Warren is moving forward with exploring traffic and safety improvements for the northern entrance to Warren Village after getting a limited response from the Vermont Agency of Transportation (VTrans) about helping assess and improve that intersection.
The intersection – where Route 100 intersects with Main Street (near the intersections of Route 100 and Vaughn Brown and West Hill Roads) – has long been a safety concern for the town, particularly as plans progress to relocate the town garage to Vaughan Brown Road and works with the Mad River Path and other Valley organizations to developed an Active Transportation Corridor across Route 100.
VTrans state traffic engineer Ian Degutis, in a September 17 email, told town officials that the intersection does not currently meet the state’s threshold for redesign or prioritization, citing limited crash data and constrained agency resources.
“Geometric modifications are complex and resource-intensive,” Degutis wrote. “Given current funding constraints and a full pipeline of projects, this location does not meet the threshold for prioritization at this time.”
Degutis said the state has approved new signage updates and tree trimming to improve visibility along the corridor, but acknowledged that these changes fall short of the town’s broader safety concerns.
In response, town officials say they’re not waiting for the state to take further action.
“As we move forward with public outreach on the much-needed town garage project, I want residents and taxpayers to know that the town is also actively working on traffic and safety concerns,” said town administrator Rebecca Campbell. “We’ve been in regular communication with VTrans about the problematic Route 100 intersection near Vaughn Brown Road, Main Street and West Hill, and depending on the recommendations from our consultants at VHB, we may begin the formal process with VTrans to lower the speed limit at the northern entrance to Warren Village. At the same time, we’re pursuing solutions for other trouble spots in town – such as the Lincoln Gap Road speed study and our ongoing traffic calming work in the Village – so that residents can see progress on multiple fronts.”
At a recent select board meeting, the town signed a contract with engineering firm VHB to study the intersection and explore potential reconfigurations – including the possibility of transforming it into a T-shaped layout or adding a median to slow traffic. VHB is also managing the town’s ongoing Lincoln Gap speed study and has managed village traffic calming initiatives.
In an August 22 email, select board chair Devin Klein Corrigan requested a meeting with state officials and asked for a VTrans representative to speak at a public meeting about the garage project. The request highlighted concerns about both pedestrian safety and speeding traffic entering the village.
“We were hoping they would reduce the speed limit through there, maybe put in flashing trucks-entering signs, or even conduct a traffic flow study,” said Campbell. “Instead, they sent an engineer, looked around, and offered to update the signage – and that was it.”
She added that VTrans’ reliance on crash reports to justify safety improvements often overlooks unreported incidents – especially during storm events when Vermont State Police, which report accidents to VTrans cannot respond.
“A lot of the accidents that happen there never make it into the state’s system,” Campbell said. “That means the data doesn’t spike the area enough for VTrans to flag it as a problem.”
Select board vice chair Camilla Behn echoed concerns about the state’s interpretation of safety risks, particularly its suggestion that relocating the town garage would worsen intersection conditions. In a September 17 email to the board, Behn pointed out that moving the town garage would reduce safety issues, not increase them, since town trucks would enter Route 100 less frequently from the steep, low-visibility section of North Main Street.
Despite VTrans’ current stance, Campbell said the town may take formal steps to request a lower speed limit at the entrance to the village – a process that requires a state-led assessment.
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