Willow Avenue (Somerville, MA)

Work Continues on the Raised Table

2011-05-04T09:04:00.000-07:00

Here's Henry in the middle of it all:

Raised Tables and Curb Bump Out Finally Going in!

2011-04-28T12:12:00.000-07:00

It feels like a LONG time coming, but I'm very excited to write that the construction of the raised table at Willow and Kidder is already complete, and work has begun on the sidewalk construction at the corner of Willow and Summer this week. We have confirmation from Stan Koty that the raised table at Summer will begin next week, and the following week we'll have new paving, a bump out at Elm, and re-striped bike lanes.

Huge thanks to all of the neighbors for supporting this initiative. Huge thanks to Mayor Joe Curtatone for sticking by his promise. Huge thanks to the Willow Ave traffic group for coming up with the plan to make this positive step towards safety for the residents of Willow Ave and the surrounding streets. I'm a little shocked that this is actually happening....

Stan Koty Confirms Pedestrian Safety Measure Bid Has Been Awarded

2010-09-01T18:38:00.001-07:00

Following is a mail from Stan Koty, DPW Commissioner on July 16 2010:

Dear Mr. Shugrue:

I am very sorry for the delayed response; I have been tied up this week due to the flood in Somerville. The bid for the project was awarded yesterday. I do not have an exact start date for the work yet, but, it will be very soon. You and your fellow neighbors will be notified regarding the details of the construction.

Please fell free to contact me if you have any further questions or concerns,

Sincerely,

Stan Koty

DPW Commissioner

617-625-6600 ext. 5110

Rough Chronicle of Communication with the City Since June 2 Meeting with Mayor Curtatone

2010-07-13T11:41:00.000-07:00

Aftermath of October 2009 Accident at Willow and Summer:

March 2010 Crash, Willow and Summer:

4 different neighbors, as well as 3 different members of the original Willow Ave Traffic Group, have sent repeated e-mails to Mayor Curtatone, Stan Koty, Matthew Dias, and others asking for updates on when/if the improvements will be implemented. Here's a rough recap of the replies we've received in the two years since the meeting:

---------- Forwarded message ----------
dbshugrue@gmail.com>

mayor@somervillema.gov>
Date: Fri, 18 Sep 2009 10:31:01 -0400

Subject: Curb bump out at Elm and Willow, raised intersection at Willow and Summer
Hi Joe --

This is Dan Shugrue checking in from Willow Ave. Melora and I met with you at your office in the Summer of 2008 regarding traffic safety improvements for Willow Avenue, at the intersections of Willow and Elm and Willow and Summer. At the time, you had promised to install a bulb out at Willow and Elm and a raised intersection at Willow and Summer St. Originally we were told the bulb out would happen in the Fall of 08 and the raised intersection in July of '09. When we last spoke you said the city wanted to do both before school started in '09. Neither improvement has been installed to date. Can you or someone on your staff give us an update on the latest schedules and plans?

Thanks and regards,
Dan

Reply from the city, Sept 28 2009:

Hi Dan,

I apologize for the delay in my response, but wanted to let you know that I am researching this issue with both the Dept. of Transportation and Infrastructure, and the DPW, and hope to have more information for you tomorrow.

Please don’t hesitate to call with any questions in the meantime.

Regards,

Jackie Rossetti
Deputy Director of Communications
City of Somerville

Feb 2010:

From: daniel shugrue [mailto:dbshugrue@gmail.com]
Sent: Sunday, February 28, 2010 9:41 AM
To: Mayor
Cc: Rebekah Gewirtz; Mark Chase; ethan@ethangilsdorf.com; David Booth; Melora Rush
Subject: Fwd: Curb bump out at Elm and Willow, raised intersection at Willow and Summer

Hi Joe -- I'm writing to get an update from you regarding safety improvement measures to Willow Ave, specifically at Elm and Willow and Elm and Summer. It's been almost two years since we spoke with you at City Hall and enthusiastically endorsed your commitment to safety. ( http://www.wickedlocal.com/somerville/news/opinions/letters/x527177668/Letter-Mayor-we-like-your-commitment)

Since then, at Willow and Elm, I have witnessed the aftermath of 3 car crashes, all of which damaged private property and some of which damaged city property (street signs torn down, firebox completely torn off). I have also personally witnessed several shouting matches between pedestrians and cars, and even more honking and near-misses of passing bicyclists.

The traffic group is excited to finally have our recommendations implemented during this construction season. We understand that plans are being drawn up now for the coming Spring and Fall construction. We'd like to meet with you to find out when Willow Ave will be reconstructed and when these vital safety measures will be implemented.

I am willing to offer my home as a site for a meeting between you, the Willow Ave traffic group, and my neighbors at Willow Ave. Please tell us when we can meet to discuss the upcoming constructions season and specific (when and how) plans to upgrade safety (including a bump out at Willow and Elm and a raised intersection at Willow and Summer).

I look forward to your response.

Regards,
Dan

March 2010:

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Matthew Dias MDias@somervillema.gov>
Date: Thu, Mar 4, 2010 at 12:20 PM
Subject: RE: Curb bump out at Elm and Willow, raised intersection at Willowdbshugrue@gmail.com Mayor@somervillema.gov>

rebekah.gewirtz@gmail.com mark.e.chase@gmail.com>, ethan@ethangilsdorf.com david@dbooth.org melora@morepeace.org>

Good morning, Dan.

Mayor Curtatone has read your email and asked me to reply. I apologize that it has taken us so long to get back to you, and I can understand your frustration with the delay.

However, I am happy to report that traffic calming measures on Willow Ave. is among the Mayor’s highest priority for street reconstruction/renovation this year. The Somerville Department of Public Works has been working throughout the winter with a design consultant on plans to control and mitigate high speed traffic on your street. As a result, a “Willow Ave.” project application was submitted to District 4 of the Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MDOT) for raised tables (a traffic calming feature that reduces vehicle speeds) at the intersections of Summer St. and Willow Ave. and Willow and Kidder Ave. Once a decision had been made by MDOT and, assuming successful, raised tables will be installed, as well as bump outs at Willow and Elm Street.

We hope to have this request approved by MDOT in April. However, there are no guarantees; these measure are very costly (approximately $100K each) and the State evaluates each application against a very detailed and specified set of criteria.

That being said, we believe we have made a very strong case for MDOT to approve our application. In the meantime, if you have any questions, please feel free to contact our DPW Commissioner, Stan Koty, at 617.625.6600skpe_highlighting end_of_the_skype_highlighting class="skype_pnh_highlighting_inactive_common"> 617.625.6600 end_of_the_skype_highlighting ext 5100.

Thank you for taking the time to follow up.

Matt

March 15 2010:

Dear Mayor Curtatone,

I'm writing to express my concern regarding recent communication from your administration addressing the recommended pedestrian safety improvements on Willow Ave at Elm and Summer streets. The volunteer group on which I served for 12 weeks in the Fall of 2007 recommended several improvements to pedestrian safety on this stretch of Willow. Specifically, Dan Shugrue and Melora Rush met with you and requested a curb bump out at Willow and Summer and a raised intersection at Willow and Elm. At that meeting, you committed to both improvements -- the bump out in June of '08 and the raised intersection before the school year started in Sept of 08. That meeting is documented here:

http://www.wickedlocal.com/somerville/news/opinions/letters/x527177668/Letter-Mayor-we-like-your-commitment

Since that meeting, 3 car accidents have occurred at Willow and Summer. Also since that meeting, no pedestrian safety measures have been implemented. In addition, your administration has informed us that the safety improvements are contingent upon receiving funding from MDOT, a contingency which was not communicated to us or the neighbors on Willow Ave in the two years since you made your commitment.

We hope that you will honor your original commitment.

We also hope that something be done, immediately, to alleviate danger at Willow/Elm and Willow/Summer. Specifically, we hope to see
a) the bump out at Elm, as originally promised, installed before the re-paving of Willow

b) temporary safety measures at Willow and Summer -- namely, switch to blinking red in both directions so that people stop trying to make the light and causing accidents

Thank you and regards,
Daniel

(Several other neighbors and members of the Willow Ave traffic group sent similar letters).

March 15 2010:

Hi Daniel.

Apologies. After re-reading my email, I think I confused everyone about the Mayor’s approach to traffic calming measures on Willow Avenue.

Indeed, you are correct; regardless of the MASSDOT application, the City plans to construct traffic calming measures on Willow Ave during this calendar year. So there are NO contingencies on our plans. However, due to limited resources, we are, of course, hoping that our application with the State is approved. But again, we plan to construct traffic calming measures on Willow this year, so I apologize for the confusion.

Per your request, I will also look into whether or not residents are able to monitor our application with MASSDOT. I’ll keep you posted.

Please feel free to call me with any questions. I would call myself but I do not have your number. Many thanks,

Matt

Matthew J. Dias

Mayor’s Office

City of Somerville

93 Highland Ave.

Somerville, MA 02143

W: (617) 625-6600 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting (617) 625-6600 end_of_the_skype_highlighting ext. 2105

C: (857) 636-8518

May 2010:

> Dear Mr. Gilsdorf:
>
>
>
> The City of Somerville is currently out to bid on two street reconstruction
> projects. A third street reconstruction project will be put out to bid in
> July. This third contract will include the raised tables. Once the
> contract is awarded, the street work on Willow Ave. will begin.
>
>

> Thank you for your continued patience throughout this process,
>
>
>
> Sincerely,
>
>
>
> Stan Koty
>
> DPW Commissioner
>

July 2010:

Dear Mr. Koty --

We understand that a bid for the reconstruction of Willow Ave, including raising tables at Willow/Summer and at Willow/Kidder, and providing a curb bump out at Willow/Elm, is to go out in July. Can you confirm that this bidding process is still on schedule?

Thank you,
Daniel Shugrue

Block Party 2008 Recap

2008-10-28T12:59:00.000-07:00

The (mostly annual) Willow Ave block party was held on Oct 26th this year. We had a great turnout...many neighbors, family of neighbors, friends, and strangers showed up. I'd guess around 75 people in all.

Redbones BBQ was on hand. Donene and Michael brought folding tables. David manned the grill and served up burgers, dogs, and veggie burgers. (He also brought out a TV so that we could watch the game). Brad and family supplied warm apple cider as well as coffee. MaryLou, Jim and the triplets brought out huge bowls of popcorn. Somebody (shhhh!) brought a cooler of beers. Lots of cake and cookies were consumed. Zion brought lots and lots of soda which kept the kids plenty energized.

For activities, we didn't have too much structure. We had one neighbor show up with the biggest skateboard I've ever seen. Marisa and Ben wheeled their outdoor ping pong table over. Lots of kids buzzed around on their bicycles. Kelle painted faces for a good two hours, Bonnie took over and helped out for another couple hours. A couple of neighbors took advantage of the crowd and held yard sales. Suzanne provided a great set of music, including guest performances by some of the teens on Willow Ave.

The bouncy house was again a big hit with the kids. (Thanks for Anne-Marie and Paul for handling all bouncy house logistics!) Mayhem pretty much reigned, with lots of bouncing and only one (minor) injury.

We had lots of talk of pedestrian safety last year, and we've seen the addition of bike lanes this year, but strangely there wasn't much talk about traffic calming or ped safety at this years party. Everyone just seemed to be out, talking, enjoying the street, eating, drinking and having a good time.

We look forward to an even bigger block party next year, with more neighbors and friends coming out to join in the fun! If you have comments or want to be included in the planning stage, please leave your name and e-mail in the comments field.

Willow Ave Block Party! October 26th 1 - 4 pm

2008-10-13T10:51:00.000-07:00

We're having another block party! The street will be blocked off to cars, we'll have food, drinks for kids and adults, and games. We're trying to get the moonwalk back as well.

If you can help set up or if you can bring a food/drink item, please e-mail kelle.shugrue@gmail.com.

Mayor Joe Curtatone Agrees to install bulb outs, raised intersections

2008-07-24T12:13:00.001-07:00

Following is from Melora and David's letter to the editor of the Somerville Journal:

Dear Mayor Curtatone:

You met with Willow Avenue resident Dan Shugrue and me on June 2 to discuss the pedestrian safety recommendations of the Davis Square Transportation Design Group. We wish to thank you for your commitment to add bulb-out curb extensions to the intersection of Willow and Elm by fall 2008, and a speed table to the intersection of Willow and Summer when Willow is repaved in 2009, in accordance with the group's recommendations. We appreciate your commitment to improving pedestrian safety, and we hope these steps will serve as a model for cost-effective safety improvements throughout the city.

We also wish to thank the members of the Davis Square Transportation Design Group (Cassie Arnaud, Beatriz C. Gomez Mouakad, David Loutzenheiser, Brian Postlewaite, Dan Shugrue and several others) who spent many hours -- entirely volunteer -- over a 12-week period gathering input from Willow Avenue neighbors, devising a suitable and cost-effective plan, and documenting the resulting recommendations that were presented to Mayor Curtatone on June 2: http://willave.blogspot.com/

Finally, thanks to Dan Shugrue for preparing an excellent presentation and for going door-to-door with us last winter to discuss the issue with neighbors, and thanks to Ace Wheel Works for publicizing the proposed safety improvements in their store.

Melora Rush and David Booth
Elm Street

Striping of bike lanes on night of May 29th -- City will ticket and tow cars!

2008-05-29T07:40:00.000-07:00

The good news: We are getting a bike lane and car lane striping on Willow Ave between Elm and Highland.

The bad news: The city only gave us 1 day notice-- and has told us they will ticket and tow cars parked on either side of Willow Ave tonight.

Please tell you neighbors not to park on the street tonight!

Group Recommendations

2007-10-20T08:15:00.000-07:00

Intersection of Willow Ave and Elm Street

Deciding what to do was in some cases easy and in others more difficult. Here's what the group came up with. This intersection is really complicated in part because half the intersection is in Cambridge and in part because there's just a lot of pedestrian, bicycle and car traffic coming from every direction. We are focusing here on the two corners that are in Somerville (Northeast/ Northwest). We recommend:

Curb extensions on both curbs to narrow the distance that pedestrians have to walk and to slow traffic. In addition to the curb extensions we think there should be a raised crosswalk going from the corner with Ace Wheel works to the other side of Willow heading towards Davis Square.

Recognizing that curb extensions might be a budget buster for the City, a temporary alternative would be to put high quality/ attractive planters along the line of the proposed curb extension to achieve the same benefits until a permanent curb/ sidewalk can be installed.

Intersection of Willow Ave and Summer Street

Install a raised intersection with an all-way stop including blinking red stop lights. At the block party, people were firmly for a raised intersection and firmly against an all-way stop. We feel the raised intersection should not be coupled with a standard traffic signal (red-yellow-green) because the green light and the table create conflicting messages. The table is telling drivers to slow down to an "almost stop" while the signal is telling them to get going and make the light.

Alternatively, if the neighborhood wants to keep the current traffic signal, we recommend fully painting the intersection with a decorative colorful design (see the Portland in previous posting) or a simply cross-hatch the entire intersection with a "dutch crossing". If this option is chosen we recommend that curb extensions similar to those recommended on Elm and Summer be implemented on the Northeast and Southeast corners of the intersection.

Willow Ave/ The through street

We recommend that a bike lane be installed on Willow Ave to narrow the travel lane (slowing car traffic) and to encourage bicycle use. Most members of the group liked the idea of a contra-flow (against traffic) bike lane. Yet, residents at the block party, and those participating in our group strongly opposed a contra-flow lane, because it might cause additional conflicts with driveways on the street. In favor of a contra-flow bike lane, our traffic observations showed that 10 bikes per hour were traveling against traffic.

A broader vision: Davis to Union Square by bike:

We suggest that the Somerville Bike Committee study the possibility of creating bike lanes or a bike boulevard on Hancock and/or Cedar Street to accommodate the desire of bicyclists to travel south-bound towards Elm Street near Porter Square. In addition we suggest that the Somerville Bike Committee study bicycle accommodations for Elm Street to provide continuous bicycle access from Davis Square to Union Square via Willow Ave, the Community Bike Path, Elm Street and the bike lanes on Somerville Avenue (under construction).

Block Party!

2007-10-14T17:49:00.000-07:00

We set up a display at the Willow Avenue Block Party today. We had a large poster of the street with some sample traffic calming devices. We also had a print out of the blog.

People were able to learn about the range of solutions (previously mentioned in the blog) and rate them as desirable or not. We also had a pad out for general comments.

It was an amazingly beautiful day and as soon as the City closed the street the kids took over.

Here are what people said they liked and didn't like for options at each intersection and the corridor as a whole. We're using shorthand here-- the first number is those who liked the idea, the second, those who were neutral and the third those who really didn't like the idea at all--hated it! So for example if the measure is a raised crosswalk and 23 people loved it, one didn't care and one hated it, it would be marked at (23/1/1).

If you are confused about what some of the terms mean, hopefully you will find some good definitions in earlier entries (further down). I tried to put the most popular first and the least popular last. But sometimes it wasn't totally clear.

Elm and Willow Intersection

Curb extensions:
Extending the sidewalk out to the curb (18/0/2)
Colorful paint-- force cars to take a wide turn (9/0/2)
Planters-- see earlier entry for examples (7/1/1)
Planters and paint combined (2/1/0)

Raised Crosswalk 23/1/1

Traffic Signal Changes
All Way Stop (14/0/5)
Roundabout (6/0/6)
Put in traffic lights (2/0/5)
Willow and Summer Intersection

Intersection Treatment
Raised Intersection/ Speed Table (18/0/2)
Dutch crossing -- paint the whole intersection (13/0/2)

Raised Crosswalk (13/0/2)

Curb Extensions
Paint (10/0/2)
Planters (5/2/1)
Planters and Paint (5/2/0)
Extend the sidewalk/ bump out curb (13/0/6)

Traffic Signal Changes (3/0/2)
Pedestrian Walk Lights (11/0/1)
All Way Stop (2/0/5)
No right on red (1/0/11)

Willow: the through street (treatments between the intersections)
Narrowing the travel lane by:
Adding Bike Lanes (19/0/5)
Adding Shared Lane Markings (3/0/3)
Both Bike lanes and shared lane markings (0/0/6)
Consider bike lanes up against the curb (inside parked cars) (1/1/9)

Change the Street back to two way (2/0/17)

People were encouraged to write their comments on flip chart paper. Here's what they had to say. This is unedited from the sheet, so if it makes no sense, I probably can't help you.

Comments on the Flip Chart

Bike Lane on Elm- Parking one side only
Trim back trees blocking signal at summer
More trees
Wider Sidewalks
Bury the utility wires
If contra-flow lane is implemented, the parking spaces on Elm (maybe 1 space on either side of Willow) would have to be made "no pkg" areas.
Any traffic pattern changes on Willow must consider the surrounding streets
Trees at corners = slow down cars
Traffic Lights at intersection of Elm and Policeman
Additional crosswalk mid block between Elm and Summer
Raised Crosswalk on Holland Street in Davis Square
Make Willow 2 way
Square of Beach Street Intersection (Make cars turn right then left instead of straight through)
Speed Tables
Two Way!

If you couldn't make the block party today and would like to comment or vote on the measures (or even if you did make it today and have something more to say), please comment on the blog!

Thank you residents of Willow Avenue!

Some Examples of Traffic Calming Devices

2007-10-11T16:54:00.000-07:00

A traditional and inexpensive way of slowing traffic are speed cushions. These are rubber speed bumps that are bolted to the street. Here they are spaced to let a fire engine through:

Bike Lanes Calm Traffic too:

One idea is to put down a bicycle lane, shared bike lane or both. A narrower car travel lane will slow cars down. Also, just having bicycles in the street will slow cars down. Here are some pictures of "contra flow" (against the traffic bike lanes) that could be paired with a "shared lane marking" (stencil in the street where the cars and bikes share the same lane) going with the direction of traffic

Contra-flow bike lane in Cambridge, MA

A shared lane marking in Toronto Canada

The lane width on Willow Ave is 33'. Reserving 8.5 feet for parking on both sides of the street, there would still be enough room for a 10' travel lane and a 6' bike lane. The 10' travel lane could have a shared lane marking in it. If no bicycles were coming in the "contra flow" bike lane a car would pass a bike going in it's direction by pulling in to the bike lane.

Curb extensions

These can be done with paint and planters (low cost) or by moving the curb physically in to the road. Below are some photos of planters:

This one is too big to see around, but of nice quality:

Here are lower cost planters that could be further defined with creative paint:

Here's a really nicely landscaped curb extension of the expensive kind:

For Intersections there are also many options, some cheap and some expensive. On the cheap side... here is a creative use of paint that really makes a statement:

And more expensive... a roundabout:

These are just a few of the many ways that traffic can be calmed. For more ideas and to give us yours, come to the Willow Avenue Block Party on Sunday October 14, 2007-- from 12 noon to 5PM

Signal Timing at Willow and Summer

2007-10-11T16:52:00.000-07:00

Willow and Summer

38 second cycle length;

18 seconds (green plus yellow) for Summer St (both directions)

18 seconds (green plus yellow) for Willow Ave

1 second of all red between each phase

Pedestrians cross concurrently with either phase (they cross Willow when Summer is green)

Walking at 2 miles per hour (a slow speed) a pedestrian can travel 53 feet in 18 seconds, so there is enough time provided in each cycle for pedestrians to cross the 33 feet on Willow or the 29.5 feet on Summer safely.

Willow and Highland

19 seconds (green plus yellow) for Highland Ave (both directions)

Willow is actuated by vehicles,

during the PM peak all cycles but one were 23 seconds (green plus yellow), the other was 15 seconds

1 second of all red between each phase

Pedestrians cross concurrently with either phase (they cross Willow when Highland is green). There are also separate pedestrian-actuation buttons at all crosswalks. The pedestrian button was actuated 3 of 10 cycles during the peak, for 15 seconds each

Walking at 2 miles per hour (a slow speed) a pedestrian can travel 40 feet in 15 seconds, so there is enough time provided in each cycle for pedestrians to cross the 33 feet on Willow or the 40 feet on Highland safely.

Street Measurements

2007-10-11T09:08:00.000-07:00

Willow Avenue between Highland and Elm is exactly 33 feet across. Summer is smaller at 29.5 feet. Highland and Elm are both 40' wide mid block. The intersection of Elm and Summer has extremely long crossings due to the geometry of the crossing vis a vis the corners-- 36 to 40' for Willow and 47' on Elm. Below is a very rough google map photo showing the whole cross section.

Possible Solutions

2007-10-06T11:39:00.001-07:00

When looking at possible solutions on Willow we've separated out the intersections and the "through street" to make it easier to analyze and pose solutions. Some reminders of our challenges:

Low cost vs high cost-- for now we're roughly ranking the solutions in this way: If it's low cost, then chances are it's easier to implement (and even reverse if people don't like it). If things are working well with low cost solutions, it will be relatively easy to upgrade them when the funds are available for the city.

Neighbors gotta like it/ City's gotta like it-- here we're thinking about what might be most likely to succeed. So things that push traffic to other streets may not be popular with the traffic receiving streets.

A great resource that the city put together on pedestrian issues city wide is:

http://www.somervillema.gov/CoS_Content/documents/SafeSTART%20Nov%202006%20full%20report.pdf

So What do we have for solutions? Below is a start: Stay tuned because I'm sure we'll add a few more based on your comments and the feedback we get on this blog and at the Willow Street Block Party (Oct 14)

Intersection of Elm and Willow

Curb extensions-- from least expensive to most

Paint-- Bright and bold-- will force a lot of cars to make wide turns. Some will ignore it.
Planters-- Picture planted perennials, bushes and grasses. May need to be maintained by neighbors. Planters vary tremendously in quality from Plastic ones you get at home depot, to wood, terracotta, cement (with many treatments such as stains imprints, mosaics etc), Metals. The sky's the limit. Cost would be a limiting factor.
Planters and paint combined
Extend the sidewalk/ push out the curb

Raised Crosswalk-- Can be made out of many materials. Cost will vary depending on drainage issues (moving curbs) and materials chosen.

Traffic signal changes--

All Way stop
Roundabout
Signalize (put in traffic lights -- see comment on earlier entry)

Intersection at Willow and Summer

Curb extensions-- from least expensive to most

Paint-- Bright and bold-- will force a lot of cars to make wide turns. Some will ignore it.
Planters-- Picture planted perennials, bushes and grasses. May need to be maintained by neighbors. Planters vary tremendously in quality from Plastic ones you get at home depot, to wood, terracotta, cement (with many treatments such as stains imprints, mosaics etc), Metals. The sky's the limit. Cost would be a limiting factor.
Planters and paint combined
Extend the sidewalk/ push out the curb

Gangwalks/ Dutch Crossing
Essentially paint the entire intersection with cross hatches

Raised Intersection/ Speed Table
Same as above, but it would a be a noticeable rise in elevation. Costs vary from $30K (asphalt) to $100K (Brick/ Granite/ issues with drainage to deal with). This would be done in conjunction with an all way stop at the intersection (see below).

Raised Crosswalk-- Can be made out of many materials. Cost will vary depending on drainage issues (moving curbs) and materials chosen.

Traffic signal changes--

All Way stop (can be done with existing signals by turning to blinking red)
No right on red
Pedestrian walk lights

Intersection at Willow and Highland

Consider/ look at pedestrian signalization to see how it works. Otherwise we will address this intersection with treatments proposed for the "through street", the whole section of willow between Elm and Highland.

Willow: the through street

Speed Cushions (http://www.ci.austin.tx.us/roadworks/cushions.htm)

Narrow the Street/ Travel lane
Add bike lanes
Add shared lane markings
Both bikelanes and shared lane markings (bike lane would be contra flow)
Consider putting a bike lane inside the parked cars up against the curb

Change the street back to two way-- would look and work much like Willow from Highland to Broadway.

Willow Ave Crash Statistics

2007-10-01T06:54:00.000-07:00

Based on MassHighway/Registry of Motor Vehicle files

2002-2005

Total 22 crashes between Elm and Highland

9 at Elm/Willow/Beech

4 involved injuries (5 persons injured), 4 property damage only, 1 not reported

1 crash was with a pedestrian. All others were vehicles only.

All involved good weather

No specific movement or direction seemed to predominate - sometimes it was an angle with cars from two different directions, others involved two vehicles in the same direction.

4 at Willow/Summer

1 involved an injury. No pedestrian crashes listed.

1 took place in wet weather. 2 crashes involved eastbound (Willow) and northbound (Summer) vehicles at the signal.

9 at Willow/Highland

3 involved injuries (4 persons injured). 3 took place in wet weather, 2 involving snow.

1 northbound vehicle collided with a pedestrian, another with a parked car.

What are some of the problems on Willow Avenue?

2007-09-28T12:01:00.000-07:00

We're busy collecting data about what works and doesn't on Willow Ave. David Booth and Melora Rush live on Elm Street near the corner of Willow. David emailed me the following pictures and comments:

The intersection of Willow Avenue and Elm Street and Beech Street (see Figure 1) is hazardous to pedestrians. We have seen a number of accidents – both vehicle and pedestrian -- during the 8 years that we have lived here. There are two main problems:

There is no stop sign for Elm Street traffic at the Willow/Beech intersection, so Elm Street vehicles traveling through the intersection sometimes go quite fast.
Pedestrian crossing of Willow from East to West on the North side of Elm (see Figure 2) is particularly hazardous because:

a. Vehicles traveling West on Elm zoom around the corner onto Willow, partly because it is not a sharp turn, and partly because there is no stop sign.

b. Visibility for these vehicles (and for pedestrians) is often partially obstructed by other vehicles parked in front of Ace Wheel Works on Elm at the corner of Willow.

c. A pedestrian cannot readily watch for vehicles rapidly approaching from behind (on Elm), in addition to watching for vehicles coming from the front (Eastbound Elm) and the left (Beech).

Figure 1: Existing Intersection of Elm Street and Willow/Beech

Figure 2: Pedestrian (black dot) trying to cross Willow

What we're doing!

2007-09-23T09:02:00.000-07:00

The Davis Square Transportation Design Group formed in the summer of 2007 to work on targeted projects that we have the skills and inclination to work on. We formed because we thought that there are some very creative and skilled professionals in Somerville who can put their skills to use to help solve some problems that we have. Of course we have no authority. If anything happens as a result of our work it will be because it makes sense for the community.

In order to not have this drag on forever ever (or 4 evah), we have set a deadline of 12 weeks to work on the project. Our group first met on August 2nd and will close up on October 24. It took us about 6 weeks to decide what project to work on. We generated a big list of projects to work on and then narrowed it down to 2 and then just 1: Willow Avenue between Elm Street and Highland Avenue.

We picked Willow Avenue because:

1. It filled the skills and interests that we have in our group to work on the project.
2. It was pretty limited in geography, so we could get something done in a short period of time
3. It mirrors many other streets in Somerville
4. One of our group members (Dan Shugrue) lives on Willow. If anything was going to happen, we need people on the avenue to support what we're doing. Dan will help involve all the neighbors and businesses who could be impacted.

Some other things: We want to develop solutions that are inexpensive to implement (they're easier to do, and easier to reverse if people don't like them), and the planning needs to be do able in a short time frame (12 weeks).

If this works, we hope more groups like this will form in Davis Square and throughout the City.

This blog will update the community as to what we're doing and we expect to update it at least weekly through October 24.

Who's in our group (in no particular order):

Jeff Roberts, Community Planner
Ethan Gisldorf, Writer
Cassie Arnaud, Housing Planner
Robert Mantell, Employment Lawyer
Jim Gallagher, Transportation Planner
Rebekah Gewirtz, Ward 6 Alderman
Brian Postlewaite, Traffic Engineer
Mark Chase, Transportation Planner
Jim Campano, Community Member, former West Ender (Boston)
Brian Brady, Community Member, lifelong resident of Davis Square
Dan Shugrue, Community Member, Willow Ave resident
Bea Gomez, Architect
Iram Farooq, Urban Planner
David Loutzenheiser, Transportation Planner