Three unsafe crossings en route from Newton to Boston & Cambridge along the Charles

by | Jul 22, 2015 | Newton | 7 comments

Adam posted this video in this earlier thread, but I believe it deserves its own post.

7 Comments

  2. Chuck Tanowitz
    Chuck Tanowitz on July 22, 2015 at 2:41 pm

    This was my daily ride for a few years, so I know these intersections well. I still bike on the route occasionally.

    An added twist to the Arsenal Street intersection is that the ramps off the sidewalk both steep and narrow, and lead out into traffic away from the crosswalk. On the other side the sidewalk is broken and narrow, but also somewhat well-used. I’ve often run into issues with people trying to figure out who can go where safely.

    It’s all fixable, but we need the will to fix it.

  3. Michael
    Michael on July 22, 2015 at 3:39 pm

    I’m always approaching these intersections from the east, since I bike into the city via the significantly safer Southwest Corridor bike path along the Orange Line. The video is spot on. And one thing that’s not mentioned but which continues to amaze me is that the eastern half of the crosswalk at North Beacon St. has been completely faded for the last two years – in the video this is shown at minute 1:22. My strategy is to dismount and try to inch my bike ahead of me into the crossing, but I’m fairly confident that a Range Rover is going to knock both me and my bike to Kingdom Come one of these days. Why should they bother stopping for me when there’s no visible crosswalk?

    Also, there’s been talk of improving Cambridge St./River St. for several years now, including fantastical plans for cycling underpasses like the one under the BU Bridge, but since there’s no urgent risk to the safety of MassDOT’s target clientele (motorists), then of course nothing has gotten done. While the rest of us hurry up and wait, would it be so difficult to add even a 20-second walk signal at that intersection? It would make a world of difference.

    Regulars come up with their own maneuvers for getting across these intersections, but as Geoff Adams points out in his video, at the Cambridge St. crossing you’ll often encounter tourists whose jaws drop at the absurdity of the situation, as well as parents with children who have no idea where to begin. Don’t we owe them the opportunity to use Boston’s most popular bike path without having to risk their lives?

    It would be nice if our allegedly plugged-in and data-driven governor were to implement a Citizens’ Connect or 311-type application that would hold MassDOT and DCR to a modicum of accountability in these and other instances. Whenever I come across any fixable public works problems in Newton or Boston, I’m able to report them and in my experience they’ve been consistently repaired or otherwise addressed.

    The exception, of course, is when the problem falls within the jurisdiction of MassDOT or DCR. Aside from a voice mailbox to report potholes on highways, there really is no effective way to communicate with them.

  4. Nathan Phillips
    Nathan Phillips on July 22, 2015 at 4:10 pm

    I agree with all these comments, having ridden through these 3 danger zones just today; my role was to run interference with my body & bike so my 10 year old son could cross safely.

    I want to keep some focus on Bridge and California, however, because it is something Newton has direct control over, and it is scheduled for work THIS YEAR. It may not be as bad as these other spots, but it’s far from a ‘complete street’ design and it would be unconscionable for the city to let this opportunity slip. So I’m going to keep harping on this intersection :)

    I had a great conversation with the proprietor of the Grocery Garrison, the convenience store/lot abutting this intersection. I wanted to let him know that bicyclists are good for business. He was receptive, asking about where a bike rack could go and musing on my suggestion of the possibility of a shade umbrella and chairs and table for resting patrons. (along these lines: http://lexicondaily.blogspot.com/2015/06/stopping-at-steady-eddys.html)

    We bought an ice cream and some ping-pong balls (an impulse buy for sure). I’m organizing a “Carrot Mob” on a nice weekend day and promised the Garrison a shade canopy and folding table and chairs for bicyclists (and others; we don’t discriminate!) to take a break, re-hydrate, re-energize, and build momentum to make Newton live up to its billing as a bike friendly community.

  5. Mark Marderosian
    Mark Marderosian on July 22, 2015 at 4:12 pm

    Major Kudos
    Big congrats on the film work, the narration and the graphics. The editing was top-notch and the music a nice touch. Nice wry bit at end too. I do not ride a bike for any reason but this video has me convinced that these three need to be changed. And more. I’m now going to be more aware as I drive around of what other intersections may be an issue too and keep an eye out.
    The footage at 3:12 with the toddler getting frantically pulled across the street in a race to reach the other side as the cars zipped by had me holding my breath and wincing at the same time.

  6. Dulles
    Dulles on July 23, 2015 at 3:30 pm

    Yup, the first two were on my daily office commute in the 1990s, and I’ve frequently crossed all three over the years. On New England roads, smart cyclists learn to make such calculations in familiar urban intersections. It often means figuring out a primary and one or two backup tactics for most safely riding on roads. As a cyclist who rides many routes around the Boston area, you pick up dozens and dozens and dozens of these. It shouldn’t have to be this way. But it is reality.

  7. Doug Cornelius
    Doug Cornelius on May 26, 2017 at 9:52 am

    One down two to go. On my bike commute this morning I saw that the crossing light has been activated at the Arsenal Street intersection. The sidewalk work was done several months ago and the crossing lights have been in place. They finally turned on the lights.

    The other two crossing in the video are still dangerous.