Safety & Controlled Traffic Flow: Reasons to vote in favor of Phase I of the Lexington Center Streetscape Improvements

Friends (including in the Bcc: field, Town Meeting members I know personally),

Over the past 24 hours I have read a lot of material about the proposed changes to the intersection of Woburn St & Mass Ave. After learning a lot about the plan for this intersection and other aspects of the Center Streetscape Improvements project, and after actually thinking about how these changes will change things in Lexington, I have changed my mind about this upcoming vote at Town Meeting.

     I have changed my mind and now urge those of you on Town Meeting to vote 
     in favor of this Phase I of the design and plan.  

I realize, after reading reports to the Board of Selectmen as well as analysis published by the Town Meeting Members Association, that there is a lot more to these plans than just the changes to the Woburn St & Mass Ave intersection.  Reading these reports carefully, I like what I now understand.  The plans of this multiphase, multiyear project improve many difficult spots in Lexington Center and do it in a modern way using modern roadway and walkway construction techniques.  Yesterday I cited the new traffic circle at Diamond Middle School as an example of a recent set of changes near my house that I really like.  I base my impression based on going through this intersection several times a day.

First, what is being voted on at this 2015 Sptring Town Meeting
(from http://lexingtontmma.org/uploads/Main/WarrantInfo2015.pdf)?

"Center Streetscape Improvements-Phase 1 - $2,500,000 (General Fund Debt): This project is Phase 1 of a multi-phased request to address pedestrian, bicycle and traffic safety in the Center. As part of the design and analysis work for this project, in FY13 funding was approved for traffic counts and traffic modeling of multiple scenarios and for the design to progress to the 25% stage. The FY15 request of $600,000 provided funding to complete the design and develop plans and specifications necessary for bidding the project. The construction funding is requested in multiple years. The construction phases will provide for certain pedestrian, bicycle, and vehicular safety improvements, the restoration, removal and replacement of the sidewalk along the northerly side of Massachusetts Avenue from Woburn Street to Harrington Road, streetscape improvement, improved lighting as well as other aspects developed in the Plan. In addition to the restoration of these areas, all of the existing pedestrian corridors and ramps will be brought into ADA compliance. This phase of the project will be for the portion of Massachusetts Avenue from Woburn Street to Cary Hall."

The Center Streetscape Improvements project is a multi-phase, multi-year project.  Looking at the project's overall planned phases it looks great to me.  It's interesting that this Phase 1 appears to be solving the largest safety problem in the entire multi-phase project: the intersection of Woburn St. & Mass Ave.  Other aspects of the project are excellent improvements also, including another safety issue for pedestrians and tourists around the Minuteman Statue.

Regarding the Woburn St & Mass Ave intersection, Joe Pato's illustration inspired me to find other examples which I think are informative.  First, here are two before and after illustrations of what the changes will look like.  

This is looking towards Lexington Center:

This is a view behind the two people walking in the the above illustration, looking down Winthrop Rd. toward the intersection:

​To me, these improvements to intersection create an improved look and better definition to entering Lexington Center.

In summary, I see several major improvements by voting for the Phase I Lexington Center Streetscape project:

1. With the box in the center of the intersection there is much better separation and definition about where you are supposed to be.  Pedestrians clearly know where to walk and cars know where to expect pedestrians.  With the traffic light, cars will no longer need to play Crash Car Combat™ when making a left turn onto Woburn St coming out of the Center.  Pedestrians will no longer need to play Frogger™ when trying to get from one sidewalk to another.
   
   
2. Like it or not, the amount of traffic going through Lexington Center seems to have increased over the years.  One of the effects of a traffic light at the Woburn St/Mass Ave intersection will be to spread cars over a greater distance in the Center. At times of high traffic, the stream of cars that build up at the light at Mass Ave and Waltham St is large.  It is rare at these times that cars headed towards the Minuteman Statue on Mass Av are able to clear the left-turn signal on to Waltham St in one cycle of the light.  This results in much frustration and lane changing of cars in the left lane that want to go straight through that intersection.
   
   The traffic light at Mass Ave and Woburn St will introduce a beneficial delay in the flow of traffic spreading the traffic load over a longer distance of Mass Ave.  

​
Thank you all for reading​ about my thoughts that have evolved over the last day and a half.  I hope Town Meeting Members will support this article when it comes up for vote.

Regards,

-- Harry

Finally, here is a overhead picture/diagram before and after the improvements: