Counters on Central Ave at Vernon?

[an-art-worker.livejournal.com]

Yesterday there were two women with clipboard 'counting' on the corners of Central + Vernon (I asked them what they were doing and that's what they said: 'counting". They weren't very friendly). Anyone know what's up with that? It's a fast street but that would be a stupid location for a traffic light.

Comments

[reverend-jim.livejournal.com]

Possibly checking the effect of the Lowell St. bridge reopening on through traffic on Vernon? No way could they drop a light there, since there's one not even a block away at Central & Medford. However, they could be considering a "No Left/Right Turn" sign on Vernon during rush hours or something - what time were they there?

[mamajoan.livejournal.com]

No way could they drop a light there, since there's one not even a block away at Central & Medford.
It's more than a block from Vernon to Medford. I think it's plenty far enough for another light -- and might be a good idea too. It can be pretty tricky to cross the street there if you want to get to the playground.

I know that area has been an issue for a while. Remember a few years ago when they made Vernon a one-way street briefly? Boy, did that not go over well.

[ron_newman]

Could be a traffic study related to the future MaxPak development.

[xuth.livejournal.com]

First off they might have been short with you because they were busy trying to count traffic and it's very difficult to do something like that and hold a conversation.

There are lots of reasons to be counting various aspects of traffic for various reasons. It might be something specific to that intersection or trying to get a larger demographic record. Anything from cars with multiple people in it to bicycle / car / pedestrian ratios to how many people walk by and start asking questions. Also even if what they're counting could be done with an automated counting machine, Boston has a history of blowing them up in it's anti-terror hysteria.

[xuth.livejournal.com]

One is certainly a history... but if you dislike that, how about "Boston has a history of applying far more escalated measures to electronic devices of unknown provenance than most cities in the US ranging from blowing up a traffic counter to threatening a teenaged girl with machine guns drawn and aimed."

[heliograph.livejournal.com]

Ron's probably right. FWIW, those jobs don't pay very much, and they get dinged if their overlords see them doing anything besides counting.

[derekp.livejournal.com]

If only there were machines they could put on the road that would count the traffic automatically... oh wait!

Maybe they were counting pedestrian/cycle traffic?

[badseed1980.livejournal.com]

The problem with those is that they get blown up by bomb squads.

[pierceheart.livejournal.com]

I told you: blame the moron lieutenant, not the squad itself.

[an-art-worker.livejournal.com]

Yes, I think they were counting heads, not cars. Didn't look "official" - and I wasn't concerned about it - just curious.

[nathanjw]

The counting machines are pretty bad at counting turn actions as opposed to just the number of axles or vehicles that cross a particular point. They're also annoyingly fragile, even without the BPD overreacting to them.

[heliograph.livejournal.com]

My friend used to do this out in Western Mass, and you have to note which way the car turns from the intersection, whether it is a car or truck, etc.

[ron_newman]

And I once took part in a similar survey of bicycle traffic on Martha's Vineyard. It requires undistracted attention if you want to do it properly.

[marmota.livejournal.com]

If you see them again, I suggest asking if they're with the city or
town. It's possible they're part of some sort of nosy "neighborhood
committee" trying to get statistics to push whatever their pet agenda
is (more one way side streets, changing onstreet parking rules, and so
on). Feel free to call it in and get them busted for loitering if they
aren't official.

[ron_newman]

It's more likely that they are employees of a private contractor hired by a developer to study traffic near a proposed development. Could be Maxpak, could be some other development we haven't heard of. Such traffic studies are often required before a city grants a permit.

[marmota.livejournal.com]

Sorry, meant city or state, not town. Ok, that would be even more
reason to run them off, so we don't end up with any more atrocities
like that new health club/drug store building that utterly fails to
fit the architectural style of the rest of the Square.

[ron_newman]

If the city requires them to do a traffic study, I think it would be rude to harass the people who are conducting it. And while I'm not a huge fan of the new One Davis Square, it does match the adjoining Somerville Theatre-Hobbs Building in height and general size.

[an-art-worker.livejournal.com]

I think for what it is they did a decent job of fitting in with the architecture. My main gripe is that the street level will be dead visually. While there are windows, if they do it like the CVS in Porter then the windows are basically dead displays. Same for the windows on the side street (Post office side).


My other gripe is that CVS should really have been forced to tone down there signage- there are 4 separate signs Do they really need to have more than "CVS" out there? AND - do they need to use different typography for each of the signs? Ugh

[chumbolly.livejournal.com]

CVS "windows" drive me crazy. And having the store entrance on the corner, instead of in the middle of the block, is also not so great.

[ron_newman]

They need "CVS" and "pharmacy" ,but the others could and probably should go away.

[yakshaver.livejournal.com]

>Feel free to call it in and get them busted for loitering if they
aren't official.

God forbid anyone pay attention to what's going on on the streets who isn't official. Next thing you know, people will be holding conversations on the sidewalk, discussing affairs of state that are none of the little people's business.

Fortunately, a series of Supreme Court decisions long since declared loitering laws unconstitutionally vague.

[chumbolly.livejournal.com]

I say, if they aren't wearing jackboots and badges, let 'em have it! Damn agenda pushers, what with their counting and standing about, prepping to commit architectural atrocities on our city. It's un-American!