WEST LEBANON — Police are taking a new approach to combating congestion at a major West Lebanon intersection: painted boxes.
Last week, the town painted adjoining boxes with an “X” through each on Route 12A between the northbound off- and on-ramps of Interstate 89.
Lebanon Police Chief Richard Mello, the official behind the idea, hopes the squares will serve as a visual reminder to keep the intersection free.
“We’ve seen more development and traffic into Lebanon, especially on the Route 12A area, and traffic is getting backed up,” he said.
Drivers — especially those coming off the interstate and turning left onto the state road — have a tendency to try to beat the light and get backed up in the intersection, cutting off other drivers who are traveling on Route 12A, he said.
“They’re walling off the intersection,” Mello said. “It’s a compounding effect, and it’s dangerous as well.”
Besides being a danger and inconvenience, it’s also illegal. Stopping in an intersection — sometimes colloquially referred to as “blocking the box” — is a moving violation in New Hampshire that can lead to a $62 fine for first-time offenders and a $124 fine for second-time offenders, Mello said.
In the past, Lebanon officers have kept an eye on the intersection, issuing tickets and fines to drivers who block the road, but it’s not enough, Mello said. Most of the people who get pulled over for the violation claim they didn’t realize blocking the box is illegal, and Mello said he hopes the new initiative will change that.
“We’re just trying to find another tool to help us alleviate the problem,” he said, adding that he got the idea after seeing the same types of boxes in other municipalities. Major cities like New York have been using intersection boxes to cut down on traffic violations for years, but they’re less common in smaller towns and cities.
Mello said he doesn’t know whether other cities have seen improvements since implementing their “don’t block the box” programs, but he’s eager to see a change in West Lebanon.
“We’re trying to employ ‘outside the box’ thinking, so to speak,” he said.
According to state traffic data, an average of 14,000 drivers a day traveled Route 12A south of Glen Road in 2013, which was the last time data was available.
The new markers come just before a bridge reconstruction project on Interstate 89 that will likely back up traffic around the intersection of Route 12A and Exit 20. Starting sometime between 2020 and 2021, the northbound lane of the freeway will close, and traffic will be detoured off the exit and onto Route 12A, where it will wind through downtown West Lebanon and White River Junction.
Officials have said the detour is planned only to take place at night and won’t affect peak driving hours during the day.
Anna Merriman can be reached at amerriman@vnews.com or 603-727-3216.