Boston Globe Starts & Stops columnist Mac Daniel revisits the intersection one year after his previous column.
Boston Globe, Sunday August 17, 2003

Straight solution to a city traffic tie-up

A year ago, we wrote about major snarls at the intersection of Massachusetts Avenue and Alewife Brook Parkway at the Arlington/Cambridge line. But since that time, a clever solution has been devised and it is an example of how to do more with less while making things much, much safer.

Before the recent change, trying to turn left from Massachusetts Avenue in Cambridge to the parkway toward Route 2 often took two, maybe three traffic signal cycles. That's not good.

Drivers headed from Arlington to Cambridge on Mass. Ave. would often use a left-turn lane to avoid the traffic tie-ups and go straight, which often forces law-abiding vehicles out of their lanes.

The problem is not, however, all the fault of the drivers. The design of the lanes leads many drivers to cheat: The left lane to Cambridge is directly in front of the left-turn lane in Arlington.

City officials proposed a solution last year that seemed to be a simple matter of enforcement and proper lane markings across the intersection. But the strange boundaries at the intersection kept change at bay. The former Metropolitan District Commission maintained Alewife Brook Parkway, Cambridge controlled the traffic signals, and Arlington owned the pavement and lane markings on its side.

Enforcement? Forget about it. Case law in Massachusetts says police cannot follow someone across town lines unless that person has committed an arrestable offense. Going straight in a left-turn lane isn't an arrestable offense, unless you're waving a gun out the window.

End result? Impasse.

Then along came Jeff Parenti ,traffic engineer for Cambridge, who with Arlington and MDC officials, decided that the impasse had to end.

But rather than stationing an officer at the intersection all day, Parenti and the others decided to change the timing of the traffic lights.

Now, the traffic heading straight into Cambridge goes first, and the left-lane traffic goes second, forcing the cheaters to properly wait their turn.

"Since Cambridge gets a head start, you have no choice but to turn left legally," Parenti said. But after a few mornings and afternoons observing traffic at the intersection after the traffic light change, Parenti said he noticed something disturbing.

Although there are two straight-ahead lanes from Arlington into Cambridge, vehicles were only using one lane, mainly because traffic blocked access to the far right lane.

And why weren't the cars that could get in the right-hand lane using it? Turns out the lane lines between Arlington and Cambridge are skewed.

The lines are so off the mark that "this gives the driver a feeling that they're not supposed to go straight over there," said Parenti. "It's a very weird configuration."

Solution?

They're going to restripe the intersection in the next couple of weeks.

Total cost of resolving this horrible bottleneck? About $200.

"I think that will solve the problem," said Parenti. "It's like opening a second lane in the grocery store. It basically doubles the amount of cars you can get through there. . . . It won't be perfect. It's not going to float through like there's no one in front of you, but it will be much much better than it used to be, and it will be much safer."

Boston Globe Starts & Stops columnist Mac Daniel writes about the intersection!
Boston Globe, Sunday August 11, 2002

Turn for the worse

The intersection of Massachusetts Avenue and Alewife Brook Parkway at the Arlington/Cambridge line has an evil pull on people.

Drivers headed from Arlington to Cambridge can be in the left-hand-turn lane, their signals blinkety-blinking, But as soon as that light turns green, they go straight ahead.

In other words, they cheat.

Traffic can really get backed up here, and the left-hand-turn lane is often less clogged or downright empty. And sitting directly across the street from that turn lane is the left-hand lane of Massachusetts Avenue in Cambridge. It's a straight shot, so why not take it? This being Massachusetts, where those white lines and arrows on the asphalt have become a lost language, that's too often the case.

This causes a wicked vehicular domino effect. Drivers legally driving straight ahead are forced into the next lane to avoid those cheaters in the left-hand-turn lane. Vehicles in the curbside right lane then have nowhere to go, and they brake, do interesting things with their fingers, yell and scream and - well, it's just a mess.

It's the talk of the town in Arlington, mainly because the solution is simple enforcement and proper lane markings across the width of the intersection. Still, little has been done after months of discussions.

Thanks to Darcy Devney and Paul Schlichtman for bringing it to our attention.

Part if not all of the problem is jurisdictional. Alewife Brook Parkway belongs to the Metropolitan District Commission, the same group that allows parking on Storrow Drive for Esplanade concerts. The traffic signals are Cambridge's responsibility. Arlington owns the pavement and the markings on its side, which ends about 10 feet before the the intersection.

Helen Krikorian's letter to the Arlington Advocate,
February 3, 2000

To the editor:

The middle lane goes straight on Mass Avenue into Cambridge. The right lane has no markings. I suggest that the right lane be marked with a combination arrow to go straight and to the right. This would allow traffic to go straight from two lanes, freeing some of the gigantic backup on the middle lane. Also, if it could be managed, the lane markings on the Cambridge side of Mass Avenue could direct the Arlington Mass Avenue traffic to swerve to the left as it crosses Route 16. As it is now, many of the cars go directly from the left lane from the Arlington side of Mass Avenue straight through to the left lane on the Cambridge side. This would eliminate the ease in doing that.

Helen Krikorian

My response,
February 10, 2000

To the editor:

Helen Krikorian's letter in last week's Advocate accurately pointed out a dangerous and frustrating traffic problem at the corner of Massachusetts Avenue and Alewife Brook Parkway. She correctly observed that painting new lines would improve traffic safety and ease the flow of Massachusetts Avenue traffic through this intersection. Perhaps a few lane usage signs would also help. (sign, above)

I was fortunate to see Senator Robert Havern last Saturday afternoon. While Senator Havern said the ultimate solution to the problems at this intersection would include the installation of a new signal system, he agreed that better lane markings and signage would help. While an expensive signal improvement is not likely with this year's MDC budget, he thought that the MDC should be able to repaint the lanes as soon as spring weather permits the work to be done. The senator said he would work with the MDC to make these improvements a high priority for early action this spring.

Improved signage and lane markings should go a long way to solving the problem of people using the left turn only lane as a passing lane. This creates dangerous traffic conflicts as drivers cross Alewife Brook Parkway entering Cambridge. Easing the traffic flow along Massachusetts Avenue should also discourage drivers from looking to our side streets as alternate routes to avoid the congestion and confusion approaching this intersection. Thank you, Helen Krikorian, for pointing out a simple action to improve this intersection, and to Senator Havern for promising to get the MDC to implement these changes.

Paul Schlichtman reet