DCR Parkways Study

This seems pretty stupid. Why isn't this being done as a part of a comprehensive look at the corridor along with rezoning/development/etc to turn it into a real city street - its not like its doing anything with the bottle neck at the clusterfuck that is Columbus Circle, or where it starts with the bridge and 93 entrance. Why isn't there any real BRT/dedicate transit lanes? Perhaps planning and getting the MBTA involved and looking at things with a potential infill red line stop? I guess - it all seems like pretty prime releastate along Morrissey that could really be included and brought into the city if there was some sort of comprehensive planning/master plan being done.
 
What I don't understand:

1) What is the obsession with the carriage road in front of BC High? It is not needed, widens the footprint of the roadway, and complicates vehicular operations.
2) The high speed merge from 93N onto Morrissey. WTF
3) Side streets have not been T-ed off and allow high speed turns off Morrissey.

And on a related note, the DCR just repaved and restriped the Riverway from the Sears rotary to Longwood Ave. For whatever reason they continued to stripe the northbound parking lane as a third travel lane and kept the super narrow southbound curb lane (<10ft wide). There was plenty of room to shift the lanes over and equalize their widths.
 
^ both of the above, too true. Especially now that the globe has left, there will be less of an intense traffic bolus during rush hours...
Morrissey is such a needless speedway. Plenty of room to actually keep good speeds for cars but also make it safer for everyone else. It's probably gonna be a long time before the extension of the harbor walk around victory point ever happens, and currently, biking the existing connection from Freeport St to Columbia Pt is suicidally dangerous.
 
chmeeee said:
There's nobody at the helm at DCR. Somebody needs to take some leadership here at the State level and relieve them of all roadway operations responsibilities. They are clearly not capable of the task at hand.

They also just repaved the Fellsway north of Wellington and put back the same incomprehensibly stupid section of:

2' left shoulder
12' travel lane
12' travel lane
16' (!) parking lane
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Wow, now that is an exemplary "complete street"!

I am surprised they didn't split off a "carriageway" so the horses don't get spooked.
 
Why not a couple of extra stripes to carve out a bike lane from the 16' parking lane? Duuuh!
 
Charlie_mta said:
Why not a couple of extra stripes to carve out a bike lane from the 16' parking lane? Duuuh!
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It's not a consistent 16' parking lane all the way up. At intersections, it goes up to 4 lanes wide in parts (3 thru lanes + turn lane) and varies at other points as well.

If that's not going to change, I'm not sure of the value of a couple block long bike lane and then forcing a cyclist to merge back into fast-moving traffic.

Don't take that as advocating for/against the design, just explaining.
 
The extra lane at the intersections is for a right turn, which isn't that critical of a need in my opinion. Eliminate the right hand turn lane and there's room for continuing the bike lane.
 
I also don't understand Fellsway West (northbound) from Roosevelt Circle. There's plenty of room on the street for parking, but the striping makes everyone park on the grass strip. https://goo.gl/maps/qpQJgKt2yJA2

At least they started enforcing the sidewalk parking further up on Elm St!
 
sm89 said:
This is really encouraging to hear. I think most people in Savin Hill have this mentality since the roadway is at their front door, but a lot of other Dorchester residents (commuters) feel like any change will hinder their speedy access Downtown.
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After almost two years of stonewalling or disinterest, finally some reporting:

The status of the Morrissey Boulevard redesign plan is on hold until the Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) can identify and resolve encroachment and easement issues along the critical artery.

The state intends to rebuild and elevate portions of the roadway in a three-phased project that could take a decade to complete.

According to a DCR spokesperson, the review process is necessary before moving past the 25 percent design phase at which the project has been stalled. Concerns from Mayor Martin Walsh essentially sent planners back for rounds of community feedback in early 2018. There has been no further movement since a public comment mailbag last March called on the state to get things going again.

The nearby leg of the Neponset River Greenway that winds through marshland by the rainbow gas tank, is still in the early design stages. Another meeting will be held once that design hits 75 percent, DCR said, after which design plans will be posted online. The agency expects to complete the design by the end of the calendar year.
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1:00pm Saturday...walking from BU to Central. Traffic's typically near-nonexistent for a mid-COVID weekend. I pause underneath the Mem Drive overpass to inspect MassHighway's spring re-striping job of the anarchy rotary. They've got the tiny-dash lane markers painted all the way thru from each yield into the center of the rotary, marked directional arrows every 20 ft. of pavement, full-striped shoulders, at fat diagonal-stripe buffer wherever space allows between right lane and bike lane to make that somewhat less a killzone.

I think, "Not bad" overall. But having witnessed enough anything-goes rush hours here where everyone invents their own lane and somebody inevitably gets themselves stuck at a 90-degree angle in the middle of it all trying to carve their own path...I'm still wondering if this will pass muster until it goes through the trials of some post-recovery rushes. Because behavior is so poorly conditioned here literalist striping for the brain-damaged may not be enough, and both shoulders + lane markers may need to be rumble-stripped to actually change habits.

But...I stop myself mid-critique, and remind that much credit is due here. The state took advantage of the light-traffic spring to make a dynamic instant adjustment and substantially close up a festering sore spot for abuse. Kudos all around.



Seconds later. . .

CRRRrrrrUNCH!!!!
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Hyundai v. Subaru...over the lane stripe coming off the Brookline St. yield. Each was trying to carve out its own slightly different make-believe center passing lane, despite the fact that at the time there was exactly one car going through the rotary to yield for. As I made my way over the crosswalk about 4 ft. behind them snickering behind my mask as they got out to exchange insurance in the middle of the blocked road, the only traffic whatsoever in the rotary is on Brookline St. immediately behind them in a fast-building jam that now goes back to the Waverley light. A 47 bus pulls up behind the mess...then as a couple cars inch by the idiots who are still standing on the centerline exchanging insurance it signals itself to the curb to make an unscheduled stop. 5 riders hop off on-request and start hoofing it over the bridge in nuts to this bullshit.



In conclusion: There was an attempt. :whistle:
 
F-Line to Dudley said:
But...I stop myself mid-critique, and remind that much credit is due here. The state took advantage of the light-traffic spring to make a dynamic instant adjustment and substantially close up a festering sore spot for abuse. Kudos all around.
Click to expand...
Is there a new change there? The gore, bike lanes, arrows, etc were done last summer/fall I thought.
 
F-Line to Dudley said:
1:00pm Saturday...walking from BU to Central. Traffic's typically near-nonexistent for a mid-COVID weekend. I pause underneath the Mem Drive overpass to inspect MassHighway's spring re-striping job of the anarchy rotary. They've got the tiny-dash lane markers painted all the way thru from each yield into the center of the rotary, marked directional arrows every 20 ft. of pavement, full-striped shoulders, at fat diagonal-stripe buffer wherever space allows between right lane and bike lane to make that somewhat less a killzone.

I think, "Not bad" overall. But having witnessed enough anything-goes rush hours here where everyone invents their own lane and somebody inevitably gets themselves stuck at a 90-degree angle in the middle of it all trying to carve their own path...I'm still wondering if this will pass muster until it goes through the trials of some post-recovery rushes. Because behavior is so poorly conditioned here literalist striping for the brain-damaged may not be enough, and both shoulders + lane markers may need to be rumble-stripped to actually change habits.

But...I stop myself mid-critique, and remind that much credit is due here. The state took advantage of the light-traffic spring to make a dynamic instant adjustment and substantially close up a festering sore spot for abuse. Kudos all around.



Seconds later. . .



Hyundai v. Subaru...over the lane stripe coming off the Brookline St. yield. Each was trying to carve out its own slightly different make-believe center passing lane, despite the fact that at the time there was exactly one car going through the rotary to yield for. As I made my way over the crosswalk about 4 ft. behind them snickering behind my mask as they got out to exchange insurance in the middle of the blocked road, the only traffic whatsoever in the rotary is on Brookline St. immediately behind them in a fast-building jam that now goes back to the Waverley light. A 47 bus pulls up behind the mess...then as a couple cars inch by the idiots who are still standing on the centerline exchanging insurance it signals itself to the curb to make an unscheduled stop. 5 riders hop off on-request and start hoofing it over the bridge in nuts to this bullshit.



In conclusion: There was an attempt. :whistle:
Click to expand...

Those striping changes were pre-covid, i think end of summer last year. Funny thing because I was on a 47 that magically had a wide open lane and I thought it was maybe a bus or bus bike lane in the rotary.
 
It's poorly edited for sure, but there is some great content if you squint.

I'm biased in what I sought out when reading through this document, but here is an excerpt that particularly excites me, and is worthy of posting here:

Reimagining Charles River Road

It is recommended that DCR consider the feasibility of closing Charles River Road to through traffic to restore the river edge parkland as passive recreational space. Removing through traffic would allow for the expansion of valuable riverfront parkland and an enhanced recreational and transportation corridor for non-motorized users. Maintaining vehicle access to parking areas (including the Watertown Riverfront Park and Braille Trail), residences, and institutional destinations would be an important part of such a project. From the east, vehicle access could be maintained up to at least Beechwood Ave. On the western end, access could be maintained at least between Irving Street and Wheeler Lane. Access to the Perkins School for the Blind parking lot would be provided from either the east or west side. With through traffic removed, the remaining portions of Charles River Road would be reimagined as a quieter, narrower roadway.
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EDIT: Also:

Reimagining Leo Birmingham Parkway

Between North Beacon Street and Market Street, existing traffic volumes are relatively low, while currently no formal pedestrian and bicycle accommodations are provided. Regional traffic demand is served by adjacent corridors, including Soldiers Field Road, North Beacon Street, and Interstate 90. It is recommended that DCR consider the feasibility of closing this segment of Birmingham Parkway to vehicle traffic. The parkway can be restored to parkland with through access for non-motorized users. Recreational facilities could be added, such as playing fields, skate park, or an open-air restaurant. At its eastern end, the parkway could connect the greenway along Lincoln Street envisioned by community residents.
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