Studies
City of Harrisonburg – STARS Intersection Safety Study
October 2020
Est Completion Date
November 2021
Locality
Harrisonburg
District
Staunton
Contact
Brad Reed, AICP
540-332-2266
Study Overview
This study involves a safety-focused analysis of ten intersections (listed below) located on various roadways within the City of Harrisonburg to develop short- and long-term solutions for mitigating crashes.
All of the intersections are identified in VDOT’s Potential for Safety Improvement (PSI) rankings for the Staunton District, which lists intersections and road segments having a higher than expected number of crashes. Nine of the intersections are located in Downtown Harrisonburg, which is identified as a hot spot in the VDOT Pedestrian Safety Action Plan.
Multimodal and congestion issues will be evaluated in addition to investigating factors that may be contributing to crashes.
- North Liberty Street & West Gay Street (unsignalized)
- North Liberty Street & West Wolfe Street (unsignalized)
- Liberty Street & West Market Street (signalized)
- North Main Street & Wolfe Street (signalized)
- North Main Street & Gay Street (signalized)
- North Mason Street & West Wolfe Street (signalized)
- South Mason Street & East Bruce Street (unsignalized)
- Mason Street & East Market Street (signalized)
- East Market Street & Reservoir Street (signalized)
- Country Club Road & Keezletown Road (unsignalized)
VDOT is serving as the project manager for the study, with ATCS as its consulting partner. The study team is also composed of staff from the City of Harrisonburg and the Harrisonburg-Rockingham Metropolitan Planning Organization (HRMPO). Final study recommendations will be considered by the city for advancement through state transportation funding programs.
Study Documents and Displays
Kickoff Meeting Presentation (November 2020)
Existing Conditions Meeting Presentation (February 2021)
Alternatives Development Meeting Presentation (May 2021)
Summary of Public Survey Responses (September 2021)
Study Timeline
- The Study kickoff meeting was held November 2020 with supporting traffic data collected in the same month as well as Fall 2019. Data collected in 2020 was adjusted for pandemic traffic impacts through comparison with pre-COVID activity. (see Study Documents above for presentation slides)
- The study team met in February 2021 to discuss existing conditions at the study intersections, including a crash analysis, traffic model outcomes, and field review. (see Study Documents above for presentation slides)
- The study team met again in May 2021 to review conceptual alternatives to address identified issues at the study intersections. A preliminary preferred alternative was selected for each of the ten locations. (see Study Documents above for presentation slides)
- Public survey to be released in July 2021 to gather feedback on the proposed intersection alternatives.
- A public survey was active July 29th to August 21st, 2021, to gather feedback on the proposed intersection alternatives. A summary of the survey responses can be found in the study documents above.