….why is there a traffic light at the corner of Newtonville Ave and Harvard St?
I was just wondering ….
by Guest post by Jim Epstein | Dec 23, 2019 | Newton | 16 comments
Crazy Divers: Men be like...
drivers man be like
….why is there a traffic light at the corner of Newtonville Ave and Harvard St?
Crazy Divers: Men be like...
drivers man be like
I’m sure the statute of limitation has expired by now.
40+ years ago I lived a few doors down from that traffic light with a house full of other 20 somethings. Late one night someone at our house posed that exact same question.
A half hour later all of the bulbs had been removed from the traffic light. There .was no longer a traffic light at that intersection. A few days later the city had it back up and running.
My friends and I have long since given up our traffic light vandalism so if anything happens to that traffic light, don’t talk to me. Go ring the Epstein doorbell.
I’m intrigued by Jerry’s youthful rebelliousness! Tell us more!
@MMQC – no, my youthful indescretions were too plentiful and the statute of limitations may not have run out on them all.
… though I thought they had run out on this one. https://youtu.be/RGl5bYtLmE0
I doubt it is the reason its there, but that light serves as a just enough deterrent to discourage someone making the 5 min trip from say Whole Foods to Newton North from taking the “back roads” Harvard->Cabot St. rather than “main roads” Washington->Walnut. Ironically today Google maps says it is just a minute longer to take Crafts to Watertown to Lowell to Otis to Walnut.
Having grown up in that neighborhood, that light was put in after enough accidents happened from cars coming down Newtonville Avenue and not stopping. That would have been the late 60’s. It is to control the way people drive, versus the way they should drive. With respect for others, looking both ways, and courtesy. It’s the same reason there is a four way stop at the corner of Harvard and Cabot Streets, as cars would accelerate east on Cabot street with disregard for children walking to school. I was one of those crossing guards in the 6th grade. Nothing to with Whole Foods, as that store was a Finast, or First National store, then purity supreme, then Bread and Circus, then Whole Foods.
Would everyone agree that a 4-way stop would also suffice at Newtonville Ave and Harvard St.? If not, why?
If there was nothing there today and you asked me if a 4 way stop sign was a good idea, I’d say yes.
If you asked me today whether there is sufficient public good to be had by incurring the expense and effort to replace a working traffic light (now don’t get any ideas) with a 4 way stop sign I’d say no.
Jerry,
OK how about the traffic lights at that intersection simply run as blinking red from all directions which would mean exactly the same thing as 4-way stop signs (at least until the current traffic lights wear out or need to be replaced).
How much driver/passenger time and fuel idling is wasted day after day by drivers waiting at that intersection for essentially no reason? In the scheme of things, OK no big deal, but still, if it can be fixed, at essentially no cost, to save time and at the same time reduce carbon footprint (multiplied by many cars etc. daily) why not?
And really, does having to stop and wait for 60 seconds really kill you? It might actually save your life….
What Jack Leader said. A child was struck and killed by a speeding driver on the downward slope of Newtonville Ave. near Bellevue Street or thereabouts in the early 1970s. I could be mistaken, but my guess is that the traffic signal you speak of was installed in the aftermath of the child’s death.
Whole Truth,
You’re absolutely correct that waiting “won’t kill you”. But as I said, if it can be fixed, at essentially no cost, to save time and also reduce carbon footprint (multiplied by many cars etc. daily) why not? There’s certainly a lot of other waiting when driving, especially in congestion, so why add to it for no reason?
Laura,
I suspected a traffic casualty may have been involved — and the immediate reaction. But the points I make above still pertain.
I have wondered the same. I think that a 4 way stop would be sufficient, especially after the lights went up at Washington and Harvard
@Jim, because I have a lot to say about this topic, having grown up in Newton Corner in the 1970s in the wake of a series of juvenile pedestrian deaths caused by motor vehicles operators, I’ll postpone my reply to you until January. For now, happy holidays to the Village 14 community!
Laura,
Ahhh, Newton Corner, motor vehicles and pedestrians. Maybe someone can address the Circle of Death.
All,
Speaking of traffic lights, there is one locale missing a traffic light where I feel one is desperately needed (and there HAVE been accidents/casualties) or alternatively 4-way blinking light stop there: Intersection of Walnut Street and Kingman/Berwick Roads — just waiting for a further casualty (especially because of very poor visibility from Kingman to the North and speeding Walnut Street traffic, also making unsafe Northbound left turns out of Duncklee and Lakewood). I’m not a traffic engineer and there may be prohibitive factors for a light or 4-way stop there, but just sayin.
I suspect the provides someone a brief pause, to reconsider their purchase at Garden Remedies at the end of Harvard.
Kidding aside, I have a buddy on Newtonville Ave…and there does not appear to enough traffic to warrant a light…at least during times when I visit him (say, on Sundays for Pats games).
At a time where everyone is hyper sensitive about energy use and climate change, a 4-way stop sign would do the same job.
Merry, merry!!
Several years ago I remember that the City proactively conducted a trial that covered up the traffic signal at Newtonville & Harvard and replaced it with 4 temporary stop signs to control the intersection. The trial was in place for a few weeks, and the intersection seemed to function adequately with stop signs. In then end, I think that there was some pushback from some residents who felt that something was being “taken away” from them, no strong support for permanently removing the signal, and a discussion about the reasons for spending the money to install the traffic signal there years before. It was decided that since the signal had already been installed, was still functional, couldn’t be moved and reused somewhere else, and since people voiced support to retain it, that it was reasonable to keep the signal there. If we were starting from scratch, my bet is that the intersection would be controlled by stop signs. Possible lesson: while change is usually a good thing, sometimes it is preferable to keep things as they are rather than to make a change for reasons that are not very strong.