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The Boston Region Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) selected Route 1A, and other roadways in and surrounding the Vinnin Square area in the Town of Swampscott, City of Salem, and Town of Marblehead, as the subject of a corridor study in federal fiscal year (FFY) 2016. The Route 1A-Vinnin Square Priority Corridor Study focuses on one of the locations identified in a regional needs assessment—conducted as part of the MPO’s Long-Range Transportation Plan, Charting Progress to 2040—used to guide investment decisions regarding transportation infrastructure improvements in the Boston region. The MPO prioritized this location for study after considering a number of factors: the need to address poor safety conditions and traffic congestion; the desire to enhance multimodal transportation; the need to maintain regional travel capacity; and the potential for recommendations from the study to be implemented. The MPO staff, working with the study’s advisory task force, developed improvements that would transform Route 1A and the ancillary streets around it into pedestrian- and bicyclist-friendly roadways, as well as a transportation corridor that serves all modes of transportation and maintains regional travel capacity. This study provides the City of Salem, the Towns of Marblehead and Swampscott, the Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT), and other stakeholders an opportunity to review, at a conceptual level, what would be required to address the deficiencies of Route 1A and the ancillary streets, before committing design and engineering funds to a roadway improvement project. If implemented, the report’s recommendations would result in an improved roadway corridor where it is safe to walk or bicycle to the shops and businesses in Vinnin Square, recreational areas, and workplaces, and where traffic operates efficiently.
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