pedestrians Archives - The Commonwealth Avenue Carriage Lane Two-way for Bicycles

New RRFBs at Mt. ALVERNIA Road, the eastern terminus of the Carriage Road Two-way for Bicycles, Make Cycling Safer

Jane HanserMarch 30, 2026

The official eastern terminus of the Carriage Road Two-Way for Bicycles is located at the eastern side of the intersection with Mt. Alvernia Road.

Cyclists riding east on the Carriage Road, toward Boston College and Boston will find that the eastbound Carriage Road bicycle lane ends HERE.

New RRFBs – Rectangular Rapid Flashing Beacons – make it safer for cyclists to cross Commonwealth Avenue: and to continue east toward Boston College or the City of Boston via Commonwealth Avenue. And of course the RRFBs make it safer for pedestrians (and pedestrians who may be walking their bikes across the wide street).

Note green sign: “BIKE LANE ENDS” and right-pointing arrow. Note also the paved footpath and the manually-operated RRFB.

Fortunately there is an excellent paved pathway that is also ADA-compliant – that cuts through berm leading to Commonwealth Avenue; from there, you’ll now find an excellent crosswalk and RRFB (Rectangular Rapid Flashing Beacon) located on both the north side and the south side of Commonwealth Avenue to get you further east. (See image below.)

View of the bench and the RRFB located on the north side of Commonwealth Avenue at Mt. Alvernia. Simply press the button, wait for the lights to flash, look both ways to ensure all vehicles have stopped and it’s safe to cross, and cross.

In the distance is College Road.

This is the south side RRFB, eastbound side toward Boston College, if you are beginning your ride at Mt. Alvernia on the south side. The motor vehicles in this image are heading west.

To cycle toward Boston College and Boston, continue from here.

Note in the image below, the Carriage Road at the top of this image. Note two pedestrian crossings: one at the east side of the intersection with Mt. Alvernia Road coming, and one on the south side of that intersection. Note also that on the south side of the intersection with Commonwealth Avenue, two separate roads, College Road and Old Colony Road come in.

There is one RRFB on the north side of the pedestrian crosswalk leading across Comm Ave at College Road, the formal eastern terminus of the Carriage Road Two-way for Bicyclists, and one RRFB on the south side. There is also one RRFB on the north side of the pedestrian crosswalk leading to Old Colony Road, and one at College Road. The four RRFBs work in tandem. When a person presses the button at Colony Road, the College Road RRFBs also flash.

View of the pedestrian crosswalk across Commonwealth Avenue and the RRFBs at Old Colony Road on the north and on the western side of the berm opening.

We hope that the City of Newton and the City of Boston will work together to make it safe for bicyclists to continue east along the Carriage Road, to where the Carriage Road ends, just before the Boston College MBTA Greenline“ “B” line station and Blue Bikes station.

Eastern/Boston College END OF THE CARRIAGE ROAD. Carriage Road into Newton on the right. Commonwealth Avenue on the left.

Valentine Street Gets a Pedestrian Crosswalk, a Makeover, and More, at the Carriage Road

Jane HanserMarch 29, 2026

Before

At first, for drivers of the Carriage Road, the STOP sign was too far from the intersection. We had it moved closer to the intersection and DPW installed a second STOP sign on the right side.

Also, for southbound drivers of Valentine Road, there was no stop sign before the Carriage Road, with its many runners, pedestrians and bicyclists.

The only existing STOP sign was located at Commonwealth Avenue.

So DPW painted “DO NOT BLOCK THE BOX.”

Still drivers would stop and wait in “the box,” thus blocking pedestrians and bicyclists from travel east/west.

DPW added a STOP sign on the right, but it was under the tree limbs and not particularly visible, esp as drivers were coming out of a bend in the road. So a second and larger stop sign was installed on the left. It too didn’t help much to get drivers to stop.

A Pedestrian/Bicyclist sign was added for drivers from Comm Ave, by DPW engineer, Zach Bosch.

We observed there was no STOP sign along Valentine before the Carriage Road. We docketed for one, and it was approved and A STOP sign was added on top of the “DO NOT BLOCK INTERSECTION” sign.

STILL drivers continued to pass straight through the intersection. That’s when we asked Chief John Carmichael from the Newton Police Dept. if he would meet with us on-site. He did, and he also brought along several other officers.

We looked at the shrubbery and the overgrown shrubbery that pedestrians had to walk through. Chief Carmichael agreed that shrubbery needed to be cut back to allow a clearer path for pedestrians. He also saw the cobbles as problematic. (See before and after, below.)

Before

After working with Parks and Recreation to keep these bushes off the sidewalk.

Before

After working with Parks and Recreation to trim bushes and trees so pedestrians can safety and comfortably pass.

With Chief Carmichael and the three other officers from NPD, we stood at the intersection of Valentine and the Carriage Road and continued to observe the Valentine Street drivers going right through the two STOP signs, amazed that this was occurring even though there were four police officers standing there! We surveyed and discussed the effectiveness and location of the single existing stop sign on the Carriage Road, and its location so far from the intersection.

We also surveyed and discussed the effectiveness and location of the single existing stop sign on the Carriage Road, and its location so far from the busy intersection.

Chief Carmichael agreed that 1) the STOP sign needed to be relocated closer to Valentine (see left image) and 2) a second stop sign added on the right (see right image). DPW did both.

Only one stop sign, and too far from the intersection

Chief Carmichael noted that a pedestrian crosswalk needed to be installed at the base of Valentine Street, before it intersected with the Carriage Road. After the Carriage Road was repaved in 2023, new ADA-compliant curb cuts are installed. A pedestrian crosswalk was installed across Valentine, as well as several others: One was added across the Carriage Road berm to the east of Valentine and then across Commonwealth Ave, for people wanting to safely cross Commonwealth Avenue; and another one was installed to the west of Valentine across the berm from the Carriage Road and then across Commonwealth Avenue.

As hoped, this, in combination with the other improvements, has been effective in changing driver behavior to STOP the motor vehicle before reaching the intersection with the Carriage Road.

Additional improvements at the heavily-traveled Valentine Street were also made, with the re-paving of the Carriage Road. RRFBs were added along Commonwealth Avenue to both pedestrian crosswalks, both east and west of Valentine St.

The Boston Marathon 2025 Newton

Jane HanserJanuary 24, 2026

The legendary course began in Hopkinton, MA and ended 26 miles later on Boylston Street in Boston, MA but the legendary HEARTBREAK HILL is in the heart of the City of Newton! Thousands of Newtoners came out to Commonwealth Avenue to cheer on the runners. Come see some images from the 2025 and the 2024 marathons as the runners made their way along miles 16 to 21, some of the most difficult of the entire 26-mile route of the famed Boston marathon.