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Cambridge fracas: Should city stop shutting Memorial Drive to cars on Saturdays?
By adamg on Fri, 05/27/2022 - 8:00am
The Harvard Crimson provides an overview of the growing brouhaha over whether Cambridge should rescind the pandemic-inspired Saturday shutdowns of its river road. On the one hand: Bicyclists and others who appreciate the addition to the long-standing seasonal Sunday shutdown. On the other hand: Nearby residents who say they are trapped in their homes by drivers diverted from the road.
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Comments
I didn't realize it was still
I didn't realize it was still closed on Saturdays.
Well, the DCR’s press release
Well, the DCR’s press release doesn’t realize it’s closed overnight on Saturdays either. https://www.mass.gov/doc/dcr-traffic-advisory-riverbend-parkmemorial-dri...
Neither does Cambridge’s sign at Mt Auburn and DeWolfe, which doesn’t mention Saturdays at all.
it's funny ..
how an excess of cars that "traps residents in their homes" is somehow due to bicycles and pedestrians being allowed to circulate.
the problem Cambridge and metro Boston need to address is auto traffic and the obviously insufficient public transit. Make it easier for people to get around by a way other than private cars.
sounds like a very well-reasoned plan
just screw the neighborhoods while we wait roughly 20 years for public transit improvements.
Discouraging Car Ownership...
in Cambridge is actually GREAT for the neighborhoods. Cambridge, especially in the neighborhoods we are talking about, has the best public transportation in the area and just about everything is walkable/bike-able. And the less cars for people who don't need it, the more space for transportation for the elderly or less-abled.
Mem Drive not just used by Cantabridgians
You do realize, of course, that most of the traffic on Memorial Drive is from people just passing through rather than those who live in Cambridge? And the areas closest to the river are a fairly long walk from the T.
if only
there were a parallel roadway that drivers could use when passing through that area
There’s a river in between,
There’s a river in between, and many of the streets that connect to Memorial Drive don’t cross it.
The other problem is the terrible jam approaching the Western Ave/Memorial Drive intersection, since the DCR didn’t bother to adjust the traffic lights for the major shifts in traffic flow. Specifically, more green time is needed for the right turn from Western Ave to Soldiers Field Road west.
i was specifically talking about thru traffic
i was responding to a comment about thru traffic
Um
See the thread just above this one.
this one
is the topmost thread for me. are you suggesting that sfr / storrow isn’t a workable solution for drivers passing through the area?
Of course not
Not if it gets shut down as some are suggesting in that other thread.
I have no dog in this hunt, so please, skip the "are you suggesting". It was an observation, not some kind of advocacy.
huh?
you’re reading sarcasm into what i said. i was sincerely asking what you meant since you didn’t say anything, you just pointed me to another thread.
fwiw, i’m *still* not exactly sure what you mean. i’m not aware of any shutdowns on sfr / storrow, nor have i seen anyone here suggest that it would be shut. especially not on the weekends when mem drive is also shut!
this is the problem
the default perspective in US city planning is "let's make sure we do what's easiest for the car drivers", even though that forces long, convoluted, energy-consuming roundabout detours precisely from the road users with the least energy available to do them.
it's utterly backwards and it results in entitled, lazy drivers.
but it can be fixed.
Compromise
Reconfigure the full length of memorial drive to be one lane in each direction 24/7/365 and then there is all that extra space to configure as desired for recreation. Simple.
When everyone loves that. Rinse and repeat on the other side of the river.
because
we don’t already have the worst traffic in the nation
A weird thing born out in
A weird thing born out in traffic study after traffic study is that adding lanes to roads makes traffic worse. The more lanes on a road the more people will choose to use that road over others or over other modes of transportation.
Any actual data on this?
Citations? Links?
https://www.wired.com/2014/06
https://www.wired.com/2014/06/wuwt-traffic-induced-demand/
"Induced demand"... A much
"Induced demand"... A much studied phenomena. Google it if you'd like to go beyond the Wired article.
Rinse and repeat on the other
You understand that much of the reason they've been able to close Memorial Drive on weekends is that a lot of the traffic diverts to Storrow Drive, across the river. You're claiming it goes away, but it doesn't--you're just making it Boston's problem.
I know the study you're referring to about reducing roads reduces traffic, however in Cambridge you can only easily (most of the time) take the Red line into downtown Boston. That's it, that's the only location. On the Boston side of the river, there's only commuter rail until the B line at BU and we all know that's horribly slow. Many people travel up & down the coast, and the most efficient way to do that is to take these roads to I-93 or Route 1. If you close them, you're increasing pollution as you require them to hit tons of red lights, while also driving through neighborhoods. You'd also be making emergency (ambulance) transit more difficult as well.
I'm all for better mass transit, but it won't just appear. Until we properly fund the T and add new subway lines, we can't simply close these arterial roads!
The section of Memorial that
The section of Memorial that's closed on the weekend is parallel to Soldier's Field Road, not Storrow. There's hardly any traffic on Soldier's Field Rd on weekends, so displaced traffic there is not an issue. Its also just generally a more efficient drive - fewer lights and crosswalks.
Actually…
….”We can't simply close these arterial roads!”
Another opinion…. Yes we can!!!
Actually…
….”We can't simply close these arterial roads!”
Another opinion…. Yes we can!!!
already happening
They’re also narrowing it to one lane each way, starting with the section west of JFK Street.
Overly dramatic?
I'm curious, is this person being overly dramatic, or does the closure cause traffic issues?
It probably happens.
There are side streets that clearly go where you would need to go (if you lived there), but everyone trying to come into Cambridge from west would be on those streets too.
The obvious alternative to
The obvious alternative to Memorial Drive for drivers is Soldiers Field Road, across the river. That's what I use when I'm driving in the area on weekends. The residential side streets in that part of Cambridge aren't useful for getting anywhere quickly, so if there is traffic there it must just be very confused drivers.
Most of Memorial Drive is
Most of Memorial Drive is parallel to Storrow Drive.
Diverting Cambridge's problem to Boston is not a solution at all.
GPS is a cause
Waze, Google Maps, etc. 'know' about the closures and will route, in semi-real-time, drivers through neighborhoods. Streets that never see traffic (frequently narrowed by parked cars) will suddenly become bottlenecks as the AI sends vehicles down them. As a side-street clogs, the AI will choose a different route, spreading the congestion.
Lather, rinse, repeat.
Traffic Issues - a bit
The closure does cause some longer car travel times during certain times of day, especially on Putnam Ave at the Western Ave traffic light. HOWEVER, rarely, if ever, is it more than an extra few minutes.
So yes, this person is being overly dramatic.
Most of the traffic is probably people trying to take memorial drive and not realizing it's closed, so signage could help, if people actually read signs. I believe google maps now shows the closure in red dotted lines, so we can't blame google maps for it.
Better signs would help
If people knew well in advance, they could plan to take Soldier's Field Rd and skip all the traffic. If you don't know and are letting Waze drive for you, you may find yourself stuck on some back street.
Signs for bikes/peds too
I always forget about the closures when on bike and I’m always on the road before/after the narrow window it’s closed anyway.
It would be more fun if Storrow was the closed river road, especially since the Esplanade gets so jammed packed when it’s warm.
Waze knows about the closures
Waze knows about the closures. It’s the one thing the DCR did right to publicize this. As opposed to the terrible lack of advance signage, until you reach the closed section and are stuck in a jam.
I live a few blocks off
I live a few blocks off Memorial Drive, have a car and drive on weekends. Yes this person is being overly dramatic. Traffic is much worse during weekday evening rush hours than at any time on weekends.
Overly dramatic on both sides it seems
There was a quote from someone about it was nearly impossible to get to the river due to four lanes of traffic as if there weren't multiple crosswalks with lights. It's not like they have dash across I-90 or something.
Both sides have legit arguments (traffic does end up on local streets and there is something nice about access to more open space.)
And what moron insists on
And what moron insists on driving in a city when they know they will be sitting in traffic?
Whining drivers should be ignored because they will never be happy. They are a miserable bunch who will complain and take resources from other people until their last breath.
This is not the situation that bought into
Look, the Sunday closures have been going on for decades, so anyone who isn't used to them by now is lying. They are talking about the Saturday closures. Sundays were easy, since they tend to be quieter days. Saturday is not a quiet day. It's the day when people who work weekdays (you may know one or 2) get out to do their errands.
Still wondering if you found out how the goods you consume get to you. I'll give you a hint- it's neither bicycles nor dirigibles.
Goods are not delivered via
Goods are not delivered via Memorial Drive which has height and commercial traffic restrictions. Amazon is able to get to my building, a few blocks off Memorial Drive, multiple times per day on weekends.
That was a general statement
This website's #1 automobile hater will probably suffer a heart attack when he finds out how things are delivered to the stores he shops at.
it isn't a general statement
It's just wrong, and obviously so.
Oh this tired argument hahaha
https://thenib.com/mister-gotcha/
Once again
How about "whining Kinopio should be ignored because they will never be happy"
I'm not sure about that
We've tried giving drivers what they want, and they still whine. How about we try giving Kinopio what they want and see how that works for a change?
Are you saying people should chose to ignore Kinopio?
Looks like you chose poorly.
Well played
I doff my hat to you, sir.
Part of the fun of the
Part of the fun of the universalhub comment section is all the commenters with strong opinions, especially the single issue commenters with strong opinions. It's all good.
Yeah drivers are the most
Yeah drivers are the most entitled people in the world
Even if you don’t care about
Even if you don’t care about making car access to someone else’s house much worse, traffic jams have negative effects for neighbors even while they aren’t driving. I certainly wouldn’t want to have to deal with the noise of a jam while at home, nor walk through it to cross my street, nor bike through it.
You're not *in* traffic.
You *are* traffic.
Sounds like the actual issue here is "too many cars".
You *are* in a city.
Pro-tip: cities are densely populated and therefore congested. I’m sure the Berkshires are lovely for casual bike riders like yourself who lack the skills and temperament for urban cycling.
If there’s a new car jam that
If there’s a new car jam that didn’t use to exist, and I’m stuck in it on a bicycle, am I traffic or in traffic?
how can a bicycle get stuck
how can a bicycle get stuck in a traffic jam?
Utilization
It's easy to see why some people might want Memorial Drive available for recreational purposes, but what is the actual utilization on Saturdays vs. Sundays? When I have been by there on weekends the roadway seems relatively empty much of the time. The grassy areas at the river's edge seem far more popular, and there's also a paved path.
I have no dog in this hunt, and I rarely drive or bike on Memorial Drive, but I have to question whether this hot burning issue is really about recreational opportunities or simply about general hostility toward motor vehicles (pleasure or otherwise).
Personally, I'd rather go hiking in the woods than rolling on the asphalt.
The grassy edge is ..,,
.., infinitely more pleasurable to walk on when there are no vehicles whizzing by spewing exhaust and noise. You don’t need to be actually walking the asphalt to enjoy the fact that the road is vehicle free.
Good for you that you can get out of town and hike in less congested areas. It’s not an option for everyone.
As a regular runner on Mem Dr
As a regular runner on Mem Dr in summers, Sundays in the mid-to-late summers have always been a lively time on the cleared roadway. Families with young kids riding bicycles, friends out for a walk, elderly couples strolling, rollerbladers, unicyclers, etc.
It is an amazing way for the local community to claim a little space for its residents in Cambridgeport, Riverside and West Cambridge neighborhoods (vs the folks who are just trying to drive through). And yes, the roadway being closed makes a huge difference - the paved path in the park narrows, and is often not wide enough for more than two/three folks, especially with bicycles and strollers in play.
Early summers are a little more sparse - I think it takes a few weeks for folks to remember that the roadway closes in the summer.
Same with the Saturdays - it was not so heavily used in the first month or so after they included Saturdays, but lots of folks took advantage of it as they realized it was available.
I also drive a car and live - traffic is nowhere near as bad as normal weekday rush hour traffic.
Hours changed from last year
In 2020 and 2021, Riverbend Park was open to people (closed to cars) from 11 am to 7 pm on Saturday and then the same hours on Sunday. (Before 2020, it was only on Sundays.)
This year, it's from 8 am Saturday all the way through to 7 pm on Sunday. While I enjoy the extended hours, they aren't what the City Council asked for and aren't in line with previous years. I wonder if reverting to last year's hours might quiet down the objectors.
Though it would mean twice as
Though it would mean twice as much work for the barricade crews.
How many people are using the park overnight? I’d be nervous about crime.
Close 1A.
They shut down the blue line for awhile. How bout we close 1A for a few weeks? Get some sick Instagram shots that evoke a zombie apocalypse while rollerblading.
Sumner Tunnel closings
Are you referring to this? Unfortunately, I don't see any day set aside for rollerblading in the tunnel.
i think
the point is that nobody bats an eye when the blue line is closed for weeks on end. it’s more of a grand point about how we see cars as default
Correct
Thank you
Blue line closures are a
Blue line closures are a necessary evil. Mem drive closures are an optional evil.
right
cars as default
By that logic
Not letting me drive on the sidewalk is an "optional evil". Why should pedestrians be entitled to all that space when my car has to be sitting in traffic???!?
You want the T to provide train service while they’re
Actively replacing rails? Because that’s what your logic is indicating and I think that’s a terrible idea.
Nah
I want people to treat road closures as a necessary thing for the health and safety of all, just like we do for rail closures. Cars not being able to access a space is not "evil"!
You’re taking what he said out of context
‘Necessary evil’ not ‘evil’. There’s a big difference.
Roads get shut down all the time for maintenance just like the T. Shutting a road down for pedestrian use is by definition optional.
Who says nobody bats an eye?
Who says nobody bats an eye? I heard plenty of complaints about the Blue Line.
The alternative to closing it would be letting the tracks and harbor tunnel deteriorate. Yet everyone’s angry at the T for doing it.