ENGS 89/90 Reports

Year of Graduation

2025

Project Advisor

Vikrant Vaze

Instructor

Solomon Diamond

Document Type

Report

Publication Date

2025

Abstract

This project proposes new designs of West Wheelock Street - a minor arterial road in Hanover, New Hampshire that experiences heavy pedestrian, bicycle, and vehicular traffic. The guiding objectives of the redesigns are improving the safety of and quality of the experience for‬ pedestrians and cyclists, whose needs have been neglected by traditional transportation‬ engineering design. Three alternative streetscape designs are proposed, guided by the‬ Department of Transportation’s Complete Streets ideology, recommendations from the Hanover‬ Bike Walk Committee, and user feedback from Dartmouth College students and Upper Valley‬ residents. The first alternative centers around pedestrians, the second on cyclists, and the third‬ focuses on traffic calming. In each design, the street’s cross-section is reconfigured by altering‬ the widths and locations of sidewalks, bike lanes, vehicle lanes, and buffers. This is presented‬ visually in the Streetmix software, and is accompanied by design recommendations for‬ intersections, crossings, landscaping, and lighting. Redesigns are analyzed comprehensively to‬ assess their impact on the current transportation landscape and Hanover community. All three‬ improved Level of Traffic Stress ratings for people who bike and walk. Another notable‬ component of the analysis was a traffic model prepared in the discrete event modeling software‬ AnyLogic. The modeling work shows that slowing vehicle speeds and altering intersection‬ characteristics do not worsen current vehiculal backups. Additional components of the holistic‬ design assessment include an economic analysis, potential construction timelines, and a‬ qualitative discussion of a redesign’s impact on Hanover’s sense of place and the character of its‬ community.‬ ‭

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