[identity profile] jh78.livejournal.com posting in [community profile] davis_square
My wife and I live on Cedar Street and we are becoming increasingly disturbed by the speed that cars pass through this corridor between Broadway and the bike path.  If you have ever been down Cedar, you will notice that the center yellow line has been painted over, thus giving evidence that the street was not engineered for the two way traffic PLUS parking that exists today.  We have emailed the police department to see if we could get increased patrols in the area for speeding, but we only got one of those signs that tells you how fast you are going.  Yes, we know that we live on a busy street and should deal with it, but the minute someone gets injured crossing the street it will be too late. We are interested to see if anyone has suggestions on how we can get the city to add traffic calming measures here and elsewhere in the city.  Cambridge does it (especially around school zones), but Somerville seems to be lacking in this area.  Any thoughts?

Date: 2007-09-20 02:32 am (UTC)
From: [personal profile] ron_newman
Without the parallel parking, people would drive faster. Removing it would be a mistake.

Date: 2007-09-20 01:25 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] fanw.livejournal.com
I feel like there must be a better solution to speed issues than making a road too small for cars to pass each other. People turning from Highland onto Cedar routinely sit directly on the yellow line to avoid hitting parked cars. It's dangerous for the cars going the opposite direction and for bicyclists trying to get through.

Reducing the width of a road results in
(a) slowing the speed of careful drivers, or
(b) increasing the number of accidents among reckless drivers.

There must be a better solution.

Date: 2007-09-20 03:54 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] grapefruiteater.livejournal.com
I think that's what I was getting at. The main reason I think Cedar is dangerous is the width of the road, particularly in that section up by Broadway. I find myself driving much closer to the curb on the passenger side than I am comfortable with, and I still have to swerve or even stop so that oncoming cars can pass me. If the city didn't let people park on the blocks between Broadway and Highland, it would be easier for the road to handle two-way traffic. It seems like we're dealing with many factors contributing to a dangerous street, and it's hard to isolate any of them under the current circumstances.

I agree with the other poster who mentioned the lack of two-way streets and cross streets in that area as a major contributing problem. I don't know how that can be fixed, but it does make it difficult to drive through the Porter Square/Spring Hill/Ball Square/Powderhouse Square area.

Date: 2007-09-20 04:13 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] heliograph.livejournal.com
"it would be easier for the road to handle two-way traffic"

And the result would be that people could speed down that street at 40 or 50 mph.

Date: 2007-09-20 04:34 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] grapefruiteater.livejournal.com
Like I said, that's a separate problem, and anyone trying to "fix" Cedar Street needs to isolate the factors contributing to it being dangerous. I think the width of Cedar Street is a bigger problem than speeding. If it's going to remain a two-way street (and let's face it, we can't make that decision here), it's probably safer to ban parking on the blocks closest to Broadway. If the city is entertaining the idea of turning it into a one-way street, that's a different story.

Date: 2007-09-20 05:17 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] heliograph.livejournal.com
It doesn't have any stoplights, stop signs, or curvy bits, and it has two steep hills on either side of it. That's why people drive fast on it, and that's what makes it dangerous. The width doesn't make it dangerous, if anything it makes it safer: if drivers feel like they have to go slow and pay attention while driving down it, they're less likely to have an accident.

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