Main Street Pavement Management & Safety Improvements Phase 1 - Chandler Street to May Street

At a Glance

• Redesign and reconstruction of Main Street between Chandler Street and May Street (approximately) to improve safety, enhance streetscape quality, and provide access to local businesses, schools, and community centers.
• Construction is tentatively scheduled to begin Summer/Fall 2027 and will be overseen by the Department of Public Works.

Corridor & Intersection Overview

Transforming Main Street into a safer, more welcoming, and more accessible corridor is a long‑standing community goal. Through a comprehensive redesign and subsequent reconstruction, this first phase will enhance the pedestrian environment, elevate streetscape quality, and support safer access for all roadway users. The project will also strengthen connections to local businesses, schools, and community centers for the segment of Main Street between Chandler Street and May Street.

This portion of Main Street is classified as a Principal Urban Arterial roadway and carries an average of 9,253 vehicles per day between Chandler Street and Piedmont Street and 11,429 vehicles per day between Piedmont Street and May Street. The observed average speed of vehicles traveling on Main Street is 17 to 19 mph and the 85th percentile speed is 24 to 26 mph, which closely matches the 25 mph speed limit.

Even after excluding crashes that occurred at either end of the corridor at the Chandler Street or May Street intersections, a total of 268 crashes were reported to the Massachusetts Department of Transportation along this 0.6-mile section of Main Street over the last five full calendar years (2021-25). The corresponding crash rate is exceptionally high – 25 crashes per million vehicle miles traveled, which is 833% higher than the statewide average for Principal Urban Arterial roadways. Among those 287 crashes, 12 involved vehicles striking pedestrians and 9 involved vehicles striking cyclists and micro-mobility users. The entire corridor is listed by MassDOT as being within a top 5% Crash Cluster for some combination of pedestrian, bicycle and/or intersection crashes.

Despite the extremely high frequency of crashes, no fatalities were reported, and only two crashes resulted in suspected serious injuries. This relatively low number of severe outcomes may be partly attributable to moderate travel speeds along this segment, which reduces the likelihood that crashes result in fatal or life‑threatening injuries. Still, 62 crashes resulted in non‑fatal injuries, while 181 crashes involved property damage only and 25 were recorded with unknown severity.

Project Timeline

•  Visioning Outreach: Fall 2026
• Initial Design Meeting: November 2026
• Final Design Meeting: January 2027
• Project Bidding: Winter/Spring 2027
• Construction: Summer/Fall 2027*

Public Engagement

Corridor planning will involve a robust public engagement process that builds off of previously held walk audits along Main Street in the Main South neighborhood. This process will include both in person and virtual visioning sessions, in-person surveys, and 3 public meetings.

Public Meeting

A Visioning meeting concerning the preliminary complete streets project design will be held in mid-October 2026.