Realistic traffic solutions for Somerville?

[turil.livejournal.com]

Yesterday, I walked down to Davis Square and, being the transportation geek that I am, I naturally watched the traffic to see what people were up to. This is what I noticed:

- A very large percentage of people, if not most, don't actually come to a legal and safe stop at stop signs, stop lines, and even some red lights. (They either blow through them, slow down but don't actually stop long enough to be able to yield to the traffic that has the right of way, or don't stop until they are well into the intersection and block cross-traffic.)

- Some people rely on stop signs, red lights, and crosswalks for safety (specifically, cross-traffic with the right of way - both vehiclular and pedestrian traffic).

- Other people, who believe that stop signs/lines/signals aren't very reliable indicators of safety, are afraid to use the public ways or are reluctant to go when they have the right of way. (Especially those who don't have a couple of tons of metal armor protecting them!)

- Current policing doesn't seem to be making things better, and the problem is rapidly increasing! (I used to walk to school by myself when I was in kindergarden in this area, and these days I imagine that there isn't a single parent around here who would feel safe letting their kid walk to school alone.)

What to do? It seems like we need a solution that combines a realistic understanding of natural human behavior (including inertia, self-centeredness, and self-preservation), real physical and emotional safety, and clearly defined policies/design. Should we stick with the stop signs, lines, and signals, and just spend lots more money on enforcement? Should we try to create new street designs and signs that work better than the ones we have? Should we try to change people's natural behavior by getting them to understand how important it is for them to cooperate with others? The usual solutions that come from traffic engineers, the police, and city hall don't seem to be working for Somerville. So, I'm thinking that the solution needs to come by thinking a bit more "outside the box"... (remember, Davis Square isn't actually a square! :-)

Also, can we learn anything from other parts of the world where traffic does flow well and safely? Or learn from the past, when things were better in Somerville?

Comments

[ron_newman]

Powderhouse Circle strikes me as a good model to use. For the most part, it depends on everyone simply paying careful attention to their surroundings, and provides minimal guidance from signs or signals. Davis Square would work much better this way.

[mrpet.livejournal.com]

Almost no one honors the stop signs on the entrance nor any of the lights. PH is one of the most dangerous circles that I have ever seen. Don't even get me started about the stop signs since it is already state law to yield to traffic already on the rotary. People blow through the stop signs and do not yeild at all.

[komos.livejournal.com]

Powderhouse Circle is difficult to navigate on bike or foot because driver behavior on the circle is utterly unpredictable, and though it's come up in every one of these discussions, it's really quite a poor model that doesn't parallel the conditions of the Square. Leaving aside all of the accidents and near accidents, the excessive speeds and the optional yielding found in the Circle, it is a large traffic circle that has a great deal of space and no significant features apart from a couple of bus stops. In contrast, Davis Square is a small, built up area with narrow streets, numerous points of interest, and parking on nearly every available curb. It's entirely unclear where the comparison lies since the two areas are different in nearly every way.

[gothic-ham.livejournal.com]

I'm not so crazy about driving or biking through Powderhouse. Walking is easy enough, but then again some girl at Tufts was run over and killed as she crossed Broadway last year.

[ron_newman]

Adding to the above comment...

I'd love to see the city experiment with simply turning off the traffic signal in Davis Square for a month or two, and see if things work better. Not flashing yellow or red, just completely off. It would definitely keep the buses better on schedule.

[komos.livejournal.com]

Unless you're working on a scheme to raise money to fund additional traffic enforcement, you're not likely to change behavior that has developed largely as a means of coping with the unique driving conditions found in Greater Boston.

...and no, I don't think that turning Davis into a pedestrian only zone is a remotely realistic solution.

[turil.livejournal.com]

What if we built tunnels under Davis, like they did in Harvard Square for the busses and through traffic?

[on-reserve.livejournal.com]

This will likely count as snarky but I for one am *really* sick of bicycles who blow through red lights and go down one-way streets in the wrong direction. As a sometimes-driver, I watch bikers blow through red lights and think "who the hell do you think YOU are?" And as a mostly-pedestrian, I get really irked when I'm nearly taken out by a cyclist because I didn't think to "look both ways" on a one-way street or because I crossed on a walk light.

So I aplogize that I don't know what to do about the cars and instead just blew off steam about the cyclists which is not meant to cast aspersion upon *all* cyclists.

[badseed1980.livejournal.com]

Nothing snarky about that. That's a totally valid complaint. That, and the pedestrians who cross the street when they have a "Don't Walk" signal and cars are coming. Oy. If I'm going to be too impatient to wait for a walk signal, I'll at least wait until no cars are near. Oh, and let's not forget the cars who ignore the "yield to pedestrians in crosswalk" signs at uncontrolled crosswalks. I've had people yakking away on their cell phones while driving blow right through crosswalks when I'm ALREADY OUT IN THE MIDDLE OF THE STREET and almost hit me.

[on-reserve.livejournal.com]

Ok. I will add this: near my office downtown, in some of the crosswalks, there are barrels with big "this is a crosswalk" signs that post the fine for blowing through a crosswalk. I feel like Davis had those once before, or at least I remember seeing them before.

[turil.livejournal.com]

The barrel that was in front of Ace Wheelworks would regularly get run over as motorists tried to pass other traffic stopped for pedestrians in the crosswalk...

[kpht.livejournal.com]

omg, ron newman has multiplied!

[wildflowersoul.livejournal.com]

Hee!

[wildflowersoul.livejournal.com]

This just in! Drivers in the metro-Boston area Insert Your Town Name Here suck!

As a driver/walker around the square, I have to agree with the sentiment above that cyclists tend to be way more of a problem in terms of not obeying traffic laws. I know the internet is full of "but I'm not one of those cyclists," but I've yet to see evidence of more than a select few law-abiding cyclists every time I'm driving (which, admittedly, is pretty much only on weekends).

Also, ever driven outside of this country? Minor traffic issues in Somerville are a dream compared to many other roads out there.

[komos.livejournal.com]

Besides, I thought we were looking at installing MORE lights for cyclists.

[znhoward.livejournal.com]

Union Square Main Streets' Design Committee is working on a pedestrian accessibility study that will identify where the square falls short on access, recommend fixes to the city that the city is responsible for, and document/recommend improvements to be considered in the city’s master plan. If you're interested in coming to a committee meeting to see how we're doing this, let me know.

I've also heard it told that the Metropolitan Planning Organization (http://www.bostonmpo.org/bostonmpo/index.htm) has funding available to help communities in need of pedestrian planning.

As a sometimes-driver, sometimes-cyclist, and sometimes-pedestrian, I know how easy it is to get angry and generalize the transgressions of one car/bike/ped (whichever modes you AREN'T using). I think any workable solution needs to include clearer signs, formalized planning, and consistent penalties for violators.

[in-parentheses.livejournal.com]

Yes! I'm totally interested in coming to a committee meeting. Send me an email at sam AT parenthetical DOT net. Thanks!

Please add an ljcut !!!

[lentower.livejournal.com]

This posting could benefit from an ljcut near the top, so less of it is on the main page. This makes it easier for all readers. Thanks.

Put

<lj-cut text="Read more">

at the end of the first paragraph, and

</lj-cut>

at the end of the article.

Thanks -len

Re: Please add an ljcut !!!

[turil.livejournal.com]

I'm sorry you don't want to see all of my post at once, but I'm not really a fan of the LJ cut, unless there is a big image or something. Hopefully, those who don't want to read the whole post can just scroll on past it, as if they had a green light and no cross traffic :-)

[twe.livejournal.com]

I have to admit, that I hate coming into the square because it seems like the vast majority of people who walk/bike/drive through there just don't follow any of the rules. Cars double park and ignore signals, cyclists run lights, pedestrians dart out (or wander obliviously) into the street, often not even at a cross walk, even when there is a walk a few car lengths away.

Personally, I've always wanted to see what would happen if they just started aggressively ticketing everyone for a while (possibly preceding it by repainting/repairing things and a period of just issuing warnings).

Agressive enforcement in problem areas

[mjperson.livejournal.com]

I'm sure things would improve if they did just that. There are numerous places where things are just bad. Post two cops there for a week, and I'm sure they'll earn their yearly salary in tickets.

The place I feel most strongly about that is at the intersection of Packard and Powderhouse. I walk through that intersection only say, four times a week. Each and every time, I note at least three cars that could be ticketed before I manage to make it across the street. And that's 12 citations in like 15 minutes of exposure total... Imagine if they actually stationed a couple of guys there for a week. The city would be rolling in money, and people might start paying attention to the signs again, just in case.

[watchamacallit.livejournal.com]

Compared to many other squares (ahem, Harvard) driving and walking in Davis is a dream. The signs are clear and, in my experience, motorists actually stop for pedestrians in crosswalks (specifically the crosswalks near Ana's and The Burren).

It

[turil.livejournal.com]

I found the experience everywhere around here to be relatively bad. Sometimes things are better and sometimes they are worse. Davis seems to have a particularly bad case of motorists double parking and otherwise illegal parking, as well as blocking crosswalks and bus stops. And, of course, there are the wrong way motorists and cyclists, and sidewalk cyclists. And over at the intersection of Highland and Cutter, where they just put in traffic signals, almost no one at all obeys the signals. And, of course, many pedestrians are afraid to use the crosswalks, and stand there waiting for other traffic wave them on.

Basically, it could be worsee, but it could also be a hell of a lot better!

[theviper.livejournal.com]

you neglected to mention the folks that feel they have to press the walk button when there are no vehicles challenging their ability to cross the street...or those that still stand at the end of the crosswalk with their head up their ass when traffic has stopped for them.

i'll stop for pedestrians...i simply don't do it as much when they aren't paying attention.

[mjperson.livejournal.com]

I'll admit I do that. Frankly, it's a terror response. I know that cars fly through this interseaciton on Holland having just come down the hill from Teele at foolish speeds. I may not see any car at the moment, it may *seem* to be perfectly safe to cross, but I'm not stepping into that crosswalk until the big red light is on, signalling cars way up the hill to start slowing down already.

Thus, I end up crossing and getting glared at by drivers waiting at the red light at the now empty crosswalk. I admit I feel somewhat guilty about that, but the alternative is to trust the average driver on that street with my life *knowing* they've proved themself untrustworthy again and again...

[cden4.livejournal.com]

Stop signs are traffic lights tend to enforce a rigid top-down approach to traffic flow. Some cities are removing signs and lights, replacing them with roundabouts, and allowing all users of the road to negotiate and interact with each other.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2006/11/04/ntraffic04.xml

I've also read that in other countries, they have yield signs where we have stop signs. Coming to a dead stop in a motor vehicle or a bicycle is often not necessary to operate safely, as can be shown with the way that many people drive.

I hate how there is so much focus by drivers on making the green light, instead of actually paying attention and interacting with other users of the road. I wonder if it would be possible to design roads in the Boston area that encourage slow steady speeds and force people to yield to others when necessary.

An example... Mass Ave in Cambridge is such an inefficient road. Traffic speeds up to the next red light and then sits there, often for much of the cycle where there are no vehicles or pedestrians in the other directions. This would be much better if there was a way to have a slow steady speed. Motorists and bicyclists would have to yield to pedestrians and the slower automobile speed would make the road much more easily shared by bicyclists. Of course, this would require everyone to actually respect each other and be nice. Are Bostonians too self-centered for this to actually work? Who knows!

[lizzyclean.livejournal.com]

I think people all over the world are selfish drivers, not just Bostonians. We do not own the copyright on self-centeredness. I loathe how everyone always says Bostonians are jerks. GOOD PEOPLE ARE OUT THERE!!!! Argh.

Better roads and more space would help for sure, but human nature is tough to battle.

Argh.

[c-m-i.livejournal.com]

I suggest we construct a vast Ewok village above Davis Square.

[komos.livejournal.com]

Just so long as we can hunt and eat anyone who is taller and/or has less hair than we do...

[fanw.livejournal.com]

Boy, don't get me started!
I think there are several things at work here, some of them which can be regulated and some of which just require good behavior.

Highland: Making the left lane left turn only would allow people to enter onto Elm without waiting for the one fellow to go forward through the square and stop blocking the turnoff. Remove the closest few spaces of parking in the right lane to allow right turners to make it onto College Ave without waiting for the light. Add crosswalk flag (as in Arlington) on both cross-walks to make drivers more aware.

Russel St: Remove lights at Summer and Elm. There's not very much traffic and a LOT of waiting.

JP Licks triangle: Ticket bikers who flagrantly disobey the rules.

Elm St: Pedestrians walk anywhere (even when crosswalks occur at least every block) and cars and trucks double park. Gah!

That's a start at least...

[turil.livejournal.com]

How do you cultivate an atmosphere of "good behavior"? More education? More vacations to relax highly stressed people? Gold stars on the forheads of the good road users? :-)

[two-stabs.livejournal.com]

You say it's not safe. Can you tell me the last time (one of the assuredly many) pedestrians was hit or killed in Davis?

[komos.livejournal.com]

There is one instance I recall of a cyclist being struck on Highland, but that was probably 5-6 years ago.

[heliograph.livejournal.com]

This article:


http://www.contextsensitivesolutions.org/content/case_studies/davis-square-somerville/

talks about why and how Davis Square is configured the way it is.

[turil.livejournal.com]

Thanks! I had never heard of that before. Reading it made me wonder if returning to two-way streets might actually be a good idea. Though I'm not sure... Also, I'm definitely convinced that there needs to be a bumpout for the crosswalk in front of the Holland Ave. T headhouse.

I'm also wondering if there are simply too many streets open to through traffic. I was recently reading a book by a psychologist from Harvard about how too many options actually makes us crazy, the more options we feel forced to choose from, the more psychotic we get, especially when we have to make the choice in a very limited amount of time. So, maybe removing some of the vehicular left turn options (Highland to Day and Holland to College) might help things move more smoothly.

[marylu.livejournal.com]

the city formed some sort of pedestrian/traffic safety committee within the past year. I can't find a link to it, but if anyone is interested you could call 311 and probably get hooked up.

Pedestrian safety committee

[turil.livejournal.com]

Thanks! I had no idea. I'll have to check it out.

[ratatosk.livejournal.com]

Stuff I would try:


- raised crosswalks (like Columbia Street in Cambridge), to serve both as speed bumps and to make pedestrians easier to see

- aggressively ticket double-parking, especially commercial vehicles. I think this is the only ticketing that would have a deterrent effect, because it is the most likely to catch repeat players. So many cars go through Davis, there is such a high turnover of local residents, and it is so incredibly confusing the first few times through, that it seems unfair to ticket ordinary drivers. Double parking slows down traffic, makes it behave erratically to avoid the unexpected obstacles, and worst of all makes it hard to see pedestrians. We have these nice, wide crosswalk entrances ("neckdowns"?) that in theory provide a buffer between parked cars and the line of sight to pedestrians, but double parking destroys that benefit.

- Make it easier for people who do not want to go through Davis at all to avoid it. The first things I would try are making Willow two-way traffic its entire length (and putting a light at the intersection with Elm), and just plain keeping Winter street free of potholes. This really requires a study of where traffic is coming from and going to first.

- Get a bus system that more people actually are willing to use, so that there is less reason to drive to Davis and try to park. I don't know much about the particular buses in the square, but the usual complaints about MBTA buses are that they are infrequent, unreliable, and not worth the fare.

[ukelele.livejournal.com]

Make it easier for people who do not want to go through Davis at all to avoid it.

Brilliant.

Now that I live in Ball Square it's almost impossible to drive/bike to Porter without going through Davis -- I know no one want traffic cutting through their neighborhoods but not to have *any* route is absurd. (Particularly when there *is* a direct route in the opposite direction.) Once I get off maternity leave my shortest-distance bike route to work involves going through Porter, and I cannot figure out a way to navigate that legally and still exit Porter where I need to be, and the roads keep gravitationally attracting me toward Davis...

I know it's a confluence of major roads, but the square itself is not suited to through traffic.

[artic-monkeys.livejournal.com]

Here is a good link on that. It is called: Traffic Calming 101
http://www.pps.org/info/placemakingtools/casesforplaces/livememtraffic