Wednesday, January 9, 2013

Redesign East & West Broadway for Safer Walking and Biking?

We are pleased to announce that at our next Planet Southie meeting transportation engineer Mike Tremblay will share his study & design ideas for East & West Broadway. Tremblay will identify problem intersections, and present possible solutions ranging from the obvious to the innovative.

The presentation, devised by Tremblay and other former students of Northeastern University's civil engineering program, is focused around the idea of adding cycle-tracks, crosswalk improvements, and other street amenities to East and West Broadway. The plan is presented as food for thought along with other improvements for all modes of transportation.

All are encouraged to attend and provide their feedback. Hope to see you there!

Jan. 24, 6:30pm - 7:30pm
The Distillery Building
516 East Second Street, South Boston 02127



4 comments:

  1. Broadway is too busy. The bike paths should go on 1st street and Dorchester.

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    Replies
    1. Broadway is where most of the amenities in Southie are located. Cyclists need access to grocery stores, and restaurants just like everyone else. What I am trying to say is that bicycles will be on Broadway no matter what, so why not design the roadway to be safe for cyclists and keep them separated from the motorist traffic. Come hear the proposal, I think we all might be surprised at how much underutilized space there really is along Broadway, and how little impact there would be to other roadway users. This study we will hear at the meeting has actual vehicle count data for East & West Broadway, at peak hours, and I suspect there is a lot we can learn. Also, this study is not all about cycletracks, the study is for all roadway users: motorists, pedestrians, and bicyclists. Hope to see you there!

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  2. I agree that both West and East Broadway are just too busy to accomodate bike lanes.

    I frequently walk a mile-long stretch of Broadway from my home near West Broadway and B Street to businesses as far east as the Stop and Shop near L Street. Here is what I see:

    There is not ANY underutilized space along Broadway. Every single on-street parking spot is taken. Stretches of both East and West Broadway are already reduced to one lane of moving traffic on either side of the street because people are forced to double park.

    Civil engineering students ought to be able to figure out that one minus one equals zero. In other words, if you have only one lane moving cars and you take away one lane for bikes, you'll have zero lanes moving cars. Or, in algebraic terms, you've just introduced one too many variables to solve your equation.

    I like to ride my bike, too. But I don't want to inconvenience other people when I do. It's not smart or safe to ride my bike when I shop along Broadway. So I leave it in the garage and walk. It's not a hardship.






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  3. What would be the plan for parking on Broadway? There already is not enough parking in most of Southie.

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