July 26, 2012 This is a record of the placement, absence

July 26, 2012
This is a record of the placement, absence, inconsistent placement, or misplacement of stop signs and stop lines
along the Commonwealth Avenue Carriage Road. These photos, anecdotes and observations all took place on one
Sunday afternoon, though a few photos were added later to fill in existing gaps. Placing signs along the Carriage
Road and the roads intersecting it in a consistent manner helps create safe and secure expectations for drivers,
walkers, parents pushing their babies in strollers, bicyclists, and runners along or crossing through the Carriage
Road.
We also note that signs along the area surrounding Grant Road and Commonwealth Avenue indicate that bicycles
heading west are required to use the Carriage Road, and yet safety measures along the Carriage Road are
seriously inadequate. This endangers drivers of motorized vehicles as well as bicyclists, many of whom are
children bicycling alone or are families bicycling with their children.
In this document, we have begun at the western entrance to the Carriage Road, at Grant Avenue, where “Bike
Path” signs direct bicyclists to use the Carriage Road, and wherever possible we have followed the Carriage Road
westward to Woodbine Street, where the Carriage Road ends before the Charles River.
We have paid particular attention to:
The placement of stop signs before the Carriage Road
The placement of stop signs before Commonwealth Avenue
The placement of stop signs before or after the pedestrian walkways along the Carriage Road
The painting of the words STOP along the roadway, by stop signs
The painting of stop lines for vehicles travelling south along side roads and ‘yield’ signs for vehicles turning
into the Carriage Path from Commonwealth Avenue
Foliage or tree trunks obscuring stop signs
Respectfully,
Jane Hanser
Philip Hanser
Westbourne
There is NO STOP SIGN before the Carriage Road.
There are no stop lines before the Carriage Road.
RECOMMENDATION:
Place STOP sign at the intersection before the Carriage Road. Care should be taken to ensure that the
stop sign not be obstructed by tree trunks or tree branches.
Sumner Street
There is NO STOP SIGN before the Carriage Road.
There is a stop line, but most of it has
been paved over and the line has not
been repainted, nor do the words “STOP”
appear painted on the street.
RECOMMENDATIONS:
Place STOP sign at the intersection
before the Carriage Road.
REPAINT stop line.
Above: On Sumner, view toward the Carriage Road
Morseland
This is a very busy intersection, with two synagogues on Morseland (Congregation Shaarei Tefilla and
Congregation Beth El-Atereth Israel) and one at the corner of Morseland and Ward Street (Sephardic
Congregation of Newton). Driving south on Morseland, no left turn is permitted onto Ward Street. Thus,
all traffic continues straight down Morseland. In addition, Morseland is commonly used by vehicles
heading south on Centre Street that want to avoid the light at Commonwealth and Centre Street.
The stop sign before the Carriage Road is poorly placed. Approaching it in nice weather, it is behind a tree
and not well visible. Violations of the STOP requirement are frequent.
RECOMMENDATIONS:
Place an additional stop sign on the left side of the intersection of Morseland and the Carriage Road
Place a sign before the tree, indicating “STOP AHEAD”.
Paint the word STOP on the road approaching the intersection with the Carriage Road.
On Morseland, View Toward Carriage Road
Left: On Morseland,
View Toward
Carriage Road
On Morseland,
between Carriage
Road and
Commonwealth
Avenue: View
toward
Commonwealth
Avenue
Cedar Street
There is a stop sign before the Carriage Road. However, the STOP sign is around the corner and far to the
right of the actual intersection.
RECOMMENDATIONS:
Paint the words STOP on the road approaching the intersection with Commonwealth Avenue.
Morton Street
There is a stop sign at the intersection of the Carriage Road and Morton Street. However, the stop sign is
beyond a tree and sometimes obstructed by that tree.
There is a stop sign before Commonwealth Avenue; however, it is placed far to the right of the actual
intersection, and there is no stop line painted on the street.
RECOMMENDATIONS:
Paint the words STOP on the road approaching before the Carriage Road.
Paint the words STOP on the road approaching the intersection of Commonwealth Avenue.
Above: On Morton Street, view toward the Carriage Road
Below: On Morton Street, view toward the Carriage Road
Commonwealth Park
There is NO STOP SIGN before the Carriage Road.
There is no stop LINE before the Carriage Road. (There is a pedestrian crossing lane.)
In the photo below, looking south, you can see a bicyclist heading east along the Carriage Road. There is
no stop sign at Commonwealth Park to help avert a collision.
Above: On Commonwealth Park, before the Carriage Road, looking (south) toward the Carriage Road and Commonwealth
Avenue
RECOMMENDATION:
Place STOP sign at the intersection before the Carriage Road.
Below: Looking east from the west side of the intersection of Commonwealth Park and the Carriage Road. View of Pedestrian
Crossing (though the crossing ends, with no crosswalk or curb-out.
Notice the STOP sign of the Carriage Road is before the pedestrian walkway and keep in mind that there is
NO STOP SIGN at Commonwealth Park before the Carriage Road.. (Notice also that the Pedestrian
crosswalk leads to nowhere.)
Bulloughs Park
There is NO STOP SIGN along Bulloughs Park before the Carriage Path (section of the Carriage Road not
designed for motorized vehicles).
There are no stop lines along Bulloughs Park before the Carriage Path (section of the Carriage Road not
designed for motorized vehicles).
This is an extremely dangerous situation.
From Bulloughs Park west, the Carriage Path is closed to vehicles but not to runners or walkers. Visibility
from those recreationalists or pedestrians heading east is poor; bicyclists and motor vehicles often have
near collisions due to the lack of a stop sign for motor vehicles, and the lack of warming signs to those on
the Carriage Path between Walnut Street and Bulloughs Park, and the lack of visibility due to overgrown
bushes.
This view, looking northwest, was
taken from the berm between the
Carriage Path and Commonwealth
Avenue; the intersecting road is
Bulloughs Park.
The stop signs along the Carriage Road
for traffic flowing west-east is located
after the pedestrian walkway (unlike
other pedestrian walkways, where the
stop sign is located before (east of)
the walkway.
This view, looking east, was taken
from the berm, is similar to the
previous view but you can see
directly down to where the
Carriage Road terminates for
motorized vehicles. Pedestrians
walking east, coming out of the
portion of the Carriage Path
straight ahead, have no view of
vehicles crossing their path
heading south to the only stop
sign, at the intersection of
Bulloughs Park and
Commonwealth Avenue.
This photo below is a view taken from Bulloughs Park, right before its intersection with the Carriage Path.
You have a good opportunity to see what danger this situation is. Here is an elderly woman walking from
Walnut Street eastward and due to the foliage etc., she had no ability to see that motorized vehicles
might be intersecting into her path. We have personally witnessed numerous near collisions between
runners and walkers travelling west/east, and motorized vehicles travelling toward Commonwealth
Avenue and not being required to stop before the Carriage Path.
On Bulloughs Park, looking south, toward the Carriage Path and Commonwealth Avenue
RECOMMENDATIONS:
Place a STOP sign before the intersection with the Carriage Path.
Cut back heavy foliage obstructing the view of vehicles
This is the view that a person walking or running along the Carriage Path from Walnut Street toward
Bulloughs Park would have. Due to heavy foliage on the northwest corner, there is absolutely no visibility to
see vehicles north of the intersection, coming south along Bulloughs Park, and yet vehicles along Bulloughs
Park have no stop sign until Commonwealth Avenue.
The stop signs along this pedestrian crosswalk are after the crosswalk, closer to the actual intersection.
From the Carriage
Path, before the
Pedestrian crosswalk
which, by the way,
ends at a tree; the
view is toward the
intersection with the
Carriage Path and
Bulloughs Park.
West of Bulloughs Park (looking toward Walnut):
The bicycle path presumably continues; you can even see a bicyclist in the photo ahead. Yet the sign, “Do
Not Enter” legally applies to all vehicles, including bicyclists. Allowing bicyclists to continue through these
paved areas of the Carriage Path keeps bicyclists separated from regular motorized vehicular traffic and
improves their safety and also is consistent with signage at Grant Street and Commonwealth Avenue
requiring bicycles to use the Bike Path.
RECOMMENDATION:
Place a “Bike Path” sign on the post.
(This photo is a closeup of the view that you can see in the background on the photo on page 9, taken
from the Carriage Path east of the intersection.)
Walnut (East of Walnut Street)
The Carriage Path here comes to an abrupt end at the northeast corner of Commonwealth Avenue and
Walnut Street. There is no signage at all for bicyclists, who find themselves suddenly at a curb drop both to
the right and to the left of the green triangle, and heading directly into heavy traffic and into the busy
intersection.
RECOMMENDATION: There are many possibilities as to how to make this safe for bicyclists and motor
vehicles. Below are some suggestions
There needs to be a clear sign for bicyclists as to where the Bike Path actually is. Does it go to the right
or to the left of the electrical box (hidden behind the bushes in the triangle in the middle)?
A sign for bicyclists indicating “STOP AHEAD”.
Stop lines before the sidewalks (Commonwealth Avenue and Walnut Street)
West of Walnut Street:
The area after (west of) Walnut Street, from Walnut St. to Lowell Street, is located across from (north of)
City Hall. There is a path that continues west, on which vehicles are excluded. There is already a curbout at the corner; however, there is no sign indicating that this path is part of the bicycle path.
RECOMMENDATIONS:
We recommend the placement of a sign “Bike Path” for bicycles entering from the curb-out at the
northwest corner of Walnut Street and Commonwealth Avenue.
Wider pedestrian crossing lane, or lane with bicycle decal painted in it
Repaint the stop line
Write the word STOP before the stop line
below: View from the northeast corner of Commonwealth Avenue and Walnut St., looking west
below: From the northwest corner of Commonwealth Avenue and Walnut St., looking east
Lakeview , Beaumont and the Carriage Path
The Carriage Path here comes to an abrupt end. There is no signage at all for bicyclists, who find
themselves at a curb drop and heading directly into traffic and into an intersection of three streets:
Beaumont, Lakeview, and Commonwealth Avenue traffic.
RECOMMENDATION:
A STOP SIGN at Belmont, before the Carriage Path
A curb-out for bicyclists at the eastern end of the path.
A walk lane for walkers, runners, and bicyclists connecting the east and west portions of the path.
Below: Looking east (Lakeview to the left) at the dangerous curb.
Bicyclists who are familiar with this intersection have created their own dirt path that goes north of the
street light and ends up at the existing curb-out.
This is a view from Lakeview, looking EAST toward Beaumont and the continuation of the “Carriage Path”
west of the intersection. To the extreme left is the “Carriage Path” .
This view below is taken west of the intersection, looking east toward Lakeview and where the Carriage
Path ends at the curb-out. There is a large area with no indicated cross lines and no stop sign along
Beaumont before the Carriage Path. There are no signs indicating SLOW through the intersection to avoid
collisions with bicyclists and others using the Carriage path.
Lowell Avenue
Here, the signal light stop lines are up at Commonwealth Avenue, south of the Carriage Road. It is the
only place where the stop lines are south of the Carriage Road, and completely unclear for pedestrians
and bicyclists how to proceed beyond the Carriage Path. There are also no lane markers to help
pedestrians to cross the busy north-south avenue.
RECOMMENDATIONS:
Move the stop lines to before (north of) the Carriage Road.
Paint crossing lines for pedestrians to safely cross the busy avenue.
The Carriage Path stop signs
are before the pedestrian
crosswalk, very far from the
actual intersection. At the
busy intersection itself there
are NO stop signs.
Pedestrians (here, the
pedestrian walking west) and
bicyclists cross at their own
risk.
Exactly while we were
taking this photo, a
vehicle drove south on
Lowell and wanted to
turn left onto
Commonwealth Avenue;
there was a red light. The
driver was so unsure
where to stop her car,
that she stopped in the
middle of the
intersection, and waited
there, right in the middle
of what would be the
Carriage path.
Here the driver
of the vehicle is
still waiting. The
actual stop line
is about 20 feet
ahead (south)
of her.
The photo is
taken from the
Carriage Path,
looking west.
While the driver is still in the middle of the intersection waiting for the traffic light to turn green, a family (mother
with her children) of bicyclists are biking along the Carriage Path and cannot figure out how to safely get across
Lowell Avenue.
Note from the photograph on page 18 that the Stop Sign for the Carriage Path is way back before the pedestrian
cross-walk.
Notice that the stop line for automobiles is before Commonwealth Avenue (to the extreme left in the
photo). When cars are backed up at the stop line at a red light, runners, walkers and bicyclists of all ages
have to travel through a line of motorized vehicles to get to the other side of the Carriage Path.
Valentine Street
There is NO STOP SIGN before the Carriage Path.
There are no pedestrian crossing stripes to help pedestrians cross from the two sides (east, west) of
the intersecting road.
The stop sign along the
Carriage Path is before the
pedestrian walkway, far from
the intersection. At the
same time, there is no stop
sign along Valentine Street
before the Carriage Path.
There is NO STOP SIGN before the Carriage Path.
View from Valentine,
looking south toward the
Carriage Path and toward
Commonwealth Avenue
south of that.
Wauwinnet
There is NO STOP SIGN before the Carriage Path.
There is NO STOP SIGN before Commonwealth Avenue.
There are No STOP SIGNS OR STOP LINES on the Carriage Path indicating stop or yield, or anything.
View from Wauwinnet, looking
south toward the Carriage Road
and toward Commonwealth
Avenue.
View from the Carriage Road,
looking southwest
View from the Carriage Road looking northwest toward Wauwinnet (which is a steep and turning hill)
Below: view from the Carriage Road. NOTE NO STOP SIGNS OR STOP LINES ANYWHERE.
Prince St.
There is NO STOP SIGN before Commonwealth Avenue.
There is NO STOP SIGN along the Carriage Road before intersection with Prince Street.
Bristol Road
There is NO STOP SIGN before Commonwealth Avenue.
There is NO STOP SIGN or stop lines along the Carriage Road before the intersection with Bristol Road.
This area is very problematic also because the lanes are all very wide, the area very wide, and yet
there is no signage in
terms of what drivers,
walkers, bikers, runners,
etc., should be doing to
navigate the intersection
and crossing.
View looking east toward
the Carriage Road.
Here is a child on a bicycle,
coming along the Carriage
Road, heading west. There
is no stop stop sign and the
bicyclist has not stopped.
A moment later, a car that
has been driving west
along Commonwealth
Avenue turns right onto
the Carriage Road, right
into the path of the child
on the bicycle. Given that
there are no signs either
on poles or on the roads,
there is nothing to stop a
collision between the child
and the vehicle, nothing to
ask the child to stop, or the
vehicle to yield to traffic or
stop before turning left.
RECOMMENDATIONS:
Place a “YIELD” sign for vehicles entering the Carriage Road from Commonwealth Avenue.
Place a STOP SIGN before Commonwealth Avenue
This is the view from
Bristol looking south
toward
Commonwealth
Avenue. There is no
stop sign, no stop
lines, no lane markers,
nothing.
Chestnut Street
The biggest problem with Chestnut Street is this right turn only sign that you see on the sign post.
Does this mean that all vehicles must turn right? That no vehicles may go straight? Or does it mean that
there is no left turn onto Commonwealth Avenue? While we were there, an elderly man stopped his car
and parked it right there, got out, and we asked him what that sign meant to him. He said he thought it
meant that you could go straight but not left. In fact, after he completed jogging and got in his car, he
drove straight, passed us on the Carriage Road, and waved as he passed us. This sign is totally unclear
and perplexing to drivers and bicyclists. If the intersection were ‘right turn only’, why not say “RIGHT
TURN ONLY”? And, for that matter, if it is ‘right turn only’, why is it right turn only when all other streets
of the Carriage Lane allow drivers to go straight (except for a few that point drivers to the left)????
RECOMMENDATIONS:
If the ‘right turn’ only sign is desired, write out “RIGHT TURN ONLY” .
Place a sign under the “RIGHT TURN ONLY” sign indicating “Bike Path Ahead”
Here at Chestnut Street the stop lines for the Carriage Road intersection are placed before (north of) the
Carriage Road. This is the way that Lowell Avenue should also be. Note the difference between the
intersection of Chestnut Street and the Carriage Road, and the intersection of Lowell Avenue and the
Carriage Road, where vehicles are made to stop right at Commonwealth Avenue, thus creating a line of
vehicles straight through the line of the Carriage Road and creating a problem for bicyclists, runners and
walkers continuing west straight along the Carriage Road.
Dartmouth Street
There is a stop sign here but it is not visible to drivers until they are at the stop line. The stop sign is
located far to the right, after the bend of the corner, and behind the large overhanging branches of a
large evergreen tree.
RECOMMENDATION:
Place an additional sign along the Dartmouth Road before the large tree, indicating “Stop
Ahead”.
These words STOP could use a good fresh coat of paint, especially because of the poor visibility of the stop
sign, hidden by the tree branches. See below.
Exeter Street
There is NO STOP SIGN before Commonwealth Avenue.
Runner running east
along the Carriage
Road
Temple Street
There is NO STOP SIGN before Commonwealth Avenue.
Wimbledon Circle
There is NO STOP SIGN before Commonwealth Avenue.
There is NO STOP SIGN before or after the Carriage Road to WARN CARS APPROACHING THE
INTERSECTION although there is a stop LINE and the words STOP were painted on the road at one point
but are highly faded.
Chesterfield Road
There is NO STOP SIGN before Commonwealth Avenue.
Oldham Road
There is NO STOP SIGN before Commonwealth Avenue.
On the telephone pole to the left right before Commonwealth Avenue, there is a small “NO LEFT TURN”
sign. What is this supposed to mean? No left turn onto Commonwealth Avenue? Visibility is clear and the
road is flat. If so, it might be the only intersection that has such a sign. Or is this a reference to no left
turn onto the Carriage Path?
RECOMMENDATIONS:
Place stop sign at the corner of Commonwealth Avenue and Oldham Road.
Clarify what the ‘no left turn’ sign on the telephone pole means,
Windemore Road
There is NO STOP SIGN before Commonwealth Avenue
View looking south to
Commonwealth Avenue
Central Street
There is NO STOP SIGN before Commonwealth Avenue
After Robinwood Road, before the Turnpike
Robinwood Road, there is a barricade preventing vehicles from continuing west along the Carriage
Road. Vehicles may, however, enter this area from the east; notice the number of automobiles parked
there.
There is no warning for vehicles – neither signs nor road marks – that there is a traffic barrier ahead. There
are no reflective lights on the barriers for vision at night; there is no directive or signage that all vehicles
should turn left and enter Commonwealth Avenue.
Once again, bicyclists find that they are required to merge with Commonwealth Avenue, even though the
Carriage Road continues straight.
RECOMMENDATIONS:
A better designed barrier allowing more room for bicyclists to enter the Carriage Road between the
barriers and to continue west;
Signage indicating “Bike Path” so that bicycles know they may continue straight
The placement of signs warning motorized vehicles to TURN LEFT and enter Commonwealth Avenue
Rowe Street
There is NO STOP SIGN before Commonwealth Avenue
Looking south toward
Commonwealth Avenue: No
stop sign.
Below: The view from the Carriage Road, looking west. This is a wide area and vehicles are coming in from
Commonwealth Avenue and turning left onto the Carriage Road but there is nothing to indicate who is to
yield to whom.
RECOMMENDATIONS:
A “YIELD” sign for vehicles from Commonwealth Avenue entering the Carriage Road.
After Oldham Road:
Here the Carriage Road (once again) ends and merges left into Commonwealth Avenue. There are, however,
no road signs to warn vehicles of this merge.
RECOMMENDATIONS:
Bicycle lane markers and lines should be placed on Commonwealth Avenue;
Warning signs need to be placed indicating “LANE ENDS. MERGE LEFT.”
Right before Washington Street:
There is only the smallest yellow sign to the right to indicate that traffic – including bicycles - should turn
left and enter Commonwealth Avenue.
RECOMMENDATIONS:
A larger and better placed turn sign for all traffic
A clear and noticeable sign to bicyclists indicating they are joining traffic – OR A curb-out for bicyclists to allow them to continue straight.
West of Washington Street:
After Washington Street, the Carriage Road begins again. One block west, however, directly after Arapahoe
Road, the Carriage Road is blocked to vehicles with a barricade.
Signage warning vehicles that the Carriage Road is blocked to vehicles and that all vehicles are to merge west
with Commonwealth Avenue is inadequate. The small and barely visible sign warning “All Traffic Bear Left”
and a small arrow pointing left is inadequate.
Does this sign mean that bicycles may also not continue along the Carriage Road? Bicycles should be able to
enter here and continue through this very long stretch of Carriage Road, which continues all the way west
across the Turnpike to Lexington Avenue, and allows cyclists a long stretch in which they are separated from
regular vehicular traffic. In fact, given that the City is installing signs requiring bicyclists to use the Carriage
Road, such signage and lane markers are imperitive.
RECOMMENDATIONS:
A better designed barrier allowing more room for bicyclists to enter the Carriage Road
Signage indicating “Bike Path” so that bicycles know they may continue straight
Improved signage warning drivers of motorized vehicles to merge left with Commonwealth Avenue
Melrose Street
There is a traffic signal for drivers heading south on Melrose Street way on the other side (south) of
Commonwealth Avenue. This again creates confusion for drivers as to where to stop because of the lack of
consistency from one stop line to another from one street to another.
RECOMMENDATIONS:
Place the stop line before the Carriage Road to be consistent with other intersections and/or to not
impede the flow of bicyclists and runners, and motorized vehicles travelling along the Carriage Road.
Higgins Street
There is NO STOP SIGN before Commonwealth Avenue, NO STOP LINES.
There is NO STOP SIGN at the Carriage Road.
Before Lyons Park
The eastern end of this block is blocked off to traffic. The only entrance to this block is at the western end.
Yet there are no signs warning westbound traffic along the Carriage Road of this change in direction and that
drivers and bicyclists must merge with Commonwealth Avenue.
RECOMMENDATIONS:
*at the very least, provide a bicycle lane so that bicyclists may continue along the Carriage Road and not be
forced to merge with regular vehicular traffic.
*before Islington, a sign “Bike Path” should be placed.
left: view from
Higgins, toward
Islington
left: After Lyons Park, along Carriage Road,
view looking west at intersection with
Islington
Islington Road (west of Lyons Park)
There is NO STOP SIGN before Commonwealth Avenue,
There are NO STOP LINES.
Before Woodbine
Here the Carriage Road ends. All traffic must merge with Commonwealth Avenue. There is no signage,
however, warning traffic of this merge. Such a sign would be of particular importance to bicyclists. If this is
the end of the Bike Route, there should be a sign indicating “End Bike Path.” If not, a clearly marked bike
path needs to be created.
RECOMMENDATIONS:
a sign indicating “LANE ENDS. MERGE LEFT”
a sign indicating “End Bike Path”
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