Safe Speeds in Etna
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Etna Road goes through the heart of Etna Village. To protect people walking, bicycling, roller skiing and living along Etna Road and to enhance the quality of life in Etna, Etna Road needs safer speeds.
Many people walk, jog, bicycle and roller ski along Etna Road, and cross Etna Road, particularly coming and going from popular destinations such as the Etna Library, the Etna Country Store, Fire Station public ice rink (and play field), Mink Meadow Farm CSA, the Etna Village Post Office, Trumbull Hall, Costello Field, and The Appalachian Trail.
However, many more people would avail themselves of these kinds of healthful, community-oriented, low-carbon, transportation and recreation if Etna Road were safer. With vehicles coming around blind turns and past hidden intersections, 30-35 MPH feels unsafe. The speed of vehicles diminishes walking and bicycling in this area, crowding out these positive uses. Residents have regularly requested safer speeds, including lower Speed Limits and Speed Feedback Signs, as they struggle to preserve the village like quality of Etna.
This 1.8 mile stretch of road is classified as a major collector and carries approximately 1,800 vehicles daily, according to Regional Planning Commission reports of annual average daily vehicle traffic volumes. Site visits and reports from the community confirm that people regularly walk and bike along Etna Road as families, individuals, friends and athletic teams.
Experience the curves of Etna Road at 30 MPH, the posted speed limit.
IMG_1016.MOVSPEED ANALYSIS
Speed limits are posted at 30 MPH from Greensboro to Costello Field, and posted at 35 MPH continuing north to Dogford.
Hanover Police conducted two speed analysis of Etna Road near Etna Library in July of 2023 recording average speeds of 33 MPH, indicating that on average people drove three miles above the speed limit. There were 0% enforceable violations in early July and 1% of enforceable violations in mid July. These studies suggest that on average drivers are willing to follow the posted guidance, and if speed limits were lowered would likely drive within the posted guidance.
Studies by New Hampshire Department of Transportation using data from Tom Tom from four different time periods confirm similar speed data. Calculating speeds based on time travelled across Etna from Greensboro to Dogford, which includes the 30 MPH and the 35 MPH segments, harmonic average speeds at different times in July and September of 2023, and May of 2024, during weekdays and weekends were 33, 34, 35 and 36 MPH, with most averaging 34 and 35 MPH.
Etna Road near Etna Library - Speed Data Analysis.pdfCRASH STATISTICS
There have been 34 crashes mapped, including two crashes with bicyclists, on Etna Road between Greensboro and Dogford, by the Regional Planning Commission between 2003-2017, and a pedestrian injury crash mapped as reported by Hanover Police in 2018. Of these crashes, 10 were reported as injury crashes, 2 were reported as possible injury crashes, and 1 of the injury crashes was reported as incapacitating.
Of particular note there were 3 crashes were with vulnerable road users --- 2 non-incapacitating injury crashes with bicyclists, and 1 injury crash with a pedestrian.
Also of note, are multiple crashes at two intersections. There are reports of 4 crashes at the intersection with Stevens Road, and 4 crashes at the intersection of Etna Highlands, and two crashes, including a bicycle crash, just east Etna Highlands.
Using the Average Annual Daily Traffic reported by the Regional Planning Commission, multiplied by the distance of 1.8 miles between Greensboro and Dogford, approximately 44,959 miles were driven over this stretch during this 16 year time period, for a rate of an astounding 75,625 crashes per 100 million miles driven.
When zeroing in on the more thickly settled area with more curves and numerous intersections, the 1.4 mile stretch between Greensboro and Ruddsboro, there were 30 crashes, with approximately 34,968 miles driven, for a rate of 85,793 crashes per 100 million miles driven.
14 of these 30 crashes were injury crashes, 1 of which was incapacitating, for a rate of 16,318 injury crashes per 100 million miles driven.
In the less settled stretch that is less curvy, the .4 miles between Ruddsboro to Dogford, 3 out of the 4 reported crashes were with animals. This section of road is crossed by the Appalachian Trail and a swath of undeveloped land. This stretch also runs along Costello Field, the meet-up location for many riding and roller skier groups, as they head out to do the Dogford loop,
By way of background, in the United States in 2001, there were 1.72 crashes per 100 million miles driven in rural areas. 40% of fatalities occur on rural roads. The rate of dying on a rural road was 62% higher than on an average road.
According to the United States Department of Transportation, when setting a speed limit, agencies should consider a range of factors such as pedestrian and bicyclist activity, crash history, land use context, intersection spacing, driveway density, roadway geometry, roadside conditions, roadway functional classification, traffic volume, and observed speeds.
Studies generally show that lowering speed limits leads to a decrease in average vehicle speeds, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. A 5 mph reduction in the speed limit may reduce mean vehicle speed by 1-2 mph, or by 3 mph with stronger enforcement.
The fastest drivers, those exceeding the speed limit significantly, tend to slow down even more dramatically when limits are lowered. For example, in Boston, lowering the speed limit reduced the most dangerous speeding (cars traveling over 35 mph) by 29%. This is crucial for safety as outlier speeding, or extreme speeding, is a major risk factor for crashes and fatalities.
Lowering speed limits is linked to a reduction in crashes, particularly those involving serious injuries and fatalities, says the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) and Highway Loss Data Institute (HLDI), commonly referred to as IIHS-HLDI.
Etna Crashes - Sheet1.pdfCONTEXT ANALYSIS
Etna Road is a curvy road, with three large curves, often called the S curve, near Stevens, and poor visibility around the curve just east of Etna Highlands.
55 lots line the 1.4 mile stretch between Greensboro and Ruddsboro. 4 lots have double driveways, while 5 do not have driveways on Etna Road, for a total of 54 curb cuts for driveways on this residential stretch of Etna Road. The remaining .4 miles from Ruddsboro to Dogford has 6 curb cuts for driveways which are mostly bunched near Ruddsboro, south of Costello Field, and a swath of undeveloped where the Appalachian Trail crosses Etna Road, for a total of 60 driveway curb cuts.
Starting at the 3-way intersection Greensboro, in this 1.4 mile stretch Etna Road, the road intersects 6 streets - Stevens, Etna Highlands, Trescott, Schoolhouse Lane, King Road, and Partridge - before intersecting Ruddsboro, for an average of one intersection every quarter mile. Each are T-intersections, with Etna Highlands and Trescott so close to one another they form a small triangle.
Along the thickly settled area, in addition to school bus stops and the Etna Fire Station, there are popular destinations such as Etna Country Store (and sandwich shop), the Etna Library, the Etna Public Ice Rink and field, the Mink Meadow Farm Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) pick up point, the Etna Village Post Office (on Schoolhouse Lane accessed via Etna Road). The Etna Library welcomes between 800-1000 visitors per month.
This more thickly settled area is just a block south of Trumbull Hall, a a community gathering, event and performance space, as well as Costello Field which is a popular play spot. Costello Field is also the start of many bike rides and roller ski adventures. The Dogford Loop is so popular that teams and regular riding groups often meet up at Costello fields to begin and end training sessions. A little further north is access to the Appalachian Trail.
With the mix of several destinations, residences, some professional office spaces, Etna Road runs through the village-like setting true to area's name, Etna Village. Measurements based on Google Maps determined that houses, garages and other buildings are anywhere from 4 feet to 80 feet from the road, with most structures between 25-35 feet from the road, and ten structures closer than 20 feet to the road. Almost every lot has one or more houses, easily visible from the road, many with well-kept gardens, specimen trees, some picket fences and specimen boulders.
People walk, jog, bicycle or roller ski this road, for leisure, errands, social activities, exercise, and transportation. It is not uncommon to see people pushing a stroller in this area, or roller skiing, sometimes training in groups. Kids walk along this road to and from their school bus stops, and the library and Trumbull Hall hosts many social activities that attract kids and adults. Etna Village serves as a center for the neighborhood which extends out to several local residential streets.
Nonetheless people from the neighborhood report feeling unsafe walking along or crossing Etna Road. They fear for their children coming home from the school bus. Seniors, in particular, have reported feeling unsafe doing something as simple as getting their mail, as they report speeding vehicles whizzing by make these basic activities feel life-threatening. People also report choosing to not commute by bike because it feels unsafe, and that they would ride their bike if the road were safer. Residents also note that many people, including kids, rode bikes on Etna Road, when the bridge on Etna Road was temporarily closed to vehicles.
Hanover Walk Bike Plan 2022 - Etna Village
Mobile SPEED FEEDBACK SIGNS have rotated in to Etna Road for a couple of weeks, starting in 2024.
Letter from the Town of Hanover to NHDOT requesting safer speeds on Etna Road.
Town of Hanover Letter Re Etna Speeding 11-23 (1).pdfNHDOT response to Town of Hanover letter.
11.22.23 NHDO Letter re_ Etna Speed Limit and Feedback Signs.pdfNHDOT Guidelines for the The Use of Driver Feedback Radar Devices (DFRD)
18_0913 Driver Feedback Radar Devices.pdfPage updated
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