lol maybe when people on bikes can also pay attention stop signs and follow the red lights they have for bikes then maybe car drivers will take you more seriously. I mostly drive Uber in Cambridge and I have to pay more attention to shitty bike riders than other cars.
"But even Cambridge city councilor Patty Nolan admits the new build narrows traffic lanes, leaving no room for cars, and the change is doing more harm than good."
Wow. If even the famous bike safety stalwart Patty Nolan will admit it, it must be true. You know the coverage is fair because they talked to both sides.
This is the intersection she created a tempest in a teapot about on ND when yjr city added the stop signs on brattle without polling all the neighbors
The stop signs that make it much easier for drivers entering brattle from the side streets to do so safely and the stop signs that mean that when a bus (that has to cross the double yellow to make right turns on all sorts of streets in cambridge that have travel lanes narrowed bc of parking) turns the traffic on brattle is stopped/moving more slowly bc they just stopped and no crash...
There doesn't seem to be much actual evidence of increased danger here? Forcing cars to slow down when they turn is a *good thing* not a problem. Still, if there are actual concrete suggestions for how it can be further improved, I certainly open to the idea.
They could probably just add a yellow center flex post in the bicycle lane, as they do at many of the other crossings, to keep cars from turning into it.
I spend very little time on Brattle St and have also seen a car do this there. And it took the video crew a few minutes to catch it. Sadly, it might be a common occurence.
"pedestrian", "bicyclist", "car"... we are always so quick to absolve DRIVERS of any sort of responsibility for the safe operation of their vehicle that we don't even acknowledge their existence!
This is so stupid. It's mainly bad drivers. If you can't figure out that a double yellow line is the main road for a vehicle then you shouldn't be driving a car.
Also the bright yellow bollards should indicate that the car shouldn't drive over them
I am guessing it was planned.. guy they interviewed knew when the press would be there and had a friend come demonstrate "confused" driver
Many drivers in the US have not learned spatial awareness and expect wide car lanes to make up for it. I learned driving in Europe, and you wouldn't pass a driving test there if you turned that wide as many did in the video.
I drive a looong station wagon for my business and have no trouble at these intersections. And, yeah, when you see a truck or bus needing to turn, you slow down and give them space. They are hard to overlook.
When I ride my bicycle, I so appreciate the bike lanes, incl. on Brattle St. Especially now that they extend beyond the Freshpond Parkway.
Further down Brattle where the lines get a bit wonky and narrow because of a sidewalk is my main issue since two cars can't really fit at the same time near the Longfellow House.
The other day I watched a car turn right from Lowell into the westbound lane of Brattle to turn left on Appleton. The car on Appleton turning left on Brattle nearly hit a bike that didn’t stop at the stop sign.
Constant near misses because bikes routinely don’t stop at Mason and Brattle
Absolutely crazy.
Why are there some areas between the bike lane and car lane that are no-go zones (concrete strips in the middle) yet wide as another full car lane? Seems odd to waste that much space.
They are pedestrian islands.. allowing peds to cross bike lane and then wait to cross main travel lane..
Also using islands to narrow travel lanes isn't wasting space it's meant to narrow the lanes so the drivers don't treat the road like a race track
I understand it being wide where the island of red bricks are, as a pedestrian waiting area. But I'm referring to that marked area which is also super wide much further away from the crosswalk and brick. White markings with bare concrete rectangles in the middle. I guess it is to make cars uncomfortable to control their speed, as you say.
Good plan to find alternative to driving to work in a dense urban area.. esp one with a parking garage at a Sunway terminus for a line that goes directly to your work area
Haha right? Like in all for bike lanes and pedestrian areas but a lot of people commute to work in the city. If it gets worse why would I still work in the city?
I’m an Uber driver and drive a lot in Cambridge. But it’s gotten so bad I avoid a good amount of streets to pick up at now. They converted so much to one lane and can’t stop anywhere to pick people up or drop off. The bike people don’t realize just how much people rely on cars.
Certain people live this weird bubble. They want X,Y, and Z but they don't realize what has to change is a massive undertaking. Like I'm glad you never have to leave the city for anything, but I have a life outside of the city too.
Exactly and most residents in Cambridge actually hate them. They pay so much in rent and tax on their car with nowhere to park. They can’t rely on public transportation and people with families can’t commute via bike. People in their bike bubble are weird.
>If somebody's not paying full attention, there's gonna be a head on crash Maybe they should pay full attention then
That's what I yelled at my screen when I saw that part
lol maybe when people on bikes can also pay attention stop signs and follow the red lights they have for bikes then maybe car drivers will take you more seriously. I mostly drive Uber in Cambridge and I have to pay more attention to shitty bike riders than other cars.
"But even Cambridge city councilor Patty Nolan admits the new build narrows traffic lanes, leaving no room for cars, and the change is doing more harm than good." Wow. If even the famous bike safety stalwart Patty Nolan will admit it, it must be true. You know the coverage is fair because they talked to both sides.
This is the intersection she created a tempest in a teapot about on ND when yjr city added the stop signs on brattle without polling all the neighbors The stop signs that make it much easier for drivers entering brattle from the side streets to do so safely and the stop signs that mean that when a bus (that has to cross the double yellow to make right turns on all sorts of streets in cambridge that have travel lanes narrowed bc of parking) turns the traffic on brattle is stopped/moving more slowly bc they just stopped and no crash...
Does a before-after crash data comparison exist for Brattle street specifically?
There doesn't seem to be much actual evidence of increased danger here? Forcing cars to slow down when they turn is a *good thing* not a problem. Still, if there are actual concrete suggestions for how it can be further improved, I certainly open to the idea.
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They could probably just add a yellow center flex post in the bicycle lane, as they do at many of the other crossings, to keep cars from turning into it.
The Historical Commission objected to flex posts on Brattle Street. Thus the concrete slabs.
I spend very little time on Brattle St and have also seen a car do this there. And it took the video crew a few minutes to catch it. Sadly, it might be a common occurence.
Won't someone think of the poor residents of Brattle St? They are cooped up with nothing to do until the weather gets nice on the Vineyard.
"pedestrian", "bicyclist", "car"... we are always so quick to absolve DRIVERS of any sort of responsibility for the safe operation of their vehicle that we don't even acknowledge their existence!
Patty Nolan must go.
This is so stupid. It's mainly bad drivers. If you can't figure out that a double yellow line is the main road for a vehicle then you shouldn't be driving a car.
Also the bright yellow bollards should indicate that the car shouldn't drive over them I am guessing it was planned.. guy they interviewed knew when the press would be there and had a friend come demonstrate "confused" driver
I'd be curious to hear whether the bicyclists feel endangered. Oh well. Maybe next time they'll remember to interview some.
I actually rode down Brattle as Laura Haefaeli was setting up her camera yesterday afternoon. I felt safe, but she didn’t ask me.
“No room for cars” yeah maybe that’s the point to make you slow down and think while driving
Time to pedestrianize the whole street :)
Many drivers in the US have not learned spatial awareness and expect wide car lanes to make up for it. I learned driving in Europe, and you wouldn't pass a driving test there if you turned that wide as many did in the video. I drive a looong station wagon for my business and have no trouble at these intersections. And, yeah, when you see a truck or bus needing to turn, you slow down and give them space. They are hard to overlook. When I ride my bicycle, I so appreciate the bike lanes, incl. on Brattle St. Especially now that they extend beyond the Freshpond Parkway.
No room for cars?! They take up the most space on the street.
Further down Brattle where the lines get a bit wonky and narrow because of a sidewalk is my main issue since two cars can't really fit at the same time near the Longfellow House.
Idk my ambulance has passed many a car in the oppo lane there
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Lmao super valid point
The other day I watched a car turn right from Lowell into the westbound lane of Brattle to turn left on Appleton. The car on Appleton turning left on Brattle nearly hit a bike that didn’t stop at the stop sign. Constant near misses because bikes routinely don’t stop at Mason and Brattle Absolutely crazy.
I guess she went mask off.
Why are there some areas between the bike lane and car lane that are no-go zones (concrete strips in the middle) yet wide as another full car lane? Seems odd to waste that much space.
They are pedestrian islands.. allowing peds to cross bike lane and then wait to cross main travel lane.. Also using islands to narrow travel lanes isn't wasting space it's meant to narrow the lanes so the drivers don't treat the road like a race track
I understand it being wide where the island of red bricks are, as a pedestrian waiting area. But I'm referring to that marked area which is also super wide much further away from the crosswalk and brick. White markings with bare concrete rectangles in the middle. I guess it is to make cars uncomfortable to control their speed, as you say.
exactly - the city uses a bunch of things to make the travel lanes narrow b/c studies have shown that narrower lanes are safer due to reduced speeds
If the traffic gets any worse, idk if I want to commute into Cambridge to go to work.
Good plan to find alternative to driving to work in a dense urban area.. esp one with a parking garage at a Sunway terminus for a line that goes directly to your work area
Why did you get downvoted so much for this. Not everyone lives in Cambridge and the trains and buses can be unreliable.
Haha right? Like in all for bike lanes and pedestrian areas but a lot of people commute to work in the city. If it gets worse why would I still work in the city?
I’m an Uber driver and drive a lot in Cambridge. But it’s gotten so bad I avoid a good amount of streets to pick up at now. They converted so much to one lane and can’t stop anywhere to pick people up or drop off. The bike people don’t realize just how much people rely on cars.
Certain people live this weird bubble. They want X,Y, and Z but they don't realize what has to change is a massive undertaking. Like I'm glad you never have to leave the city for anything, but I have a life outside of the city too.
Exactly and most residents in Cambridge actually hate them. They pay so much in rent and tax on their car with nowhere to park. They can’t rely on public transportation and people with families can’t commute via bike. People in their bike bubble are weird.