Ron Newman
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Why are tractor trailers allowed on that small residential side street?
Share the Road: Traffic calming and parking in cities
- Thread starter statler
- Start date
Agree that Ron's comment on page one was very amusing.
I did the Heath Street one last month! (Unintentionally. Got lost around JP. Have I been gone from living in Boston that long that I cannot remember how to get around?)
I also saw a few other rotaries in locations I never noticed before.
The rotaries in the northeast mostly seem to be large in size and exist at the convergence of multi-lane, non-standard (standard meaning four-way, perpendicular) intersections. What we have out here are absurdities. Let me elaborate.
In relation to the one in Dedham, I think I saw other rotaries along my travels through there and they all seemed to be in residential areas that were just off of 109 or 1, or other major thoroughfares. (Am I right, czsz or blade bltz?) There's kind of one in Dedham Center that's not really a rotary as much as it is a traffic light island. (See my Dedham pics in the Traveling Around New England thread. Too lazy to link it. Sorry.)
Where I live, the highway nearby becomes passenger vehicles only, like the Parkways in Westchester County to Upstate NY or Boston's Storrow Drive. With restrictions for commercial vehicles on the highway, the 18 wheelers get off the nearby exits and onto the surface, neighborhood streets to get to the TJs, Whole Foods, Safeway, and for other deliveries. Surprisingly, there are no signs with 'commercial vehicles over __ weight turn here' or even 'commercial vehicles not allowed' in my hood.
So we got this:
Originally, this awkward, five way intersection had a five way stop sign arrangement. That didn't seem to appease the abutters. Probably caused too much commotion when nobody knew who had the right of way in the intersection. As if this was going to help! This island went in a few years ago. I've observed some masterfully loony maneuvers over, around and through this thing. (It's along a bike path. I have plenty of time as I puff up the hill to watch, with frequency, some fools decide that they are seeing some kind of mirage that they can blast through.)
One big objection of mine with plantings to make them pretty is these plantings often become overgrown and impede visual lines. What I am saying is, like this one, low growth shrubbery is best, but doesn't make them any less a target or unsightly obstacles.
By the way, most ridiculous of all--and what most of you didn't comment about--was that the stop signs are still there for the CA rotaries. The first set I posted were at simple, four-way intersections. I believe, in those instances, they are using these rotary-like barriers in lieu of speed bumps. Berkeley has speed bumps in abundance, which everyone hates, except the abutting residents.
As for their temporary status--nope. These are not experiments. Anyway, all of them can be easily removed if objections are raised by future residents.
I think that one in FL is as much of a design beautification conceit as it is a traffic funneling barrier.
After my recent trip back to Boston, I realized that the rotaries there now have a few stop signs of their own, along with the yield signs that began popping up during the 80s. New to me! *sigh* I long for the days of the free-for-all in the MA area rotaries.
I did the Heath Street one last month! (Unintentionally. Got lost around JP. Have I been gone from living in Boston that long that I cannot remember how to get around?
)I also saw a few other rotaries in locations I never noticed before.
The rotaries in the northeast mostly seem to be large in size and exist at the convergence of multi-lane, non-standard (standard meaning four-way, perpendicular) intersections. What we have out here are absurdities. Let me elaborate.
In relation to the one in Dedham, I think I saw other rotaries along my travels through there and they all seemed to be in residential areas that were just off of 109 or 1, or other major thoroughfares. (Am I right, czsz or blade bltz?) There's kind of one in Dedham Center that's not really a rotary as much as it is a traffic light island. (See my Dedham pics in the Traveling Around New England thread. Too lazy to link it. Sorry.)
Where I live, the highway nearby becomes passenger vehicles only, like the Parkways in Westchester County to Upstate NY or Boston's Storrow Drive. With restrictions for commercial vehicles on the highway, the 18 wheelers get off the nearby exits and onto the surface, neighborhood streets to get to the TJs, Whole Foods, Safeway, and for other deliveries. Surprisingly, there are no signs with 'commercial vehicles over __ weight turn here' or even 'commercial vehicles not allowed' in my hood.
So we got this:
Originally, this awkward, five way intersection had a five way stop sign arrangement. That didn't seem to appease the abutters. Probably caused too much commotion when nobody knew who had the right of way in the intersection. As if this was going to help! This island went in a few years ago. I've observed some masterfully loony maneuvers over, around and through this thing. (It's along a bike path. I have plenty of time as I puff up the hill to watch, with frequency, some fools decide that they are seeing some kind of mirage that they can blast through.)
One big objection of mine with plantings to make them pretty is these plantings often become overgrown and impede visual lines. What I am saying is, like this one, low growth shrubbery is best, but doesn't make them any less a target or unsightly obstacles.
By the way, most ridiculous of all--and what most of you didn't comment about--was that the stop signs are still there for the CA rotaries. The first set I posted were at simple, four-way intersections. I believe, in those instances, they are using these rotary-like barriers in lieu of speed bumps. Berkeley has speed bumps in abundance, which everyone hates, except the abutting residents.
As for their temporary status--nope. These are not experiments. Anyway, all of them can be easily removed if objections are raised by future residents.
I think that one in FL is as much of a design beautification conceit as it is a traffic funneling barrier.
After my recent trip back to Boston, I realized that the rotaries there now have a few stop signs of their own, along with the yield signs that began popping up during the 80s. New to me! *sigh* I long for the days of the free-for-all in the MA area rotaries.
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Rotary is a somewhat outdated term, and usually refers to large, high-speed circles, typical in Massachusetts. However, they have been shown to be quite dangerous. They are not being built anymore.
Roundabout is a term taken from Europe that refers to a much smaller, slower-speed circles. These are much safer, are easier for traffic to merge into, and are safer for pedestrians crossing at the various legs. These are growing in popularity in MA and elsewhere, and have been replacing traditional intersections where there are many legs or where there are a lot of complicated turning movements.
czsz
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I'm pretty sure rotary is a MA-specific or perhaps just anachronistic term that's only survived here. You see monster "roundabouts" in England that would put even the most glorious rotaries on these shores to shame.
Safety concerns aside, I love rotaries. They're a definitive part of local culture. I still curse Romney for eliminating the one at the base of the Sagamore Bridge.
The "magic roundabout", Swindon, UK.
Safety concerns aside, I love rotaries. They're a definitive part of local culture. I still curse Romney for eliminating the one at the base of the Sagamore Bridge.
The "magic roundabout", Swindon, UK.
