Newton Streets and Sidewalks

Driving like Grandma

2009-12-03T23:37:00.003-05:00

Driving at or just below the speed limit (30 MPH) on Parker from Roosevelt to Newton Centre (over Boylston/Rte. 9) this evening, the car behind me sat right on my bumper. At a red light at Beacon, I invited the driver to roll down his window and I explained (nicely, I think) that tailgating wasn't going to make me drive any faster. He yelled at me that I drive like his grandmother and should stay off the road if I am going to drive 20 MPH. (Pointing out to him that I had been driving at the speed limit didn't seem to affect his mood or argument.)

The light turned green. He roared off. I got to read his license plate.

OILGUY

I bet!

Narrowing sidewalks

2009-12-03T23:44:00.003-05:00

Walking back from dropping my daughter off this morning, it occurred to me that fences and walls hard up against the sidewalk effectively narrow the sidewalk. There's probably a good foot to eighteen inches of sidewalk that becomes unusable.

Time to adjust the fence/wall rule. Nothing taller than a foot within two feet of the sidewalk. Anything more constructively encroaches on the sidewalk.

Aldermen Loving Stop Signs

2009-10-23T23:08:00.007-05:00

An equal parts encouraging and dispiriting Public Safety & Transportation committee meeting this week. The encouraging part is a proposal to use an apron of ribbed concrete in conjunction with a bumpout as a compromise to the full Daniel/Jackson Street intersection redesign that's in place now. Devil, details, &c. But, the proposal has promise.

The dispiriting part was the vote by the committee to overrule a Traffic Council denial of a request for two additional stop signs at the intersection. Actually, that wasn't the most dispiriting part, because the actual intention of the committee on stop signs was not clear given the very confusing procedural posture of the item. What was most dispiriting was the argument made by the one alderman who made the case against stop signs.

Keep in mind that Traffic Council has rejected stop signs at this location on three separate occasions over the years. Three different city traffic engineers have argued that using stop signs to slow traffic at an intersection like this is a disfavored practice and that has several documented secondary effects that outweigh the apparent slowing benefit: increased noise, operating costs borne by motorists, environmental degradation, without providing the expected safety benefits. Stop signs to slow traffic are officially discouraged by the manual that defines the best practices for street signs, traffic signal, and striping, the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices, which is official state policy by act of law. The MUTCD policies are drafted by traffic engineers and are adopted only after a rigorous review process.

Here is the argument the alderman made ~~in favor of~~ against stop signs:

I actually I found Clint's commentary interesting in that there are reasons he gave why excessive use of stop signs would be a bad idea in theory but then said people would continue to go zipping through without a stop sign, implying that a stop sign would in fact have a traffic calming effect without being a change to the road surface.

Associate City Engineer Clint Schuckel said, yet again, that improperly used stop signs are not recognized traffic calming because changes to the roadway are more desirable, slowing but not stopping cars; that slowing cars is not consistent with the recognized purpose of a stop sign, and that there are secondary consequences -- noise, pollution, operating costs, &c. -- to using stop signs to calm traffic. He never said, nor would it be credible, to claim that stop signs don't slow traffic compared to no stop signs. Of course they do. The question is whether stop signs are preferable to modern traffic calming practices.

So my suggestion is that if there's a concern about driver confusion, having just two of the three entrances to the intersection having stop signs that we do all three because that does seem for many years that's what the Board of Alderman did at intersections not only throughout Ward 6 but throughout the city. And, you know, I live with them and have them in the neighborhood and deal with them all the time and I don't you know I don't find them to be that inconvenient.

Forget the data that say unnecessary stop signs waste time, waste fuel, and put wear on brakes and other systems, I don't have any problem with them.

We have four-way and three-way stops all over Newton Highlands and Newton Centre. You know ... There are ... It may well be that in some theoretical model that's not the best practice but it is the reality on the ground.

Data you don't agree with and professional standards are now "some theoretical model."

And, I think that if you were to apply the standards that Clint articulated, to our existing stop signs, you'd have to take most of them out and I don't .. so I think as a matter of consistency with what ... the way we live in the City of Newton that theoretical model doesn't apply to our reality.

Between past practices and modern practices, choose past practices. Newton's special. What applies to the rest of the world doesn't apply to us

So, I would suggest that what we ought to do is put both of the stop signs that were requested in. And so make it a true three-way stop to avoid any issue of confusion about who's stopping and who's not. And, so that would be an action on the stop-sign action.

This from a man who has repeatedly claimed that we need to question the way we do things in the city, adopt proven best practices from elsewhere, and make data-driven decisions.

Parker Street process

2009-10-20T19:49:00.009-05:00

Peter Howe has a letter in the most recent TAB (10/4/09) expressing concern about the apparent lack of process concerning the installation of a pedestrian-activated signal at the crosswalk at Parker and Daniel Streets. (I couldn't find the letter online.) While I happen to think that some sort of signal probably makes sense at this location, Peter's process concerns are legitimate. There ought to be a full public opportunity to allow neighbors and others potentially affected to hear the rationale for a signal, the pros and the cons, and offer their input. As with any other traffic change, there are going to be secondary consequences to consider (some of which may even be positive).

Fortunately, it appears to be earlier in the process than Peter appears to assume and that opportunity is still available.

At issue is a recommendation in a pending report prepared by a consultant engaged by through the state's Safe Routes to School program. Bowen is a member school of the Safe Routes program. As such, it was eligible to apply for -- and was granted -- an Infrastructure Assessment. Consultants were retained by the state to survey the transportation infrastructure around Bowen and along walking routes to Bowen and to make recommendations about changes that would make walking to school safer. The program provides money (federal funds) to implement changes if the city adopts any of the consultants' recommendations.

At this point, there is no final report, but according to discussion at the September 14 Traffic Council meeting, the consultants have met with city staff to review their recommendations, one of which is a pedestrian-activated signal at the crosswalk across Parker at Daniel. Peter apparently relied on the minutes of the meeting which state that Traffic Council voted 4-0 "in support of TEC's recommendation for the design of a pedestrian activated full signal at Daniel and Parker Streets." Listening to the meeting audio, however, it appears that no vote was taken as it was just a discussion item and that the report is in error. (Discussion of the Parker Street item begins at about 29:30 and lasts for 13:30.) There was informal agreement, however, that city staff should recommend that the consultant include a full signal (green, yellow, red) rather than a flashing yellow sign as one of the recommendations in the report.

It's tough to tell from the meeting audio what the next steps are once the report is issued. I wholeheartedly agree with Peter's call for "a full, open, transparent public process of reviewing the need for and design and operation of this new traffic light before it's a done deal."

Where Peter and I part ways is with his suggestion that the redesign of the Daniel/Jackson intersection just up the street was "relentlessly pushed through City Hall." The Daniel/Jackson intersection redesign was the subject of innumerable public meetings, a full consultants' study, neighborhood comment on the study and trials resulting from the study, and deliberation by Traffic Council, Public Facilities, and the full Board of Aldermen. Eight years after the first petition to address problems at Daniel and Jackson, there is no permanent construction and we're still before the board (Public Safety & Transportation) after recent returns to Traffic Council and Public Facilities. There are strong feelings on both sides of the issue, but it's just not fair to attribute those strong feelings to a lack of process or transparency.

More Newton Centre goodness coming

2009-10-16T09:44:00.005-05:00

New lines on the street at the corner of Beacon and Herrick signal some changes to the intersection:

What they signal is a big road diet at the corner, which will shorten the crosswalk, lower speeds around the corner, and make the first parking space a protected one. Here's a better idea of what's to come (click for a bigger version):

LWV Asks Candidates Livable Streets Question

2009-10-05T10:40:00.005-05:00

The League of Women Voters has issued its three Voters Guide questions to candidates for aldermen. And, once again, it includes a Livable Streets question:

What measures would you promote to enhance walking and biking as alternative modes of transportation year round?

It's a virtual repeat of the 2007 question:

How would you encourage safe walking and bicycling in the city, especially during the winter?

The TAB published and NS&S graded the candidates' answers in 2007 (contested races and non-contested races).

Candidates, want to earn an A? Your answer must include:

Complete streets review before any road construction project. Such review leads to successes like Herrick and Union. Failing to do it leads to missed opportunities like Floral and Centre.
Defined goals for miles of streets with bike accommodations and recommendations for funding (striping isn't expensive, but it isn't free)
Commitment to sidewalk snow clearing ordinance in the next two years
Support for the Safe Routes to School programs in the elementary schools
Requirement of full bicycle and pedestrian access for all major new development

Read the top-graded answers from the last election.

Panera in Newton Centre

2009-10-05T05:09:00.008-05:00

Panera Bread wants to open a 111-seat restaurant in the space formerly occupied by Tess on Centre Street. (Tess has consolidated as Tess & Carlos next door.) To open, Panera needs a special permit waiving its requirement to provide 25 parking spaces. Here's the Planning Department memo on the special permit application (PDF).

The parking waiver raises some fairly complicated issues, which I may address in another post. But, assuming that the Land Use committee is amenable to a waiver, the committee should require as a condition of the waiver that Panera (actually the property owner) deed, lease, or otherwise transfer eight private parking spaces to the city.

The optimal parking for Newton Centre, indeed for any of our village centers, is shared parking, ideally municipally owned (so that it can be metered parking).Shared parking is efficient. Spaces are available for whatever demand arises and serve complementary uses. Centrally located shared parking reduces the need for curb cuts to private parking lots. Fewer curb cuts mean more uninterrupted commercial streetscapes and more on-street parking spaces.

Store-only parking, like the nine spaces serving the building now (to be reduced to eight), is not optimal. Store-only spaces are inefficient. When there is little or no demand from the stores served, unoccupied spaces are unusable by customers of other stores. And, store-only spaces discourage people from parking once and shopping at more than one store, a practice that is both ecologically sound and creates commercial vitality.

Panera intends to meet most of its parking demand with the municipal lots and on-street parking. That's appropriate. But, they are also planning to the private spaces. Since Panera intends to meet most of its demand with shared parking, it should contribute its private spaces to the inventory of shared parking in Newton Centre.

Panera's private spaces are accessible from Pelham Street by a private entrance. Adding the eight spaces to the municipal lot might allow the city to close that curb cut and possibly add two more on-street spaces on Pelham Street. In any case, it would remove a constraint and possibly lead to a more efficient design of the Pelham Street lot.

Trees in Newton Centre Parking Lot?

2009-10-03T09:23:00.003-05:00

A thought on a slightly dated Newton Tab blog on tree planting in Newton:

How about some trees in the Newton Centre triangle parking lot? Crowns in parking lots provide shading, amelioration of heat island effect, carbon sequestration and air cleansing right where the air is dirtiest from tailpipes, while taking up very little ground area, or requiring removal of Newton’s sacred parking spots (Gertrude Stein's comment about Oakland, Ca: "there is no there, there", rings true of the heart of Newton Centre - a bleak wasteland of pavement. A testament to our values in Newton.)

Actually, there was a pilot tree planting there this summer - but we need to get the trees out of pots and into the ground where they can thrive.

Here is a shameless sales pitch: I am involved in National Science Foundation sponsored research that quantifies vegetation impacts on the carbon footprint of greater Boston, with one special focus on impacts of replacing pavement with trees. Anyone interested in hearing more about what could be done in Newton can contact me at nathan@bu.edu or check out http://www.bostoncarbon.org

Also see the great commentary on trees in Newton at Lasell College: http://greenatlasell.blogspot.com/

Biker down on Beacon Street

2009-09-29T19:39:00.006-05:00

Update: My understanding was that the woman had been hit, but a commenter says that it looks like equipment failure and not a collision. The pavement is awfully rough through the intersection, and the bike lane, unfortunately, channels bikes through the worst of it.

This broken bike sat quietly amid the sirens and flashing lights of an ambulance, fire trucks, and police cruisers. The bike and its owner were hit at the corner of Beacon Street and St. Thomas More, hit hard enough to send the woman to Beth Israel and to break the front fork into pieces.

I came on the scene just before 6:00 as I rode home. The woman was just being put into the ambulance. Nobody I spoke to knew what happened, only that the woman did not appear to be seriously injured. According to one police officer, she was complaining of some back pain.

I know the bike and the woman who owns it, in the way you know a stranger who shares a common pursuit. She is one of the regulars on my commute. I see her once every couple of weeks or so. An obviously experienced cyclist with the stars-and-stripe bike, she's hard to miss.

Can't imagine how this happened. Glad that it sounds like it wasn't serious.

Shared Bikes (Boston) Reviewed

2009-10-01T12:11:00.005-05:00

I'm not sure we'll ever have the demand for rental bikes in Newton, but it's interesting to follow what's planned for Boston. Here's a review of the coming Boston bikes from a women who has tried Velibe in Paris. She likes 'em.

From Universal Hub.

Boston ahead of Newton again

2009-09-29T17:28:00.002-05:00

Forget about Sommerville; Boston is showing Newton up big time. First was their Beacon St. bike lane that stops at Newton's doorstep; now comes a further push for bike cages at T stations.

Newest addition to the Auburndale Community Library

2009-09-24T17:23:00.006-05:00

A bike rack! We are thrilled that our call for help on this blog did not go unheeded. Thanks goes to the Charles River Neighborhood Foundation, and its trustees John and Amy Sangiolo, for their generosity in funding this installation. Thanks also to John Howarth for expert installation!

Taking up the Beacon Street Guantlet

2009-09-17T17:59:00.009-05:00

A previous post showed the abrupt end to the new Beacon St. bike lane at the "Garden City" welcome sign in Newton. It's time for Newton to take up the challenge of making its stretch of Beacon Street bike friendly. A good start was the "Share the Road" signs by the Bike and Pedestrian Task Force working with the city. There is plenty of further low hanging fruit between Chestnut Hill and Wellesley.

One of the first easy fixes will be to correct the biker-hostile (and pedestrian hostile, for that matter) vanishing shoulder stripe common at dozens of intersections along Beacon St. (the one shown is Tudor Rd. just coming down the hill from BC). Bikers must cross a solid line curving across their path to proceed straight ahead. The solid line cutting off the shoulder lane means cars have right of way to turn across/into bikes. What is needed in these couple of dozen intersections is a dashed line extending across the intersection that indicates to motorists that they need to be aware of bikes on their right that are proceeding straight.

Here is "the vanishing point" at Beacon St and Hammondswood Rd, approaching Hammond Pond Parkway from the east.

Beacon Street Details

2009-09-16T06:03:00.005-05:00

Here's one picture that shows many of the elements of the new Beacon Street bike lanes:

Wide lane next to parking
Stencils
Lane next to the curb where there's no parking
One of the buffer zones

Updated: The bottom picture is of the westbound lane. (It's late afternoon and the sun is ahead.) The lane ends right at the Boston/Newton border. The foreground is Boston. The background is Newton.

Also, I don't expect the sadness to last long. Newton plans to continue the bike lanes to Hammond (or start them from Hammond, depending on the direction you're traveling).

Here's a detail of a buffer zone.

And, this is the sad end of the bike lanes, at the Boston/Newton line.

Beacon Bike Lanes are Done (Boston)

2009-09-15T18:20:00.002-05:00

The bike lanes between Cleveland Circle and the Newton line are done. And, they rock. Pictures and new videos to follow.

Next on the to-do list, from the Newton/Boston line to Hammond Street.

More Beacon Street Goodness

2009-09-15T13:13:00.002-05:00

Above, two Mass Highway crew put the finishing touch on stencils in the westbound bike lane next to the Chestnut Hill Reservoir.

Below are the painted guidelines for the striping west of St. Thomas More Rd, toward the Boston/Newton line.

Bike fun in Boston -- 9/26 & 27

2009-09-14T11:35:00.006-05:00

Big weekend of biking in Boston the weekend of 9/26 and 27.

On Saturday, there's a big pro biking event, the Mayor's Cup race. If you caught the pro bike race through Newton Centre last summer, you know that big clumps of professionals zipping by at near 30 MPH is not to be missed. There's also a kids race for 3- to 6-year-olds, (son of NS&S will be very disappointed to learn he's too old!), a mascot race, a bike expo, and a free concert.

Sunday is the annual biker takeover of Boston streets otherwise known as Hub on Wheels, with 10-, 30-, and 50-mile routes.

Woman dies in Coolidge Corner accident

2009-09-14T10:01:00.003-05:00

I was just thinking this morning how nice it is that so many riders have been out recently, and how many more women there appear to be. Then I read that a young woman has died after an accident on Longwood Avenue in Brookline.

Police aren't sure what happened. If you were in the vicinity of 30 Longwood Ave. in Brookline at 7:20 PM on Wednesday and have any information. Give Brookline PD a call at 617-730-2222.

Terrible.

From Universal Hub.

Beacon Street bike lanes eastbound

2009-09-14T09:48:00.006-05:00

You've ridden the new Beacon St. bike lanes (virtually, at least), now here's a video of the Beacon St. bike lanes from St. Thomas More/Reservoir Rd. to Cleveland Circle:

There's more to come. There are buffer zones to be striped and the bike lanes will extend beyond St. Thomas More to the Newton/Boston line (and then all the way up to Hammond St.)

Previously: Bike Lanes 'Round the Reservoir

Countryside biking ban

2009-09-12T08:49:00.003-05:00

Countryside Elementary School policy prohibits all but 5th graders from biking to school. (www.newton.k12.ma.us/countryside/school_safety.html). Now, Parent Beth Israel informs us, 5th graders are also banned from biking to school, at least temporarily. Principal Emily Ostrower emailed the policy to Countryside parents on Sept. 10, explaining that the Newton Police Department failed to administer required bike safety training to the students, which it has provided in the past as a prerequisite to permitting students to bike.

Principal Ostrower noted that recently, a student on a bike accidentally ran into a grandparent on school grounds, underscoring an apparent need for the policy.

Is it within the authority of a school principal to set rules on how parents and their children choose to travel to school? Are only police or teachers, not parents, qualified to teach their kids biking safety? What are the relative safety risks to schoolyard pedestrians from kids on bikes compared to cars? Would we ban cars if there were an accident in the drop-off/pick-up zone? What message are we sending to kids about environmentally sustainable lifestyles when we ban them from biking?

Here are some reasonable alternatives:

- Prohibit bike riding on school grounds. Students must walk bikes when on school grounds and on approaching sidewalks.

- Place bike racks in locations that promote safety for both pedestrians and bikers.

- Urge parents to conduct or arrange bike safety training, and for younger kids, to accompany them on bikes to school.

The bottom line is that there has to be a better solution to biking safety issues than banning biking altogether. Parents, teachers, school administrators, bike advocacy groups, and the Newton PD should get together to formulate a safe and sensible policy.

Comm. Ave. Presentation

2009-09-11T08:31:00.000-05:00

These are the slides presented by the Northeastern students last night.

Towards a Better Comm. Ave. Carriage Road

2009-09-10T20:35:00.002-05:00

Spent an hour at City Hall and heard a bunch of college students suggest some great changes to the Comm. Ave. carriage road that would make it a much more attractive bicycle facility. Friend of NS&S Professor Peter Furth's Northeastern Civil Engineering students identified 4 (or 5?) types of obstacles to happy, two-way bicycling the length of the carriage road and proposed a suite of solutions.

One of my favorites was a solution to the problem of the carriage road ending at four major intersections (Centre, Walnut, Lexington, and one other). Car traffic is diverted off the carriage road back onto Comm. Ave. because the intersections would be unworkable with two separate car crossings. And, the sidewalks continue from the carriage road to the crosswalk across the major road. But, bikes are in limbo: can't go on the sidewalk and it's a particularly tough place to bike on the road.

The students' solution was simple: on those short stretches between the end of the carriage road and the crosswalks, widen the sidewalk to make it a multi-use path, with two-way bike traffic.

And, I also loved a road-diet solution for Rowe Rd. in Auburndale, just west of the Pike. And, their proposal for the last bit on the western edge, by the Marriot and the Charles River Canoe & Kayak boat house. And, ...

I hope to get the presentation and explore some of the problems and solutions in a little more depth.

Kudos to Lois Levin, Helen Rittenberg, and Nathan Phillips of Bike Newton for engaging Peter and his students to take a look at the opportunities along the carriage road.

Herrick and Union construction

2009-09-10T10:23:00.003-05:00

DPW crews are digging up the street today to construct the new curb line at Herrick and Union in Newton Centre. Gives a great indication of just how much of an improvement the new curb line will be ... though my amateur pictures don't really capture the reduction in the crosswalk.

15 great bike rides

2009-09-09T17:20:00.004-05:00

Boston.com has a gallery of pictures and descriptions of and route maps for 15 great local rides. They look great.

Note: this feature has been on boston.com for months, but I'm just getting around to it. The routes haven't changed, the weather is perfect for riding, so why not?

Bike lanes 'round the reservoir

2009-09-08T20:29:00.004-05:00

Rode home along brand, spankin'-new bike lanes on Beacon Street from Cleveland Circle around the Chestnut Hill Reservoir. Lots more to be done. Boston will stripe up to the Boston/Newton border. And, there are stencils, signs, and striped buffers to come.

Exciting little treat from Nicole Freedman and the folks in Boston promoting biking. Here's a very noisy first look.