TO:              Mayor William F. Martin, Jr.

                             And

                   Members of the Lowell City Council

FROM:        Bernard F. Lynch, City Manager

DATE:         June 22, 2007

RE:              Council Motion of 6/12/07 by Mayor Martin

“Request the City Manager have the Traffic Engineer investigate placing a left turn arrow from Rogers Street into Oakland Street.”

________________________________________________________________________

Please be advised that I have been in contact with Jeff Gomes, Transportation Engineer, regarding the motion mentioned above.  Jeff stated that he visited the site in question and made some conclusions.  A left-turn arrow at this location (which would provide a protected movement) would require a left-turn lane.  Already existing is a right-turn lane for traveling onto Boylston Street as well as a shared lane for through/left lane for through traffic along Rogers Street (Route 38) towards Tewksbury and left-turning traffic into Oakland Square.

To be able to ascertain the feasibility of installing a left-turn arrow from Rogers Street into Oakland Square, a traffic study needs to be performed.  The traffic study will determine the travel demand for each movement and if a left-turn lane is required.  Jeff Gomes will perform the required traffic study next week and follow up with a report.

If you have any questions regarding this, please let me know.  Thank you.