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.

[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.

[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.

[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.

[kpht.livejournal.com]

omg, ron newman has multiplied!

[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.

[wildflowersoul.livejournal.com]

Hee!

[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.

[komos.livejournal.com]

I'm guessing our Powderhouse Circle advocates are not drivers.

[komos.livejournal.com]

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

[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.

[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.

[mrpet.livejournal.com]

While I'm a driver, I would never what to ride my bike there or even try and cross as a pedestrian. One of my friends who bikes calls it 'the circle of death'

[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...

[turil.livejournal.com]

Ron and I come to transportation planning from very different directions, and only occasionally agree :-) But, yeah, we are both transportation geeks, and we both served on the Somerville Bicycle Committee. There are lots more of us transportation geeks around as well!

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

[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).

[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).

[komos.livejournal.com]

I figured you were since you have a realistic vision of how Powderhouse works.

When I was riding regularly, I had one too many close calls and decided on better routes. I still drive through, but will often find ways around just so I don't have to guess which entrance is going to spit out a car at an unfortunate moment and cause a white-knuckle moment.

[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.

[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!

[on-reserve.livejournal.com]

That is way more ironic than any fly in a chardonnay :)