, and the most recently built school being expanded, that there would be a MassDOT traffic study for Hayden Rowe Street.

I have inquired as to the availability of traffic counts for Main Street and Fruit Street, and none, but for Fruit Street, have been forthcoming. I have found traffic studies for West Main Street (~13.000 vehicles/day), for the attendant ramps to Interstate 495, and for Wood Street (~6,000 vehicles/day).

I note on the town’s drawing for the proposed Upper Charles Trail Committee SMUT on Hayden Rowe Street that there is reference to the 2012 AASHTO [American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials] Guide for Bicycle Facilities, which states, “For … grades less than 2 percent, a design speed of 18 mph is generally sufficient, except on inclines.” Main Street features grades of 6 percent. I have been unable to learn of AASHTO or other standards design speeds for grades greater than 2 percent.

My read of the MassDOT Separated Bike Lane Planning & Design Guide (Page 59, Exhibit 4D) is that when driveways cross bike lanes, the driveway should rise to meet the bike lane. I see on Main Street that the proposed bike lane drops to the driveway grade. [So] in Hopkinton we have the opposite of what is stated in the Planning & Design Guide.

Lastly, I wonder why a SMUT is planned for Hayden Rowe Street but not for Main Street. A 10-foot-wide SMUT could at least possibly provide a degree of separation between descending bikers and eastbound Main Street traffic. Make no mistake, I do not suggest this as the “fix” for a fatally flawed design.

— Edwin E Harrow, Hopkinton

Editor’s note: The opinions and comments expressed in letters to the editor are those of the writers and not necessarily those of the Independent. Submissions should be no more than 400 words and must include the writer’s name and contact information for verification. Letters should be relevant and not primarily for the purpose of promoting an organization or event or thanking sponsors or volunteers. Letters may be edited by the Independent staff for space, errors or clarification, and the Independent offers no guarantee that every letter will be published. For a schedule of deadlines for letters and other submissions for the print edition, click here.