Category: stop signs

Legal Two-Way Non-motorized Bicycle Travel on Commonwealth Ave Carriage Lane “North Drive” Passes Traffic Council 5-0 TC112-20

Posted By: Jane HanserPosted On:

There are several landmark projects occurring in the City of Newton. One is called the “Commonwealth Avenue Carriageway Redesign” project. It is not to be confused with the “Commonwealth Avenue Two-way for Bicycles.” Information about the “Commonwealth Avenue Carriageway Redesign” can be found : here: Commonwealth Avenue Carriageway Redesign. It’s fully funded through MassDOT’s Bicycle and Pedestrian Program, and construction is supposed to begin in 2023.

TC112-50 Passes Traffic Council

TC112-50, which requested action to allow legal two-way bicycle travel on the Commonwealth Avenue Carriage Lane between Woodbine Street and Mt. Alvernia Road, passed last night, Thursday March 17, 2020. Support among the five members of Traffic Council was unanimous. The mandatory 20-day appeal period, ending April 6, came and went with no appeals. This project is also known as Commonwealth Avenue Carriageway – 2-way Bike Travel.

The measure was co-docketed by Councilors Andreae Downs, Jake Auchincloss, Alicia Bowman, Andrea Kelley, Mark Laredo, Marty Markiewitz, Emily Norton, Pam Wright, Vicky Danberg, Josh Krintzman, Maria Scibelli Greenberg, and Rick Lipof.

Impact of This Historic Vote

This historic vote will have far-reaching impact. It will positively impact bicycle and pedestrian safety. It will help Newton reach its Climate Action goals. It will:

  • help fulfill Frederick Law Olmstead’s goal of a linear park along Commonwealth Avenue “to which people may easily go when the day’s work is done, and where they may stroll for an hour, seeing, hearing, and feeling nothing of the bustle and jar of the streets where they shall, in effect, find the city put far away.. “;
  • support the Safe Routes to School (SRTS) Task Force’s mission of providing safe routes for school children to get to and from school;
  • make life more pleasant for all who walk, run, or bicycle along the Carriage Road, whether eastbound or westbound;
  • help fulfill the Carriage Road’s potential as the unique resource that it is.

The five voting members of Traffic Council were Newton Transportation Coordinator David Koses; City Councilor Alicia Bowman; representing the Police Dept, Sgt. Wade; citizen representative Jeremy Freudberg; and from Newton’s Dept. of Public Works, Transportation Engineer Isaac Prizant.

Newton residents and community leaders Scott Oran, James Purdy from the Newton Citizens’ Commission on Energy, Jenn Martin from SRTS, and Jerry Reilly from Village14 and Newton Nomadic Theater all spoke eloquently to support passage of this motion. I am grateful to each.

With the 20-day appeal period now in the past, with no appeals, the City will begin making the street signs, such as the smaller STOP signs for the bicyclists heading east.

Thanks go out to all who played a part in this momentous vote.

Jane Hanser

Absence – and Subsequent Addition – of Stop Signs along the Carriage Lane (before the Cross Roads)

Posted By: Jane HanserPosted On:

The addition of stop signs heading west has been an important safety feature that has been a big step toward ensuring that the Carriage Lane is used for local traffic only. It also has minimized the risk of a collision between a driver heading south on the side street and any vehicle heading west on the Carriage Lane. It also protects pedestrians and others along the Carriage Lane who are walking, running or biking eastbound, as it allows them to be better predictors of driver behavior.

The installation of these stop signs also had to go through and be approved by Traffic Council. City Councilors Emily Norton and Andreae Downs made these changes possible. In time, Traffic Council came to see that the presence of these stop signs before each westbound intersection needed to be consistent: Drivers and other users of the Carriage Lane needed to have a consistent set of expectations. The addition of these stop signs also reduced the usage of the Carriage Lane as a by-pass road.

Below: Higgins, Bristol, Dartmouth, Wimbledon Circle, Rowe

Carriage Lane east of Higgins, before
Carriage Lane east of Higgins, after
Carriage Lane before Bristol Road, before
Carriage Lane east of Bristol Road, after
Carriage Lane east of Dartmouth, before
Carriage Road east of Dartmouth, after
Rowe, before
Rowe, after (Stop LINE still needed)

Stop Signs on Cross Roads Needed – and Installed – before Intersections with Carriage Lane

Posted By: Jane HanserPosted On:

One serious safety issue was that very often there was no official stop sign along the crossroad, north of the Carriage Lane, for southbound (SB) drivers. This presented extreme dangers: motor vehicles would head on a non-signalized crossroad south toward Commonwealth Avenue and drive straight through an intersection with the Carriage Lane, with no warning to any non-driver using the Carriage Lane. Furthermore, runners were coming from the west and heading eastbound, and near-collisions between EB runners and SB drivers were not uncommon.

We eventually learned that in Newton, the Traffic Council, a sub-committee of the Public Safety and Transportation Committee, has to approve all requests for stop signs. To the Traffic Council we went.

We began by asking Councilor Emily Norton to docket for stop signs for a few intersections, and were thrilled to have success. With that success in hand, we moved forward, in 2018 enlisting the enthusiastic assistance of Councilor Andreae Downs as a co-docketer. With the 2020 elections, City Councilor Andrea Kelly also co-docketed for these items. We are appreciative to all who played a role in this important essential feature. Below you can see all the intersections where we had success with the addition of a STOP sign for SB drivers on the cross road before the Carriage Road.

We also would like to thank traffic engineers Jason Sobel and Izaac Prizant, from the Transportation Division, for supporting these requests.

Westbourne

before
after

Commonwealth Park

before
after

Sumner Road

before
after

Valentine

before
after

Wauwinnet

before
after

Melrose

before

Higgins

before
after

Stop Signs on Cross Roads Were Not Visible Due to Curves, Hills, and Trees

Posted By: Jane HanserPosted On:

Very often there was an official stop sign along the crossword, north of the Carriage Lane, for southbound drivers. However, Newton roads twist and turn, and often twist and turn while going downhill. Add to that overhanging branches from large trees nearby, and we have a dangerous situation.

See a few of these dangerous situations and the solutions we presented to the City. These required no new Traffic Council dockets, because stops were already in the TPR.

Morseland

Morseland southbound curves around. Between the curve and the tree, drivers simply could not see the stop sign until they were at the corner, and by then it was often too late to stop for runners and pedestrians coming west from the Carriage Lane.

We identified both the problem and a simple and inexpensive solution.

Morseland, after

Valentine

Valentine was particularly challenging. At first, Valentine did not even have a stop sign there. (Bill Paille is responsible for the DO NOT BLOCK THE BOX paint.) To get an initial stop sign, we had to go to Traffic Council. Councilors Norton and Downs docketed this item.

Valentine

Traffic Council approved the stop sign at that intersection. In that discussion, we identified the issues with the heavily curving road accompanied by a sharp downhill. We suggested a “Stop Ahead” sign up the hill, as you see in the image below, in addition to the stop sign at the corner.

Valentine, after

Visibility problems remained, however, as many drivers were contractors coming from West Newton who did not know the neighborhood and weren’t aware that there were pedestrians to the right at the road below, and also because many drivers thought the stop sign was a reference to the beyond, the one at the corner of Valentine and Commonwealth Avenue.

Thus, we suggested a stop sign on the left. Our Transportation Division outdid us, and placed a really large and visible stop sign on the left.

Compliance is now much much higher than it was before. One contractor in a large van recommended the stop sign to the right be placed lower on the pole, since it’s had to see beneath the tree leaves. Getting feedback from people driving, at the site, asking them the question directly, “What would help you here?” is something the City needs to be doing more of.

Stop Signs along the Carriage Lane Relocated to Be Closer to the Intersection

Posted By: Jane HanserPosted On:

Many Newton residents do not remember when the Carriage Lane looked like this:

All along the Carriage Road, the stop signs, and the stop lines, were 20-23 feet away from the intersection. Often the stop signs were located before a band of cobbles. Westbound drivers would stop before the stop sign and then roll right through the intersection, never really stopping. This was incredibly dangerous for those not in motor vehicles, as well as those in motor vehicles. It was also dangerous for drivers on the cross roads heading north and south.

In 2018, I eventually realized the problem, and set about finding a solution. Going through 311, I requested, and achieved, having the following stop signs moved to be closer to the actual intersection.

WESTBOURNE was our first success.

CEDAR STREET

This was our next success. And we also had a stop sign added on the left.

Lowell Avenue:

Note: Councilor Andreae Downs was especially helpful in having this particular stop sign moved closer to the intersection.

Morton Road:

It didn’t take very long for westbound drivers to drive much more safely. We were one step closer to to a safer experience on the road for pedestrians, bicyclists and drivers. Intersection by intersection, drivers would come to a complete stop right before the intersection, where they could see left, right and straight ahead, and where drivers at the crossroads could have clear visibility of any vehicle – bicycles included – heading west and about to enter the intersection.

With attention paid to things like this, we can be incrementally and inexpensively making it safer for pedestrians, cyclists and drivers.

Valentine Street

September, 2021: Phil and I met with Chief Carmichael, Cpt. Boudreau and Lt. McMains.

Carriage Road before (east of) Valentine
Carriage Road before Valentine: AFTER

Thanks to Chief Carmichael and engineer Isaac Prizant for agreeing to and implementing these important safety modifications.