Tom Champion Somerville Snow Emergency Remix
I made this a while ago, and just realized it should probably be in an easier spot to find on the Internet.
Beacon Street has a bike lane! Just in time for me to move.
I was going through some old pictures a few days ago, and found this cell-phone shot I took of the “explanation” sign for Davis Square as you enter from the northeast on College Ave.
It’s basically a giant white splotch, with various streets and Do Not Enter logos. It’s small, hard-to-read, out-of-the-way, and gives no indication of precisely how to get from one street to another.
You might think I’m going to criticize it, but I’m not. I think confusing intersections are safer when they scare people who don’t know what they’re doing into paying attention, and pressuring them to go with the flow of traffic.
Missing a turn entirely is a minor setback for one driver; proceeding blithely across traffic and into an accident inconveniences everyone. Ideally, all major intersections would be simple and straightforward, but where infrastructure predates cars by nearly a century, that’s not going to happen.
Oh, and just in case you think the intersection is bad now, keep in mind that Davis used to have a set of rail tracks running through it.
