Speaking of Road Issues

[duffless2323.livejournal.com]

This reminds me of a question I've been meaning to ask. Who do you talk to if you feel an intersection needs a light or sign change?  Is it the city, or the alderman, do I just call 311?  Anyone have experience with this?

The intersection in question might technically be Arlington - - has anyone else noticed an issue at that 4 way intersection between Broadway and Rt 16/Alewife Brook Parkway?

If you are going down Broadway from Somerville going towards Arlington and need to make a left onto 16 you get a green light and the traffic coming the opposite direction is stopped. 

However, since you have a green light if you haven't driven through there a bunch of times you don't know they are stopped on the other side until you wait a bit and they don't go.  I have seen people needing to go left stop at this green light expecting traffic from the opposite direction to go and this seems dangerous.  I feel like if the traffic coming from Somerville has the right of way there they should have a green arrow not a green light.

Thoughts?

Comments

[ceo]

The delayed green is a fairly standard configuration in MA, for good or ill. (Less ill if it's signed as such, but we all know how likely that is.)

The real problem at that intersection is that left-turning traffic on 16, a somewhat busier road, gets nuthin': no left arrow, no delayed green. If you don't floor it the second the light changes and cut in front of the oncoming traffic, you will literally sit there all day.

However, because the intersections is right by the Somerville-Arlington border, getting anything done about it will require the cooperation of both municipal governments and DCR (which owns that part of 16), and the first part will be getting all three entities to not point at the other two and say "it's their problem".

[pierceheart.livejournal.com]

Since I moved to the boston area in 1997, the one thing I thought most needed is left turn arrows at most major intersections.

Westbound 60 at rte 28 in Medford ... argh!

[cnoocy]

The real problem at that intersection is that left-turning traffic on 16, a somewhat busier road, gets nuthin': no left arrow, no delayed green. If you don't floor it the second the light changes and cut in front of the oncoming traffic, you will literally sit there all day.

Enthusiastically agreed. I was stuck there just about 24 hours ago.

[spot.livejournal.com]

Indeed. That is a far worse problem for me than the lack of signage advertising the delayed green (valid, but less of a concern).

[qwrrty.livejournal.com]

It's certainly really aggravating, but the delayed green on Broadway bothers me a lot more because it teaches drivers to assume that they have the right of way when turning left on a green.

[spot.livejournal.com]

I'm not sure it is possible to teach drivers in this state anything.

My brief tenure as a MA resident has only taught me that the state motto is "F*ck you! I'm drivin hea!"

[geekpixie.livejournal.com]

I was waiting for you to say, "and I am still there, brief, from my blackberry" =)