dangerous intersection

[desiringsubject.livejournal.com]

So, there was Yet Another bad car accident on the corner of Powder House Blvd and Packard Ave yesterday. Including a baby in a carseat in the car that ended up on the lawn of 125 Powder House. This intersection, I believe, is too dangerous to have a blinky light any longer. People routinely cruise down Powder House at 45 mph or more and cannot stop for pedestrians or turning cars.

To whom does one write a letter about this? I really feel that a real, three light traffic light is finally called for there, at least so that one can push the button for a walk. Even a blinky light like they have on Rt. 16 so that you *can* push the button for a walk would be an improvement, but wouldn't solve the issue of people turning off or onto Packard, which people do pretty frequently.

Thoughts, dslj?

Comments

[prunesnprisms.livejournal.com]

Why wouldn't you start with 311?

[schpahky.livejournal.com]

Call 311 or fill in their online form. They are very responsive. The online form is cool because you can log back in with your request # and watch your query routed through the different departments until resolution.

[desiringsubject.livejournal.com]

THank you. I have done just that! I encourage others with knowledge of the intersection to follow suit. Strength in numbers and all that.

[ron_newman]

Does it need a light, or just a four-way stop?

[desiringsubject.livejournal.com]

Huh! For reasons I can't account for, the idea of a 4 way stop hadn't occurred to me. But yes, that would go a long way to solve the problem as well.

Probably less tech required, too, just to convert blinky yellow to blinky red...

[ukelele.livejournal.com]

Gahhh, that's so terrifying. I hope people were OK. Time to go hug the toddler.

[t-stop.livejournal.com]

That is a terrifying intersection no matter how I get through there (walk, bike, car) and no matter which direction I'm traveling (done them all); the only time of day it feels safe is when the school crossing guards are out. I can tell that an intersection is bad when I'd rather traverse a rotary on my bicycle.

There are a lot of kids that move through that intersection. My daughter goes to preschool less than a block from there and we ride or drive through that intersection daily. There is a tot-lot a couple of blocks down towards powderhouse square. There is a school at the end of Packard street.

I'd throw out another vote for just slowing down the whole road via bikelanes, speedbumps, stop signs, traffic lights, whatever it takes.

[zenala.livejournal.com]

I lived by one of the on-demand lights on Beacon St for a few years, and in my experience, cars frequently didn't notice when it was red and sped right through (including cars that were half a block away when the light changed), which on at least one occasion involved nearly hitting a parent and small child. (Thankfully not actually hitting them, just coming close enough for the parent in the situation to be justifiably vocal with the car in question, who was arguing that they were perfectly in the right for speeding through a red light and nearly hitting a kid... gotta love some of the drivers around here...)

A four-way stop might be a good idea, though, since people will generally at least slow down for a flashing red and/or a stop sign...

[ursamajor]

I live near one of those blinking lights intersections now, and even with the push button for the walk signal, I am very cautious at them - I would say at least 1/3 of the time when I need to cross, at minimum, one driver will just speed on through their red light and my walk signal, if not more.

(And it's not a blinking light intersection, but a routine safety failure: when people try to turn left onto Somerville Ave from Mossland - the cars headed southeast on Somerville Ave routinely misinterpret the two sets of lights they can see. When I have the green light coming from Mossland, the "near" light on Somerville Ave SE is red, but the "far" light at the corner of Somerville and Beacon is green. I've almost been T-boned *twice* in the last month at that intersection because Somerville Ave drivers think that far-green means they can go, and the nearby-red light must be broken. Or they didn't *see* the nearby-red light, or at the very least didn't understand that *that* was the light that applied to them.)

Um. I should probably take the advice of this post and figure out who my alderman is and get some attention directed that way, right? *grin*

[schpahky.livejournal.com]

This happens at the on-demand light on Rt. 16 too. If you're a pedestrian you really have to wait and make sure cars don't blow through, which lots of them do.

[slinkr.livejournal.com]

In addition to 311, you can write to the mayor, the Somerville Journal, and the alderman for that area.

[miss-chance.livejournal.com]

I'd hold off on the newspaper until after writing the gov. offcials. It's a little tacky to go to the newsapers first, before contacting your elected officials, because in a way that's like escalating a problem without first talking to the people whose responsibility it is to deal.

[pseudoboy.livejournal.com]

I would attempt to get on the agenda of a city council meeting or speak with whatever committee addresses transportation/public safety. I'd wager to guess that your reps would be more responsive to a person who showed up in front of them vs. someone who wrote a letter. You could also try to call your city representative.

[thetathx1138.livejournal.com]

People routinely cruise down Powder House at 45 mph or more and cannot stop for pedestrians or turning cars.

No, they can stop, they just don't want to.

If I were Somerville, I'd just hide a nice motorcycle officer with a radar gun right off Packard. Probably he'd pay his entire salary in the first week.

My gripe is with the pedestrian light right at Dickson. It's great the city installed it, but they apparently will need to install tire spikes before drivers actually pay attention to the flashing yellow light.

[unsi-sempai.livejournal.com]

I can see that section of Powderhouse from my kitchen window - they do indeed often set up a speed trap there. Unfortunately, that doesn't seem to deter people from zipping through at speeds much higher than the posted limit.

[m00n.livejournal.com]

Speed traps in particular locations do not slow drivers down. The only thing that affects the speed of the drivers is the layout of the road. This road is WAY wider than it needs to be here, and it definitely lulls people into the false sense of security that encourages them to drive too fast.

[jodi.livejournal.com]

i routinely bike down the hill on packard on my way home. i routinely see cars and bikes blow through this light. i would totally support a four way stop sign at this intersection for the safety of cars, bikes, and pedestrians.

[somervilleguy.livejournal.com]

Having lived in this area for along time (about 40 years) and having used that intersection almost daily particularly when I attended PHCS I always hoped for a fully functional light there. About twenty years ago I asked my then alderman about it and was told that I wasn’t the first person to ask and the answer was (as it always is) too much money for a light and a four way stop would be too disruptive to traffic and the neighbors didn’t want it. Maybe community support has changed in that time and maybe a four way stop wouldn’t be opposed? Try asking Bob Trane via email and see if you get a response please post it here.
My personal preference would a pressure switch that only activated after a car on Packard triggered it and of course one of those light pole buttons for pedestrians.

About 10-15 years ago a pedestrian was killed while crossing in the cross walk at night and from the story I read was thrown up in the air and landed on the hood of a car coming in the other direction. That car happened to be a police car. I think that driver was charged but it’s been so long I can’t recall the details.

[srakkt.livejournal.com]

FWIW, I remember that accident. At the time I was living just over the Medford line.

[closetalker11.livejournal.com]

A friend of mine who is a civil engineer tried to convince the city (and his firm) to hire him to fix that (and other Powderhouse) intersections. He worked at it for like 2 years.

[unsi-sempai.livejournal.com]

I was wondering what happened there yesterday. I often feel unsafe crossing there, and it seems like it's the site of more accidents than usual.

[miss-chance.livejournal.com]

If that's Ward 6, drop an email to: Rebekah L. Gewirtz - rebekah@RCN.com
if it's Ward 7, Drop an email to: Robert Trane - RobertTrane@aol.com

You should also include the members of the Standing Committee on Public Health and Public Safety: William White, John Connolly, Rebekah Gewirtz.
[suddenly too lazy to go get all their email addys... find them here: http://www.somervillema.gov/Department.cfm?orgunit=ALDERMEN]

[somervilleguy.livejournal.com]

Its been ward 7 since I've moved here. I don't think 6 starts until Bromfield but I'm not sure where the line is in that area.

curb extensions

[ravingwanderer.livejournal.com]

This intersection may be a good candidate for sidewalk curb extensions, that make the roadway narrower at the crosswalk. (Occasional placement of one of those automated radar thingies might also help keep speeds down.)

[http://users.livejournal.com/_mattt/]

Does anyone know what the posted speed limit is on that section of Powderhouse? I went and drove the section between Curtis and Burnham this evening, admittedly after dark and trying to be careful driving, but I didn't see a single speed limit sign nearby. Also, Burnham street has a crosswalk sign protecting the crosswalk (http://maps.google.com/maps?q=Powder+House+Blvd+and+Packard+Ave,+Somerville,+MA&sourceid=navclient-ff&rlz=1B3GGGL_enUS258US258&um=1&ie=UTF-8&split=0&gl=us&ei=uem-SaX3Ao-1tweS3oj4Cw&sa=X&oi=geocode_result&resnum=1&ct=image), whereas there is no indicator for the intersection at Packard. It's a start.

[ron_newman]

By default, any city street has a 30 mph speed limit. WalkBoston has been trying to get this reduced to 25.