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

[turil.livejournal.com]

Hmmm? You know that all traffic lights already apply to biyclists, right?

[komos.livejournal.com]

How soon we forget... (http://community.livejournal.com/davis_square/609138.html)

[turil.livejournal.com]

Those weren't just for cyclists, though. They were for any traffic that happened to pass Dover street but not make it past Day before the light changed, or were pulling out from parking or dropping someone off there.

[komos.livejournal.com]

I have never seen car traffic "stuck" in that short stretch of road unless there's a backup moving through the Square, and in those cases, cars tend to creep along as though their bumpers were glued together until they clear the intersection. Careless and/or aggressive cyclists are the only reason that an additional light could be realistically argued, but more often than not they would continue doing precisely what they have been doing - ignoring lights when they are, like the op, not paying attention; or ignoring lights when it is inconvenient to stop.

It's interesting that in spite of all the ideas floated in that thread, there's been no movement on the Square's traffic "issues." That being the case, what is the purpose of this thread? I mean, outside of rehashing unworkable ideas like the Powderhouse/roundabout model? Do you or anyone else here have the ability to effect change, or is this just an pointless quasi-intellectual exercise that gives the illusion of community organizing, and one we'll get to watch again some six months hence?

[turil.livejournal.com]

There are many legal reasons for vehicles to get trapped in that space, since it is a legal section of the road between to intersections. Specifically, bikes can legally park on that sidewalk, and legally enter the road there. If there isn't a traffic signal to stop traffic from going through the Day street intersection then they legally have a right of way. And letting two cross streets have the right of way is kind of a bad idea.

And, the putpose of my post was to try and generate some ideas for solutions. And yes, we all have the power to make changes happen in the city if we want. I've been the chair of a city transportation committee, and helped make several changes to Somerville policy in general as well as influencing specific design projects in the city. And I'm just a normal gal with an art school education :-) So, yeah, there is a lot that we could do if we wanted to. The real key is to get a more diverse range of people involved, so that it's not just us transportation geeks making the decisions for everyone...

[komos.livejournal.com]

The lights are timed such that it is exceedingly rare that car traffic gets "trapped" in that area unless there's a snarl further up Elm.

As for bike traffic, they can go ahead and assume that they have the right of way in spite of two lights that are perfectly visible from the city-provided bike lock in front of the hole that was 1 Davis Square, but they're risking getting creamed by traffic that actually has a light. (This has been confirmed, and if anyone decides to challenge this, I will provide photos to prove it.) Incidentally, MA law lays the onus of responsibility for a collision occuring as the result of a vehicle leaving a parking spot on that vehicle. In other words, bikes coming off of the city-provided bike park are liable for any accident they cause by violating ROW for traffic turning with a light. There is no excuse for riders who fail to pay attention to their surroundings.

"We all have the power to make changes happen..."
And yet, nothing has changed as a result of either of the conversations on this topic several months ago. Sure, we've talked about the Monderman model, but it simply will not work in the Square. The carless idea is just as unworkable and would arguably hamstring local businesses. What other ideas have come out of three lengthy and meandering discussions? Tunnels? The Ewok Village?

Perhaps the reason why ideas are so sparse is because it's entirely unclear why we need ideas at all since there's no real evidence aside from your repeated insistence and reminisces about childhood romps that demonstrates that traffic through the Square is not working.

[turil.livejournal.com]

I've learned a lot out of this discussion! Annd I had a lot of fun brainstorming with those who were interested.

It sounds like you aren't interested in working on traffic issues. And that's fine. But why bother joining the conversation if it only annoys you? Why not spend the time doing something you enjoy and is more meaningful to you? Unless, of course, complaining is what you enjoy and find meaning in :-)

[komos.livejournal.com]

I'm a strong believer in not fixing things that are not broken. If there is a genuine problem in the Square that represents something outside of the standard "[drivers/bicyclists/pedestrians] are dangerous!" complaints, then by all means, let's take a look at it. The trouble is that no case has been made to demonstrate a problem, and without a clear definition of the issues, any discussion about "solutions" is pointless.

It's clear that we disagree on the basic premise of the existence of a problem. Fair enough. What troubles me is that rather than providing evidence of this undefined thing that you've decided we should fix, you've instead chosen to be dismissive and patronizing. Disagreement does not imply a lack of interest. Disagreement is an indication that you, as the op, have not made a sufficient case to warrant the application of time and resources to search for a solution. I brought up the previous two discussions because we've travelled this road before. We have been presented with various meandering complaints which are followed by unworkable ideas which are then followed by utter inaction. You'll have to forgive me for questioning the point of revisiting the issue when it's not been made clear that there's an actual issue.

If you believe that a challenge to your position is tantamount to complaining, it's no wonder that this is little more than a hobby for you.

[wildflowersoul.livejournal.com]

Amen, brother, a-freakin-men.

[turil.livejournal.com]

So you also think that Davis Square traffic is healthy and up to your standards of usefulness? I'm glad it's working well for you!

Hopefully we can come up with some solutions that keep the stuff that's working well for you, and get rid of the stuff that's not working well for others.

[turil.livejournal.com]

Life is my hobby! I try not to take anything so seriously that it makes me unhappy when things don't go the way I expect them to. I'm really glad that you have chosen to continue to express your concerns about this issue, because now I really have a better understanding of what you think. I had no idea that you didn't see a problem in Davis. I didn't even imagine that anyone needed proof of a problem! So you can imagine why I was confused about your discussion. I imagined that you were feeling hopeless, which is pretty common and understandable. Now I see that you actually like it the way it is. Good to know! I do see a lot of good things happening as people travel into Davis, so thanks for reminiding me of that! Hopefully those of us who have problems with the traffic in Davis can find ways to work with the good stuff to make it even better.

Damning with faint praise?

[komos.livejournal.com]

So, what you're saying here is that you think that your viewpoint is so self-evident that it's next to impossible to believe that someone would or even could see things differently.

Dismissing as all who disagree with you at the outset as incomprehensible gains you nothing, so perhaps a novel approach is called for. If you stop for a moment, move away from the assumption that your ideas are incontrovertable and instead make a case that the conditions in the Square represent a significantly different problem than any of the other roadways in the Greater Boston area, you may gain real advocates and supporters.

I want your opinions!

[turil.livejournal.com]

My whole point of starting a discussion was to get other people's opinions, since my own opinion is indeed very lobsided. I'm not sure why you think I don't appreciate your thoughts, though I admit I am definitely confused about what you want. So maybe you could clarify. What do you want to see that is good about Davis Square traffic and are there any things you'd like to see changed in Davis?