Crazy Highway Pitches

[JeffDowntown]

I imagine that restricting lefts on the parts of Comm, Beacon, and Huntington with trolley reservations could speed up the B, C and E lines, respectively.

The challenge with restricting left turns in much of those corridors is the street "grid" (using the term very loosely) does not accommodate a right, right, right alternative for the left turn. It becomes a "you can't get there from here" exercise. Each left turn would have to be examined carefully for rational alternatives.

 

[TheRatmeister]

The challenge with restricting left turns in much of those corridors is the street "grid" (using the term very loosely) does not accommodate a right, right, right alternative for the left turn. It becomes a "you can't get there from here" exercise. Each left turn would have to be examined carefully for rational alternatives.

A rough list of intersections I think you could reasonably eliminate:

B Branch:

• Granby St: If Silber is kept this one is redundant
• Cummington Mall: Carlton is right there
• St Marys St: Same as previous
• Buick St: If Agganis is kept this one is redundant
• Reedsdale St: Harvard Ave is right there
• Summit Ave: Washington St is a suitable alternative route
• Colbourne Rd: Between Wallingford and Washington this one should be covered
• Strathmore Rd/: Chestnut Hill is right there
• Chestnut Hill Driveway: Chestnut Hill Ave is right there
• South St: Greycliff Rd is a suitable place to bang a quick uey

Total eliminated intersections: 24 -> 14 (-41%)
C Branch:

• Carlton/Hawes St: Pick one
• Kent/St Paul St: Pick one
• Charles St: Covered by Harvard and Kent or St Paul
• Pleasant St: Same as previous
• Centre St: Covered by Harvard St
• Winchester St: Same as previous
• Winthrop Rd: Washington St is right there
• Dead/Williston Rd: Pick one
• Englewood Ave: Covered by Strathmore Rd
• Ayr Rd: Covered by Cleveland Circle (Which should really be a rotary)

Total eliminated: 18 -> 8 (-55%)
E Branch (Just up to Brigham Circle):

• Evans Way: Covered by Ruggles St

Total eliminated: 5 -> 4 (-20%)

 

[Charlie_mta]

This is more of a 'crazy arterial' pitch rather than a crazy highway pitch. Could we just ban left turns along most of Mass Ave? I was thinking about my last visit to Europe and I recalled seeing a lot of intersections where the signals are simple because they don't allow left turns and require you to make "semi direct" (right before, then left, and left) or "indirect" turns (multiple rights) to make the desired left turn. A lot of Mass Ave seems like a place to try this -- they already do a lot of this in Cambridge around Central Square and MIT. In Boston, at least Back Bay and South End seem like places that should be trying this and even between Porter and Arlington in Cambridge.

In commercial or business areas, or even in dense apartment building areas, it would work. However, in residential areas like North Cambridge there would be objections from residents to the increased traffic on their residential side streets.

 

[Stlin]

In commercial or business areas, or even in dense apartment building areas, it would work. However, in residential areas like North Cambridge there would be objections from residents to the increased traffic on their residential side streets.

In the case of North Cambridge, or really Mass Ave from Harvard to Arlington center, I'd argue that the bigger obstacle is the fact that streets don't line up across Mass Ave. When they do it's usually not two streets you'd really want to make into a thru way. The exception to this is Cameron - that left off Mass Ave recently got turned into a jughandle via Cedar & Harvey during phase 1 of the Mass Ave bike lane project.

 

[Charlie_mta]

In the case of North Cambridge, or really Mass Ave from Harvard to Arlington center, I'd argue that the bigger obstacle is the fact that streets don't line up across Mass Ave. When they do it's usually not two streets you'd really want to make into a thru way. The exception to this is Cameron - that left off Mass Ave recently got turned into a jughandle via Cedar & Harvey during phase 1 of the Mass Ave bike lane project.

The jug handle turn off Mass Ave EB to Cedar/Harvey/Cameron is in a commercial block, so it works politically.

 

[as02143]

I imagine that restricting lefts on the parts of Comm, Beacon, and Huntington with trolley reservations could speed up the B, C and E lines, respectively.

A lot of left turns are already restricted - I'd be interested in finding ways of making more of the existing left turns to become indirect/semi-direct turns instead. Even if they are, as others rightly point out, put a bit more traffic on semi or residential streets.

 

[as02143]

In the case of North Cambridge, or really Mass Ave from Harvard to Arlington center, I'd argue that the bigger obstacle is the fact that streets don't line up across Mass Ave. When they do it's usually not two streets you'd really want to make into a thru way. The exception to this is Cameron - that left off Mass Ave recently got turned into a jughandle via Cedar & Harvey during phase 1 of the Mass Ave bike lane project.

A couple of more wild + crazy pitches would be at the intersections are the most annoying to drive thru and also really awkward when you walk or bike through them because of all the time spent waiting for the left turns on the higher priority through route.

• Rindge Avenue - Push north-to-west lefts to Haskell, might even be able to make Rindge one-way between Haskell and Mass entering Mass. Also maybe make a longer left turn lane so that cars don't have to fight each other over which lane is really the "through" lane.
• Cameron - Love the new jughandle for the south-to-east movement and I think they should go all in and make Harvey St a one-way out to Mass
• Alewife Brook Parkway - no lefts from Mass by reconnecting Foch to Alewife Brook Parkway (right at Gladstone, left at Foch, left at the Parkway, and for the other direction Cameron down south connects up to Holland and Broadway if you're headed to Somerville or rerouting via Marathon, Winter, or Grafton up to Broadway to access the Parkway north, which is what you should've done anyway.
• Lake St - for the north to west movement, displace the left using Orvis Rd to Brooks
• Pleasant St - for the north to west movement, use a semi-direct route with Medford Chestnut and Mystic
• Mystic St - for the south to east movement, and this is the pair with Pleasant - a indirect route with a right on Swan, right on Swan, and a right on Pleasant to cross over to Mystic. removing the left turn pockets and narrowing the lanes you would probably get a lot of width back from the intersection and you might be able to make it much smaller and reduce the length of time at the traffic signals
• Park Ave in the Heights - people already use Paul Revere road for the south to east movement, the trickery would be to pair the north to west movement with Lowell Rd, but I wouldn't do anything like that unless the town fixes that 6-star intersection into a 4-leg one. but since we're in pretty crazy mode - it would probably just be part of the program.