Work Begins July 13 on Downtown Maplewood Ave. Signal Upgrades

Starting the week of July 13, Electric Light Company of York, Maine will begin the upgrade to the traffic signals at three intersections along Maplewood Avenue at Deer Street, Hanover Street and Congress Street. During the work, there will be daily closures of one of the sidewalk corners at each of the intersections. Detour signing will be provided to direct pedestrians to the open crosswalks at each intersection. Pedestrian signals will remain operational during the work.

The Parking & Traffic Safety (PTS) Committee recommended the changes in December 2019. The signal upgrade provides the following benefits:

• Improves pedestrian access to and from the Foundry Parking Garage
• Complies with ADA accessibility requirements for pedestrian traffic signals
• Shortens pedestrian wait times by up to 80 seconds
• Improves traffic flow, shortening the wait-time for stopped traffic by 30 seconds
• Reduces the number of pedestrians crossing against the signal (jaywalking)
• Helps reduce delays caused by the closure of a lane on Congress Street to allow for outdoor dining.

Previously, all traffic received a red signal when the pedestrian WALKING PERSON (symbolizing WALK) signal was displayed. The new signal timing gives pedestrians the WALKING PERSON signal while the traffic moving parallel with them has the green signal.

Turning traffic will be required to yield to pedestrians in the crosswalk. Signs posted at each intersection will inform drivers of this requirement. Educating the driving public, alerting them to the need to yield to pedestrians when turning at intersections, is a key component of the change. City staff will place Changeable Message Signs in the area prior to the implementation of the new signals to alert drivers.

The new signals will also delay the vehicle green signal by 5 seconds, activating the WALKING PERSON signal early to give pedestrians a head-start on the vehicles and allow them to be visible to motorists before the vehicles start to turn. This change eliminates the diagonal crosswalks at the Congress/Middle Street intersection, as they are no longer needed. NHDOT has implemented this system at their signals along the Lafayette Road corridor, including the intersections with Peverly Hill Road, Greenleaf Woods Drive, Greenleaf Avenue, and Wilson Road. This type of pedestrian signal phasing is now common in many other cities and towns.