Dangerous Bicycle Scenario

[xuth.livejournal.com]

I just ran into (almost literally) a very dangerous bicycle scenario in Davis Square this evening.

I was parked at the (somerville provided) bike parking space between Dover and Day St on Holland/Elm St. I got onto Holland/Elm St and rode southeast through the square right in front of a car on Day St with a green light. The problem is that from my vantage point, I have no stop light or stop sign (they are all behind me where Holland crosses Dover) and from this vantage point, Day St intersecting with Elm St is a completely separate intersection from Holland St intersecting with Dover St. But the traffic signals treat it as one intersection. Without knowing all the details of this intersection (which I should, I just have never dealt with this scenario before), I have no reason to think that I should be concerned about traffic coming from Day St. There really needs to be an additional Holland street light at the corner of Day St.

Comments

[komos.livejournal.com]

Where are the Day Street lights situated?

[xuth.livejournal.com]

There's one in the island and one on one of the Day St corners. But they are purposefully directional so that traffic from other directions can't mistake the signals as applying to them.

[komos.livejournal.com]

So, these lights?



I'm assuming that this is approximately the angle that you'd see them as you approached on Holland, correct?

You have a problem, but not a solution.

[cfox.livejournal.com]

Since much (all?) of the Day Street traffic is turning right, even when you have the right of way, you will still need to be cautious of them taking the right on red without noticing you.

Putting the extra light in would tend to trap cars in the intersection, and hinder the flow from Highland onto Dover.

You effectively stopped and parked mid-intersection; legal for you, but not for a car, and when you're not "acting like a car" the onus is on you to watch both the traffic signals and the pedestrian signals.

Re: You have a problem, but not a solution.

[xuth.livejournal.com]

Since much (all?) of the Day Street traffic is turning right
All traffic must turn right from Day St.
even when you have the right of way, you will still need to be cautious of them taking the right on red without noticing you.
a) they still have to stop first (that being part of the requirement of right on red), b) they still have to look for traffic (that also being a requirement of a right on red). On the other hand if they have a green light they don't have to stop and will often take it fairly fast because they many people _know_ it's a fairly short green light in a very long traffic cycle (regardless of the fact that a right on red there is fairly easy). The right on red thing is a red herring and a non-issue.
You effectively stopped and parked mid-intersection
I understand that, but also if you look at the intersection, from my point of view, without knowlege of Davis Square as a whole (which even you clearly don't have because of the question you asked) it looks like I'm getting onto a one way st on a fairly short block and approaching an intersection without traffic control in my direction (as though there were a stop sign for intersecting traffic).
and when you're not "acting like a car"
What the hell is "acting like a car"? I was legal vehicular traffic. Unless specifically designated, public roads are required accomodate any legal vehicular traffic (pedestrians are a separate category and have separate laws). Ok... that's the law anyway, the reality is that Massachusetts largely doesn't care about safe and sanely marked roads and cares even less about bicyclists on those roads. It's just that this particular case was more insideous than most because it was not among the normal sets of problems one gets as a cyclist.

Inanimate vs. Animate objects.

[turil.livejournal.com]

I'm always entertained by the folks who say things like "You're not a car!" I always want to reply either:

- You're right, I'm a human being!
- You're so clever! What else did you learn in kindergarden today?

But I usually hold my tongue, since I don't really think they would appreciate it. Hopefully, Cfox will have a sense of humor about it and not take it personally, since it seems to be a common grammatical mistake.

Maybe not acting like a car driver, but acting like legal traffic

[turil.livejournal.com]

Bikes are legal road users and (good) traffic engineers do consider bicyclist behavior when designing roadways and signalized intersections. In this case, pulling off the roadway, and onto the sidewalk, to park is a completely normal and legitimate thing for traffic to do, so the city needs to decide what it should do to accomodate this particular traffic pattern.

Also, it's not just bicycle traffic that this scenario could happen to. A motorist that gets stuck in backed up traffic could be caught in that space, or someone stopping for emergency purposes (a flat tire, for example), or even someone dropping an elderly or handicapped passenger off at the building right there. There are many legitimate reasons why traffic would need to stop or slow down on that little block, so it makes sense to design the signals so that everyone knows who's got the right of way at any given time.

The solution: another traffic light

[turil.livejournal.com]

You're absolutely right! While it is obviously an unusual scenario, it's certainly one that the traffic engineers should be aware of and take precautions to avoid it happening again. It may seem a little wasteful to put a second traffic light there, it's pretty clear that there should be one, for any kind of traffic (not just bikes) that stops or slows way down in that space.

I'd suggest contacting Traffic and Parking and CC your comment to Rebeka Gerwitz (sp?) the Alderperson for Davis Square.

contacting T&P and Rebekah Gewirtz

[xuth.livejournal.com]

I'd suggest contacting Traffic and Parking and CC your comment to Rebeka Gerwitz (sp?) the Alderperson for Davis Square

I have just done exactly that. And prior to this I emailed the Somerville Bike Committee.

Re: The solution: another traffic light

[kglue.livejournal.com]

Another traffic light would probably complicate matters for drivers heading on Holland Ave. into the Square.

(1) To avoid the situation of too many cars getting stuck between the two intersections, there would likely be a delayed red on the new set of lights - this typically encourages drivers to run the light at Holland/Dover when it turns red, which probably isn't good for public safety either.

(2) Also, drivers often will focus on the more distant set of light and end up not registering that the Holland/Dover light comes first. Pedestrians beware.

[magpie-leah.livejournal.com]

Considering that that "no man's land" is where any bikers would start out if they had parked their bike there, maybe some sort of sign should be installed that cautions people to watch for Day St traffic.

[ron_newman]

It would be better to just remove the traffic light facing Day Street entirely, and replace it with a stop sign.

[turil.livejournal.com]

Now there's a thought! More environmentally friendly, too...

[chumbolly.livejournal.com]

Huh. Ron, I think that's a great idea. It would fix this bike problem, but it would also fix the pedestrian-car issue at Day -- people are always crossing Day at the crosswalk whether or not the light is green. A stop sign would really simplify things, and traffic never backs up there enough to require a light. As a matter of fact, the light causes more back-up than a stop sign would.

[hauntmeister.livejournal.com]

Humm. Yeah, that's a much simpler solution than yet another traffic light!

[two-stabs.livejournal.com]

lol @ more traffic lights and regulation. So quintissentially Somerville.

[turil.livejournal.com]

You could also go with the latest trend in completely de-signaling an area, like Hans Monderman has been doing in Europe (http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/12.12/traffic.html). I'm all for that solution!

[ceo]

Actually, the thing that really bugs me about that intersection is the green-left-arrow phase from Highland to Dover that conflicts with the green phase for Holland St. southbound. A green arrow implies to me that I don't have to worry about oncoming traffic, which isn't the case here.

[mattlistener.livejournal.com]

I was going to post about that too. It's the only signalling situation I'm aware of anywhere that is green-lighting two traffic streams crossing each other. (At a 110-degree angle, to boot.)

[kglue.livejournal.com]

The left green arrow from Highland to Dover does mean that you have the right of way. When it changes from a green to yellow to no arrow, it means that you no longer have the right of way and have to yield to southbound Holland St. traffic.

(The only issue I have with the green arrow is that pedestrians crossing Dover will often impede your ability to get through the intersection before the green arrow changes. I am sometimes that pedestrian - sorry.)

[ron_newman]

Huh? When the left green arrow on Highland Avenue is lit, Holland Street still has a red light. I've watched it enough times that I'm pretty sure of this.

[aphorisic.livejournal.com]

Wait, I'm confused. Which building is the book depository?

[komos.livejournal.com]

The aliens that trained the second shooter must have switched the map on us!

[allli.livejournal.com]

Monderman's idea is that if you remove all the external cues to drivers, pedestrians, bicyclists, etc. (traffic lights, stop signs, raised curbs, islands) then people will be forced to look at EACH OTHER to see how they should progress, instead of relying on the 'machinery' to tell them to do so. his hope is that if you engage people in actually having to pay attention to where people are moving and whose turn it is, they will drive more tentatively and thus be safer.

i have not experienced this; just read about it being in place somewhere in Europe ( i had thought sweden; but i could be misremembering). obviously at issue is how well it would work with americans...

[artic-monkeys.livejournal.com]

Oh Yea, a google search for him turns up Wired magazine article:

"We drive on to another project Monderman designed, this one in the nearby village of Oosterwolde. What was once a conventional road junction with traffic lights has been turned into something resembling a public square that mixes cars, pedestrians, and cyclists. About 5,000 cars pass through the square each day, with no serious accidents since the redesign in 1999. "To my mind, there is one crucial test of a design such as this," Monderman says. "Here, I will show you."With that, Monderman tucks his hands behind his back and begins to walk into the square - backward - straight into traffic, without being able to see oncoming vehicles. A stream of motorists, bicyclists, and pedestrians ease around him, instinctively yielding to a man with the courage of his convictions......