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Somerville’s Multimodal Roadways Planning

by in Accessibility, Development and Zoning, Neighborhoods and Squares, Public Health & Safety, Transportation
Posted on April 8, 2009 at 8:09 pm
Last Modified on April 8, 2009 at 9:04 pm

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Thanks to the interdependence of everything, Barry Rafkind’s post Keep Big Brother ouf of Somerville has morphed into a discussion about whether or not traffic cameras can induce more folks to obey traffic laws (see comments starting from # 7). I’m saying that, with regards to the specific pedestrian safety issues that Steve Roix has worked gallently to solve, this speaks to a deeper need to create a signal timing plan, complete with policies and procedures, and updated equipment, that integrates the regional transportation goals with local priorities for bicyclists, pedestrians, T-riders, motorists, commercial vehicles. etc.  But, I have  no experiential knowledge of the risks and challenges inherent in such an idea, nor the upfront investment costs.

It would be great to hear  from our local experts who have given so much of their time regionally and locally, towards improving Somerville’s multimodal paths of travel!  What do you say- are the traffic issues at the Inner Belt, McGrath and Washington streets, etc. solvable by traffic cameras, more traffic cops, a more comprehensive multimodal traffic plan… or what?

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3 Responses to “Somerville’s Multimodal Roadways Planning”

  1. Barry Rafkind says:
    April 9, 2009 at 11:12 pm

    I second everything eila said! Don’t take the traffic engineer’s explanations for gospel. The solution is better traffic management, not enforcement. One would think, however, that Somerville would be eager to serve more traffic tickets, as a way to boost revenue. But it seems that parking tickets are the city’s bread and butter.

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  2. eila says:
    April 10, 2009 at 12:29 am

    Copied below, for context, are portions of comments #10 and #11 of the Keep Big Brother Out of Somerville post regarding Barry’s reference, above:

    “Steve Roix says:

    …I have been told that the reason the walk time cannot be longer at this intersection is because it would interfere with traffic patterns. Somerville HAS a traffic engineer and the lights along Washington Street are coordinated from the Boston line to McGrath Highway.

    I have spoken with Alderman Roche about this issue a couple of times – he was able to get the walk light extended for the crosswalk at Mrtle Street (opposite Cobble Hill apartments). I was told the because there are two separate traffic signals that need to be accommodated (at Inner Belt Road), the walk signal can’t be extended without interfering with traffic patterns.

    I was among a group of East Somerville Neighbors for Change (ESNC) that met on 2 separate occasions with representatives of the Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) to get them to extend the walk signals at several intersections on McGrath Highway (don’t ask why DCR is charged with this – it has to do with the old MDC and the vagaries of Massachusetts’ bureaucracies). I brought up the Washington Street situation at least once at an ESNC meeting, but was not able to implement any action…

    In my opinion, the problem is rampant disregard for traffic rules (in this case a red light) that has a simple solution: enforcement.

    eila says:

    Steve, you’ve clearly been proactive and responsible in working on these issues for everyone’s behalf…

    However, you’re being told that a walk time at an intersection can’t be long enough for you to cross safely (5 seconds is certainly an unreasonable walk signal) because “it interferes with traffic patterns?”
    So… that answer is telling. Since signal timing often requires trade-offs between various users at an intersection (like motorists versus
    pedestrians and bicycles), it sounds like the choice made here is to tradeoff safe pedestrian crossing times versus maximizing automobile capacity. It’s not like it’s an immutable law- it’s a human-designed system!…

    I’m not dissing the judgement of the Traffic Engineer here, either; she or he may well be a skilled practitioner. To be fair, Somerville joins the nation in receiving low marks with regards to its signal timing policies and procedures. Here’s a complicated issue that would involve our regional and local elected officials working together with the community, to ensure that there’s an integrated … signal timing plan in place- one that can safeguard multimodal use of our roadways.

    Merely ticketing those that break the law sidesteps the need to understand the issues and develop a comprehensive plan. It may seem to be a cheaper or swifter solution, but it dumbs us all down.”

    —

    I don’t drive a car, but do hear quite a bit about the traffic and parking ordinances, how they are unfairly distributed and enforced, etc.

    I’m wondering if we have data to validate the widely-held perception that the City gains a substantial bit of revenue from parking tickets. Can someone track that down?

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  3. eila says:
    May 6, 2009 at 5:06 pm

    Hi folks,

    I just saw that there’s a $2,000 grant availability For Neighborhoods to Receive Funding and Guidance to Improve Pedestrian Safety

    Are you or anyone interested in applying for this, in conjunction with the Community Access & Inclusion Project? We can choose a small portion of the Ville and evaluate this new guide and program (SEE: http://www.walkinginfo.org/res_guide/index.cfm), while documenting and resourcing our City to improve pedestrian safety concerns in that neighborhood.

    Looking through the RFP, I don’t find any obstacles to meeting the requirements.

    If interested, please reply to me offline at: somdisAbilitiescomm “at” verizon “dot” net.

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