Dedham Square Traffic, Roadway, and Streetscape Improvements

BETA developed and designed traffic, roadway, and streetscape improvements for Dedham Square, the Town’s Central Business District. This undertaking was initiated by The Dedham Square Circle, which is a highly active group committed to revitalizing the Dedham Square area.

The project limits included High Street from Ames Street to Providence Highway underpass about 1,500 feet, Washington Street from School Street to Harris Street and Eastern Avenue from High Street to Providence Highway. The project removed the outdated “dummy” traffic signal island located within the High Street/Washington Street intersection and installed modern traffic signal systems at two locations.

The design was developed through a series of local meetings and provides significant pedestrian safety measures including wider sidewalks, curb extensions, reduced crossing distances, and signal phasing.  Streetscape elements upgrade the visual appearance of the Square, which is home to many local businesses. Treatments included ornamental lighting, brick surfaces at selected locations, and bike racks. The project also included pavement reconstruction/rehabilitation, new granite curbing, the widening of sidewalks, and textured crosswalks. An automated parking management system is also part of the project.

The replacement and extension of a granite block railroad abutment wall with a reinforced concrete wall was another component of this project. Granite blocks from the original wall were cut and used as facing on the new wall. This resulted in a new wall that blended nicely with the existing remnants of the block wall.