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

[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.

[turil.livejournal.com]

As a bicyclist, pedestrian, and motorist, I agree with you about disrespectful behavior of bicyclists as well as everyone else. I definitely don't single out any one kind of road user as the only offender. Everyone seems to be doing something that causes problems! :-)

So I'm wondering if there is a solution that would make things smoother and safer for everyone, not just one form of road user. I'm thinking that there must be a more ideal design/policy for dealing with all the diversity in Somerville traffic.

[srakkt.livejournal.com]

It's worth noting that many of us cyclists are also irked by this behavior. It reflect poorly on the rest of us.

It's important to remember that in addition to being conferred the same rights as motorists that we also now carry the same responsibilities.

[hrafn.livejournal.com]

I thought the bicycle bill of rights got vetoed by the outgoing governorjerk. Did that get overturned or something?

[srakkt.livejournal.com]

I'm pretty sure that it did get vetoed, but it didn't really confer any new rights; rather it was intended to further clarify existing rights and responsibilities. MassBike (http://www.massbike.org/bikelaw/) has a good summary of the current law.

[turil.livejournal.com]

There wasn't all that much to the Bicycle Bill that was vetoed. It mostly was an attempt at moving the existing (very good) bicycle-related laws into the traffic section of the law books, rather than in an obscure section dealing with bridges. And even this bit was stripped out of the bill before it passed the legislature. The only other things in the bill were bits about dooring a cyclist being made clearly illegal, a silly and confusing law about bicyclists not riding more than two abreast, some more clarification about not making a right turn into a bicyclist, and some stuff about ticketing proceedures. All the rest of the bicycling laws are already in the books, and have been for a very long time.

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

If you are a cyclist and engage in such behaviour, please be sure to do it wearing all dark clothing around dusk. That's my personal favourite.

Years ago, when I was living in NYC just after college, I witnessed a cyclist being struck and killed by a livery cab. Although it really doesn't matter when you're dead, the cyclist was at "fault" too, having blown a red light. It was an awful sight and has stuck with me to this day.

I have to agree with your objection and I do not consider it snarky at all. As another cyclist, pedestrian, and (now predominantly) motorist, such misbehaviour reflects poorly on the rest of us. Everybody has to work together, and really share the road. I remember getting laughed at by another cyclist for using hand signals.

Okay, my rant about disrespectful pedestrians/cyclists/motorists is over.

As for Davis Sq., I'm really not sure what measures could be taken to improve efficiency (another Civil Engineer here and transit & planning fan). I think it is just a really complicated design.

[emcicle.livejournal.com]

If you are a cyclist and engage in such behaviour, please be sure to do it wearing all dark clothing around dusk. That's my personal favourite

also, without a helmet!

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

Oh, yes, how could I forget! And be listening to your iPod too :)

[turil.livejournal.com]

And obviously no lights either. Lights would just ruin the effect.

[two-stabs.livejournal.com]

Who cares? Bikes have the luxury of being more efficent at times when a car would get pulled over. And how many times has a bike 'wiped you out' exactly?

[koloratur.livejournal.com]

Well, I've nearly been run over ON SIDEWALKS at least 3 times in the past few months by bikers who were riding ON SIDEWALKS, extremely fast, at night. A fast bike is going to do a lot of damage to a pedestrian, even though it's not as big as a car. Everyone should have to follow the rules of the road.