Worcester Kelley Square

[RandomWalk]

They need to fill in the gaps in that street wall.

 

[cubalibre]

Peanut is getting a low stone wall:

The upstairs of the building on the right with the subway shop used to be a silent movie theater and is now converted into commercial space:

 

[cubalibre]

 

[stick n move]

Ive been through the new peanut a few times and can confirm its pretty intuitive for the drivers entering and flows much more smoothly than the old clusterf*k

 

[#bancars]

Are there any bike facilities in the peanut?

 

[cubalibre]

Looks pretty much completed.

 

[cubalibre]

Are there any bike facilities in the peanut?

No dedicated bike lanes as far as I can tell. For pedestrians it’s an improvement but you still have to be alert crossing this jumble of roads.

 

[#bancars]

No dedicated bike lanes as far as I can tell. For pedestrians it’s an improvement but you still have to be alert crossing this jumble of roads.

I'm not quite sure it's an improvement for pedestrians... two lane unsignaled crosswalks can be extremely dangerous for people walking if the first lane of traffic yields but the drivers in the second lane don't, and subsequently don't see the person crossing the street because of the vehicles that are stopped.

 

[393b40]

I'm not quite sure it's an improvement for pedestrians...

Compared to what was there... definitely an improvement. I've traversed the old square on foot a bunch of times to get to Hotel Vernon and Nick's... and yea it was really really bad. It's hard to image it being much worse or more dangerous.

 

[citydweller]

Do we now call this Kelley Peanut? Anyway, what an amazing transformation compared to what was a major cluster muck.

 

[#bancars]

Compared to what was there... definitely an improvement. I've traversed the old square on foot a bunch of times to get to Hotel Vernon and Nick's... and yea it was really really bad. It's hard to image it being much worse or more dangerous.

I'll reserve judgment till I can visit again, I guess. I used to live right by the square and walked / biked through it every day on the way to work. Felt safer to me than many of Worcester's large signalized intersections because it kept drivers paying attention to what was going on.

 

[cden4]

I think for bikes, the intent was to either ride in the travel lane or use the sidewalks.

 

[SlothofDespond]

I drove through around rush hour this morning... it's still under construction but the peanut is so much better than the previous driving experience. I don't know that it's perfect but it's such an improvement that I think it's a huge win. It's clear how to move through it, you don't feel like your head needs to be looking in 3 directions at once, and it feels safe. I like it.

 

[Arlington]

No dedicated bike lanes as far as I can tell. For pedestrians it’s an improvement but you still have to be alert crossing this jumble of roads.

If traffic is slowed enough, I'd think many "regular" cyclists would feel comfortable.* Casual/fun/tourist cyclists, though, pretty much always want at least a green lane.

* where regular is probably defined as "rides a bike for commute, chores, or regular fitness"

 

[citydweller]

.... you don't feel like your head needs to be looking in 3 directions at once, and it feels safe.

Well stated. That exactly how I felt when driving through, eh, crawling through, the previous incarnation.

 

[Arenacale]

Anecdotal evidence, but my wife drove through there last night, and while the peanut was definitely an improvement (she would have avoided the area prior), she had trouble spotting pedestrians who were trying to cross in the dark. I myself haven't been through there, but if it doesn't have one already it might need one of those flashing indicators for pedestrian crossings.

 

[George_Apley]

Do they not have flashing ped-xing lights installed? That seems like the obvious solution.

 

[#bancars]

Do they not have flashing ped-xing lights installed? That seems like the obvious solution.

From the pictures above it looks like they do have flashing lights at the x-walks. I hope they work!

Of course I would have preferred raised x-walks but getting those anywhere in the Commonwealth is like pulling teeth.

 

[#bancars]

I think for bikes, the intent was to either ride in the travel lane or use the sidewalks.

In other words, MassDOT didn't plan for people biking at all.

 

[Highwayguy]

In other words, MassDOT didn't plan for people biking at all.

MassDOT Roundabout Design Guide calls for either bikes to share the travel lane through the roundabout or to provide wide sidewalks for bikes to use. Striping a bike lane through a roundabout is explicitly discouraged.