Impacts of the Route 25 Bypass on the Cranberry Highway in Wareham, Massachusetts

The Cranberry Highway runs through Wareham, Massachusetts as Route 6/28 from the end of Interstate 495. Prior to 1987 it was the only route onto Cape Cod from the west and northwest and had an average daily traffic volume of approximately 38,000 year-round. On Saturdays and Sundays from May through August the average daily traffic would exceed 60,000 cars, creating severe congestion along the Cranberry Highway. On August 11, 1987, an extension to Route 25 from the end of Route 495 to the Bourne bridge opened, effectively bypassing the Cranberry Highway. Since the opening of this route, traffic has declined over fifty percent. This study examines the effects of the Route 25 bypass on the Cranberry Highway. Specifically, this research focuses on measuring impacts on traffic, business, and land values along the Cranberry Highway.

Many of the main routes leading into and through cities and towns are characterized by heavy commercial development and congestion. For certain types of businesses--gas stations, motels, eating establishments, and gift shops--major highways are preferred locations. Many roadside areas have evolved into commercial strip developments, which frequently occupy only the land adjacent to the road with the area behind them remaining undeveloped. This poorly planned, formless development of roadside areas not only harms the general attractiveness of the countryside, but creates traffic congestion and increases the accident hazard on the highway. To overcome such problems--to remove from local streets through traffic that does not wish to stop or be delayed--bypass routes have been provided in many areas.
The purpose of this research project is to assess the effects of the Route 25 bypass on Wareham's commercial strip along the Cranberry Highway. The project will examine and measure impacts on traffic, business, and land values along the Cranberry Highway. 2 The Study Area.
Wareham, Massachusetts, called ''The Gateway to Cape Cod", is located east of the Bourne Bridge one hour from Providence, Boston, and Worcester (Figure 1-1 ).
The Cranberry Highway runs through Wareham as Route 6/28 from the end of Interstate 495 (Figure 1-2). Prior to 1987 it was the only route onto Cape Cod from the west and northwest. The highway is a four-lane arterial with unlimited access and seven major intersections with traffic lights. In 1985, prior to the bypass completion, the average daily traffic on the Cranberry Highway was 30,000 cars yearround with a peak of approximately 65,000 cars per day during the summer months.
During the peak season times traffic was severely congested, creating the need for a more effective route onto Cape Cod.
In 1987, Route 25 was extended from the end of Route 495 to the Bourne Bridge, effectively bypassing the Cranberry Highway. Since the route was constructed, traffic on the Cranberry Highway has declined by at least fifty percent.
This study examines the effects of Route 25 on the Cranberry Highway. Specifically, this research focuses on measuring impacts on traffic, business, and land values along the Cranberry Highway. A control area is used to ensure that the effects of the bypass can be separated out from other changes in the area. It is common knowledge that marked variations in business conditions occur from time to time due to such factors as seasonal characteristics or the state ~f the economy. To control for these factors a stretch of highway in Yarmouth is used as a control. -----' ... , -r ' .
----·-Source: Wareham Community Development Department (1985). influence the study's outcome and the findings must take these differences into account.

Significance
There are many concerns about bypasses and their impacts on businesses.
Business owners often oppose bypasses for fear of negative consequences. In many communities business owners are very influential and may use their power to dissuade officials from approving a bypass. As discussed in the next chapter, the fear of negative impacts on business is not founded in solid knowledge. Unfortunately, most people are unaware that bypasses often benefit businesses, and as a result bypasses are slow in receiving support from politicians, business owners, and residents.
Observation and evaluation of changes on the Cranberry Highway as a result of the bypass will provide information on changes that may be expected in other communities as highway improvements occur. This information can be used by town and state officials when deciding on a highway improvement such as bypasses.

Objectives
The goal of this study is to assess the impacts of the bypass on the Cranberry Highway. Specifically, the study will examine the bypass' impacts on: (1) traffic, (2) the number and types of businesses, and (3) land values.

RELATED LITERATURE
The common assumption that a bypassed road will suffer negative impacts is generally not true. In fact, most research studies find the contrary.
Bypass routes are advantageous because they can reduce traffic congestion and increase safety, but many fear adverse effects on businesses in the bypassed area because traffic volumes and business activities are closely related. This fear is often either unfounded or greatly exaggerated. Garrison and Marts (1958a: 23) state that "reorientation of through transportation facilities from the main street of a town reduces congestion and makes the town a more desirable place to stop". Congested traffic, such as the conditions on the Cranberry Highway prior to the bypass construction, can be just as harmful to business as a lack of traffic. Removal of through traffic from heavily travelled streets has, in many cases, brought substantial gains in business activity (U.S. Department of Commerce, Office of Research and Development 1964a: 89). Also, businesses are seldom completely dependent upon tourists. After the construction of a bypass there is usually a shift towards local trade which did not previously exist because community residents avoided the commercial strip due to traffic congestion. Many businesses that provide services to non-local residents serve local residents at the same time or during the off-season (Johnson, Obt,[miller, and Radtre 1989: 152). This was true in Wareham. Prior to the bypass, local residents would avoid Cranberry Highway, especially during the summer. When the bypass was completed, businesses experienced an increase in local patronage which compensated for the loss of through traffic. In fact, serving local residents is preferable because they require services for the entire year rather than just the summer months. The pattern is common: Of the seventy-six bypassed areas for which information about retail trade activity is available, fifty experienced either a greater increase or smaller decrease than occurred in a comparable area that was not bypassed (U.S. Department of Commerce, Office of Research and Development 1964b: 92).
This does not imply some businesses do not suffer as a result of a bypass. Businesses are affected by a bypass in proportion to their dependence on through traffic. After the Route 25 bypass, the businesses that suffered the most losses were generally motels and souvenir shops (Fales 1989: 31). The majority of businesses, including gas stations and restaurants which traditionally cater to through traffic, were positively affected by the bypass because of the beneficial shift to local trade.

Case Studies
The following section features a sampling of many reports that address the impacts of highway bypasses on United States cities and towns. The purpose of discussing these reports is to highlight the findings of previously written bypass studies and to allow for an understanding of the changes that commonly occur as a result of a highway improvement or bypass.
American Fork. Utah. This study analyzed the changes in community attitudes and the growth or decline of business activities after the opening of the Fairfield. California. When U.S. 40 completely bypassed the town in 1949, traffic on the old route was r ~duced by approximately eighty percent. Several years later the amount of traffic on the old route remained much lower than it was prior to the bypass, which improved the desirability of business locations along the old 13 route. The businesses along the old route are "enjoying higher business returns from the increased patronage of local customers without the congestion of through traffic" (Young 1951).
Faribault. Minnesota. This study determined the effects of the bypass on the total gross sales of the downtown area of Faribault. Four conclusions were drawn: (1) In the years since the bypass, the dollar volume of all retail sales has continued to rise. (2) In some instances, 6,000 cars a day bypassing the CBD has proven beneficial. (3)  Rolla. Missouri. This town was bypassed by U.S. Highway 66 in 1966. The findings of the study indicated that sales volumes of cafes and bars had decreased by 12.5% and service stations by 8.7% since the opening of the bypass. However, the sales volumes in these categories had declined by as much or more in the two years prior to the bypass opening. The Missouri State Highway Department cautioned that the decline in these categories must be interpreted carefully to avoid placing false blame on the bypass. In general, the report found that "the new bypass had a favorable effect on Rolla's overall economy" (Garrison and Marts 1958b: 31) Tyndall. South Dakota. A study of the economic effects of the South Dakota Highway 50 bypass on the town of Tyndall indicated that sales for the town as a whole were not affected by the existence of a bypass route. The non highwayoriented type of business did reasonably well and were unaffected or affected positively by the bypass route. Adverse effects were noted on highway-oriented businesses (service stations, restaurants, taverns, and motels). The traffic pattern, as expected, changed noticeably. Removing "through" traffic from Tyndall's business district resulted in less traffic congestion and greater traffic safety along the old route through town (Jorgenson 1968).
West Sacramento. California. The relocation .Jf two highways, U.S. 40 and 99W resulted in the bypassing of West Sacramento. In this case, bars, cafes, and services stations, all typically highway-oriented businesses, experienced an increase in sales after the bypass. Also, several new motels were opened after the bypass construction and the availability of motel units increased thirty five percent. ''This study conclusively shows that the highway merchant need not expect business decline and capital depreciation as a universal aftermath of traffic diversion" (Smith 1957: 49).

CHAPTER THREE TRAFFIC
Strip development along major arterials has the potential to create numerous conflicts. Poor access and high congestion on a roadway tend to reduce its carrying capacity, cause high levels of motorist discomfort and accidents, and decrease levels Studies written prior to opening of the bypass, by the town of Wareham and the Southeastern Regional Planning and Economic Development District, supported the idea that most traffic after the bypass completion would be local. One traffic study (Southeastern Massachusetts Metropolitan Planning Organization 1985) predicted over seventy percent of the traffic found on the Cranberry Highway prior to the construction of Route 25 would be re-routed onto the ne ;v road. The study also predicted that most of the travel on the Cranberry Highway after the bypass was completed would be local rather than through traffic. The actual effects of the bypass, five years after its completion, are discussed below.

Data Sources
The impact of the bypass on the Cranberry Highway's traffic flow was determined using traffic count figures calculated by the Massachusetts Department of Public Works and the Southeastern Regional Planning and Economic Development District. The Cape Cod Planning and Economic Development Commission supplied the numbers for Route 28 in Yarmouth. When necessary, the raw numbers were converted into percentages to allow for more effective comparisons.

Analysis
The effects on traffic counts were felt immediately upon the bypass' opening on August 11, 1987. Weekday traffic declined by over sixty-two percent, Saturday by almost sixty percent, and Sunday by slightly more than fifty percent (Table 3-1 ).
Although the decrease in traffic was not seventy-percent as predicted, the change was substantial. The total drop in traffic per week was almost fifty-eight percent. This is a large amount considering it occurred within the time span of one month.
Comparing the average daily traffic for Route 6/28 at the Bourne/Wareham line and Route 28 in Yarmouth at the Barnstable/Yarmouth town line for three recent years provides further insight. Source: Southeastern Regional Planning and Economic Development District.
Between 1986 and 1988, traffic on the Cranberry Highway dropped by fiftyfive percent, while on Route 28 in Yarmouth the decline was twenty-eight percent (Table 3-2). The twenty-seven percentage points difference between the two figures may be attributable to the bypass. Another reason for the difference may be due to high levels of traffic travelling on the Cranberry Highway.
The Cranberry Highway has higher traffic counts than the control area: the mean average daily traffic for the three years combined was 25,583 on the Cranberry Highway and 16,681 in Yarmouth. The Cranberry Highway's average traffic volume is thirty-five percent higher than the volume on Route 28 in Yarmouth. Such high traffic counts may be more volatile and tend to fluctuate more than those of Route 28 in Yarmouth. In this case the bypass would have had little or no effect.

CHAPTER FOUR BUSINESS
Many people automatically assume a bypass will be detrimental for businesses being bypassed. The case studies discussed in Chapter Two contradict this conventional wisdom. Some businesses will be hurt, usually those highly dependent on through traffic. Others that can cater to local trade frequently experience positive effects on their sales receipts. According to Grotewald and Grotewald (1958: 236): Most studies have revealed that sales to through travelers make up a much smaller portion of a community's total business activity than is commonly supposed. Grocery stores, auto repair shops, and taverns depend almost entirely on regular customers who live an work within five miles. Even the gas stations, restaurants, and drive-in snack bars cater to a large extent to nearby residents.
According to the U.S. Department of Commerce (1964c:93) several factors determine whether a bypass will adversely affect retail trade. These are: (1) the nature of the business (whether it is highway-oriented or local-oriented), (2) the traffic volume and rate of economic growth after the bypass, (3) physical features like distance and visibility from the bypass, (4) adjustments made by the business establishment or community groups to bypass conditions (e.g. roadside advertising or reorientation towards locally oriented traffic).
A highway-oriented business can adapt to changing conditions after a bypass in several ways. Usually this involves modifying the business to a more localorientation. For example, a fast food restaurant can become to a family restaurant, a souvenir or gift shop may become a variety store or hardware store, a gas station could emphasize service and repair rather than only gas, and a motel could covert its units into apartments (Allen and McElyea 1958: 151-152).
The population size of a town can have an effect on how well the businesses in town are able to adapt to bypass conditions. According to Horwood, Zellner, and Ludwig (1965: 14) "towns over 5,000 people will have a somewhat better chance of adjusting to the economic changes induced by a bypass". This is supported by the theory of central places, which states that larger towns will have a more diversified market and serve a larger and more dispersed population. Businesses in a small town may narrowly specialize and would be more likely to be harmed by a bypass.
Central Place Theory. The theory of central places was conceived by the German geographer Walter Christaller. Christaller claimed that producers tended to cluster together at locations called central places. The central place system is a hierarchy ranked according to population size and market area of businesses (Dicken and Lloyd, 1990a: 25).
Many studies of central place systems have tried to establish a functional relationship between the number of central functions, or the number of establishments of each functional type, and population. Theoretically, areas with large populations will support more central functions than areas with smaller populations. Seven studies carried out in diverse areas found "each level in the hierarchies of Lhe seven areas is also associated with a particular population size or range of population sizes (Dicken and Lloyd, 1990b: 39). Source: Garrison and Marts (1958c), Table 6. Table 4-1 summarizes the findings reported in thirty-seven studies on the effects of a bypass on retail sales by population-size. These results contradict the predictions from central place theory and Horwood, Zellner, and Ludwig's claim that towns over 5,000 people are more likely to recover from a bypass. In towns with 5,000 people or less, ninety-four percent of businesses experienced gains in sales. For towns with populations from 5,000 to 25,000 people, eighty-eight percent of businesses gained in sales. Regardless of these figures, theory supports the idea that an area with a large population stands a better chance of recovering from a bypass than an area with a small population.

Analysis
The number of businesses in existence prior to the bypass were counted and compared to the number of businesses present in 1992. Also, businesses were classified into highway and non highway-orientated. According to the 1990 Census, Wareham's year round population is 19,232. Wareham therefore stands a good chance of overcoming the problems of the bypass because its population is over 5,000 people. In fact, the commercial strip on the Cranberry Highway recovered and prospered since the bypass was built. In 1984, there were 138 business in operation on the Cranberry Highway. This rose approximately fifteen percent to 158 businesses in 1992. As expected, businesses became more oriented to local trade (Table 4-3).
The total decrease in highway-oriented business was thirty percent. The sharpest drop was for amusement and recreation facilities (43%) and fast food restaurants (42%).
In Yarmouth fifty businesses, or thirty-seven percent, of the one hundred thirty-five businesses today, are highway-oriented. Motels represent over half of the highway-oriented businesses, reflecting the area's popularity with tourists. These twenty-seven motels are located within the three mile study area, but the highway extends at least ten more miles to the next town. Along the additional ten mile stretch of highway there are many more motels and other highway-oriented businesses.  The number of businesses on the Cranberry Highway in 1984 increased fifteen percent as of 1992. There may be several reasons why the Cranberry Highway has recovered from the bypass: (1) the businesses successfully shifted from highway-oriented to non-highway oriented, (2) the traffic volume remaining on the highway is sufficient to support some highway-oriented business, (3) the population living within the market area of the businesses is large enough to maintain most businesses.
The third reason supports the theory of central places.

Introduction
The theory of land rent predicts that as access increases, land value will also increase. A change in the transportation system (e.g. a bypass) usually results in a change in the level of access in the area.
Location and access are synonymous in a static framework, but may differ over time. Access is the effective nearness to all other activities or those of interest, and location is a geographic point. As long as nothing else changes, a change in access for a firm means a change in location. If, however, the locations of other firms or features of the transportation system change, the access of the firm is changed without moving its location (Lee and Yujnovsky 1971a: 15) Although the location of businesses on the Cranberry Highway have not changed, the locational characteristics have. Through travellers no longer need to pass through Wareham on the Cranberry Highway, and as a result there has been a shift in relative access (Lee and Yujnovsky 1971b: 1). In a sense access has been reduced for through travellers. However, another change in access, an increase in relative access, has occurred because the Cranberry Highway is now more accessible to local traffic. This shift in access was most likely to the advantage of most local businesses because through traffic usually generates little business for retailers (Bowden 1967: 37).
Access is a major determinant of land value or rent (Lee and Yujnovsky 1971c: 1). A positive shift in relative access usually results in a positive change in land values. Location rent for a unit of land varies with access to its market. The 36 more accessible a parcel of land is to a given market, the more desirable it is. If access increases, then the location rent (or land values) should also increase (Dicken and Lloyd 1990c: 53 The theory of land rent discussed here is based on neo-classical theory. There are other schools of thought that were not applied. The average pnce per square foot in the two study areas behaved very differently from 1986 to 1990 ( Figure 5-1). The recession, which began in 1988, seems to have had a major impact on average prices in Yarmouth. As mentioned earlier, from 1986 to 1988 the price increased. However, between 1988 and1989 prices decreased by sixty-seven percent. This decrease continued, albeit more gradually, in 1990. On the opposite end of the spectrum, Wareham's average price per square foot plunged in 1987, most likely in response to the bypass. However, ' there was a full recovery in 1988, a slight increase in 1989, and a ten percent decrease in 1990. The results of this analysis may have been affected by the small number of cases. The number of cases used in calculating average price per square foot ranged from two to five and may not have allowed a precise measure of land value.   The methods used to determine the effects of the Route 25 bypass are just a few of many to choose from. Some methods were not used because of time or data limitations, while others were not applicable.
When looking at a bypass' effect on business, sales figures may be used in addition to the number of businesses present before and after the bypass. Sales figures give a more complete representation of the business climate than the number of businesses. The number of businesses may increase after a bypass, while the total sales for these businesses may be less than the total sales for the number of businesses prior to the bypass. This information provides a tangible understanding of the effects of a bypass on businesses.
Seasonal variations may also be taken into consideration. It would be interesting to learn whether the Cranberry Highway's average daily traffic for the winter has actually increased since the bypass. There are more local-oriented businesses along the highway now, and local traffic in the winter may have increased due to the bypass. The data on traffic counts were computed, by regional planning agencies on an annual basis, using transportation forecasting formulas.
Unfortunat~: y, these data could not be disaggregated to determine seasonal variations.
Further research on impacts of bypasses may focus on the relationship between central place theory and the effect on business. As mentioned previously, the logic of this theory indicates that areas serving large populations will stand a good chance of benefitting from a bypass. It would be interesting to delve further and to research the relationship between population size and bypass impacts.

Summary
The purpose of this research project is to assess the effects of the Route 25 bypass on the Cranberry Highway. The project examines and measures impacts on traffic, local business, and traffic.
The most important finding is that, contrary to popular belief, bypasses are generally not harmful to the overall business climate of the area being bypassed. On the Cranberry Highway, the number of businesses increased fifteen percent since the opening of the bypass. The gain in the number of businesses is due to a decrease in traffic congestion which, in turn, increased local trade. Not all businesses benefitted from the bypass. Those that did suffer were dependent on through traffic, such as fast food restaurants, gas stations, amusement and recreation, and motels.
Traffic has declined on the Cranberry Highway by approximately fifty percent.
The reduction in traffic has allowed local trade to prosper since the bypass. Prior to the bypass, local residents would avoid the Cranberry Highway and as a result they would not patronize most businesses along it. Since through traffic was bypassed, local residents are more willing to travel on the highway and to shop at highway businesses.