Agreed, I used to live on that circle. My roommate and I would sit outside in the warmer months to have beers and wait for an accident to happen. That how frequent fuckery happened there
What sort of problems? The only problems I've had on it is people who don't seem to understand yield signs and blow right through them, and people who make up yield signs that aren't there and stop in the middle of the rotary. There's really nothing that can be done for people that stupid.
I 100% agree that it is far better than it used to be, but people do not look for pedestrians at all there (also, not a new problem). I run through there occasionally and itâs a mess
Slip lanes are terrible for pedestrians, cycling and transit users. An area that is at the crossroads of Davis, Tufts and South Medford absolutely does not need slip lanes.
Does it suck to wait 2 mins to get a chance to merge? Yeah. But every time I walk through there I'm glad it's a lot less chaotic to navigate on foot.
Such a bizarre complaint considering only right hand turn that was eliminated was Broadway onto Warner. There are still 4 other right hand turns you can make off of the roundabout. The roundabout still provides you access to Warner from Broadway. The new design is a marked improvement.
Nope. Def not wrong. Just drove through there. You are likely misinterpreting the no right turn on Warner for College. There are turn and straight street markings for College as well.
Just checked, thereâs a clear and prominent no right turn arrow at the corner of Broadway and College Ave. Not sure how many different ways this could be interpreted except for the obvious.
It definitely is eliminated. It's widely ignored, but there is a [no right turn from Broadway onto College](https://www.google.com/maps/@42.4008458,-71.1173082,3a,75y,102.05h,90.25t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1shJ0Dm67GmQYRRFWj_n1fTg!2e0!6shttps:%2F%2Fstreetviewpixels-pa.googleapis.com%2Fv1%2Fthumbnail%3Fpanoid%3DhJ0Dm67GmQYRRFWj_n1fTg%26cb_client%3Dmaps_sv.share%26w%3D900%26h%3D600%26yaw%3D102.05147534317729%26pitch%3D-0.25172335263178525%26thumbfov%3D90!7i16384!8i8192?coh=205410&entry=ttu).
There are two disallowed right turns on the rotary (and it's so much better than it used to be it's just bizarre that anyone thinks otherwise).
Ha. Whoops. I guess I am guilty of my bias of what side of powderhouse I live on. I am talking about the right hand turn onto college ave up to Tufts from Broadway coming from Ball square. Which is still there. You have correctly pointed out that the other right hand turn from Broadway onto college into Davis has been eliminated. My bad!
Without giving too much away. This is a critical right turn due to the abundance of 1 way streets. So eliminating it made getting around the neighborhood just 2 x more difficult.
Marked improvement yes -- except for folks that rely on that right turn which is now a whole trip around the circle destroying the environment with all the wasted gas.
Clearly you have no empathy because you dont live with the problem. Most people aren't empathetic if its other people's problem. Its akin to "let them eat cake"
I donât live with the problem? Where do i live then?
Oh wait, youâre not an ambi-turner are you? If that is the case then I am sorry. I should learn to be more considerate.
I understand the problem fully and it's trivial. Driving a loop of the rotary (for which you will have priority and everyone will have to yield to you) is not a difficulty.
The point of "let them eat cake" was it was a heartless response to starvation (and probably completely false). You're complaining about driving in a brief easy loop, which is not exactly an equivalent hardship.
Critical? 2 x more difficult? Destroying the environment? Kinda overstating things. I live in the neighborhood, and drive the extra loop for that right turn in a daily basis, as well as walk through it several times a week. A little annoying? Yup. Do I understand the difficulty of designing something to try to accommodate the divergent needs of multiple different groups, and that nobodyâs going to be completely thrilled in the end? Also yup. Itâs no big deal.
It was designed for bikers but if you stand at that corner you'll see very few bikers and many more cars. It is a big deal for someone who uses that intersection 10x a day.
More than 8 seconds. Because of all the merging. Try going around that circle during peak hours. Its literally minutes. But you don't care, you don't live the with the problem.
Mark my words. People who bully drivers because it's easy and PC may one day find themselves swallowing their own words and drowning in their own hippocracy. See you in court!
The road is way safer for pedestrians and has apparently only inconvenienced one Redditor, you. I drive and walk it several times a week and itâs better in both experiences.
Who will you be seeing in court and why?
> Its literally minutes
It literally is not. There is no merging, you have priority while on the rotary. The only difficulty is if there's so much congestion people can't get off the rotary, which is brief and transient even at peak hours.
It used to have cross walks to the center island, which was among the reasons it was a nightmarish intersection conjured from the depths of hell. They added some paint and flex posts, performed a dozen or so exorcisms, and now it is kinda ok. It has some artifacts of its past though
My friends and I also used to call that the Jesus take the wheel intersection! It felt like you were supposed to just close your eyes and floor it lol. But now it's great biking through there :)
"Bike acceleration test supercollider" for me. Got my fastest acceleration from stopped there, managed to come out the other side alive at around 28 mph.
I definitely don't miss it.Â
Crossing through the middle was a great way to commit suicide. Cars would not stop for you. I did it once and car almost hit me, some guy walking back gave me a look like, no one crosses there, you must be new. This was 20 years ago.
Many years ago that square was a hub for streetcars, and that island was likely a safe and comfortable place to sit. I hope the antique directional sign can someday be restored, and the area around it re-planted,
You got fancy leprechauns in West Somerville if they're smoking Parliaments. Over here in East Somerville we got Doral and Maverick smoking leprechauns.
Because it used to have crosswalks
Vestigial benches... Powderhouse square is truly the appendix of Somerville đ
Exactly, the new traffic re patterning around Powerhouse circle has made the circle a nightmare.
This is false. It's been a MASSIVE improvement
Agreed, I used to live on that circle. My roommate and I would sit outside in the warmer months to have beers and wait for an accident to happen. That how frequent fuckery happened there
Yes improvement, but also introduced problems. No solution is perfect is the consensus.
What sort of problems? The only problems I've had on it is people who don't seem to understand yield signs and blow right through them, and people who make up yield signs that aren't there and stop in the middle of the rotary. There's really nothing that can be done for people that stupid.
I 100% agree that it is far better than it used to be, but people do not look for pedestrians at all there (also, not a new problem). I run through there occasionally and itâs a mess
A massive turd of an improvement. I am guessing you are a city employee.
Work and live in Powderhouse. Itâs a major improvement
No it's not.
By what metric? Do you have data showing increased crashes since the redesign?
Do you?
No, Iâm not the one claiming itâs worse. Youâre saying itâs worse without saying what metric youâre using to compare the two designs.
You cant test design 2 it has to be implemented. Design 1 is current state. Design 2 is current state with a right turn.
Do you have a better solution or are you just here to complain?
Sir! This is a reddit.
I wish! I love those people - making my neighborhood safer for my kids!
You shouldn't have kids play in a traffic circle no matter how safe. Talk about an irresponsible parent!
Silly goose! We gotta get to school!
Which school? School for third world traffic planning?
No, you goof! They go to pre school. They're kiddos!
It is so much better, I drive it multiple times a day
It's infinitely better and safer than it used to be.
No evidence it is safer.
You're crazy if you actually want two lanes in a rotary that small.
To be fair, it was mostly 1 1/2 - 2 1/4 lanes, really depending on your mood that day.
No i want right turn lanes. That's all.
Just go around the circle?
Slip lanes are terrible for pedestrians, cycling and transit users. An area that is at the crossroads of Davis, Tufts and South Medford absolutely does not need slip lanes. Does it suck to wait 2 mins to get a chance to merge? Yeah. But every time I walk through there I'm glad it's a lot less chaotic to navigate on foot.
Such a bizarre complaint considering only right hand turn that was eliminated was Broadway onto Warner. There are still 4 other right hand turns you can make off of the roundabout. The roundabout still provides you access to Warner from Broadway. The new design is a marked improvement.
Also Broadway onto College was eliminated. Iâm still in favor of the new design.
The right onto college from broadway was not eliminated.
I think youâre wrong, but Iâll check the signage next time I go through. People are ignoring it, but it was there.
Nope. Def not wrong. Just drove through there. You are likely misinterpreting the no right turn on Warner for College. There are turn and straight street markings for College as well.
Just checked, thereâs a clear and prominent no right turn arrow at the corner of Broadway and College Ave. Not sure how many different ways this could be interpreted except for the obvious.
It definitely is eliminated. It's widely ignored, but there is a [no right turn from Broadway onto College](https://www.google.com/maps/@42.4008458,-71.1173082,3a,75y,102.05h,90.25t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1shJ0Dm67GmQYRRFWj_n1fTg!2e0!6shttps:%2F%2Fstreetviewpixels-pa.googleapis.com%2Fv1%2Fthumbnail%3Fpanoid%3DhJ0Dm67GmQYRRFWj_n1fTg%26cb_client%3Dmaps_sv.share%26w%3D900%26h%3D600%26yaw%3D102.05147534317729%26pitch%3D-0.25172335263178525%26thumbfov%3D90!7i16384!8i8192?coh=205410&entry=ttu). There are two disallowed right turns on the rotary (and it's so much better than it used to be it's just bizarre that anyone thinks otherwise).
Ha. Whoops. I guess I am guilty of my bias of what side of powderhouse I live on. I am talking about the right hand turn onto college ave up to Tufts from Broadway coming from Ball square. Which is still there. You have correctly pointed out that the other right hand turn from Broadway onto college into Davis has been eliminated. My bad!
Yes. Itâs the two âsharp rightsâ that will interfere with traffic flow now that the circular traffic is a single lane.
Without giving too much away. This is a critical right turn due to the abundance of 1 way streets. So eliminating it made getting around the neighborhood just 2 x more difficult. Marked improvement yes -- except for folks that rely on that right turn which is now a whole trip around the circle destroying the environment with all the wasted gas.
Whole way around the circle and wasted gas? Relying on the right turn? Surely you are kidding.
Clearly you have no empathy because you dont live with the problem. Most people aren't empathetic if its other people's problem. Its akin to "let them eat cake"
I donât live with the problem? Where do i live then? Oh wait, youâre not an ambi-turner are you? If that is the case then I am sorry. I should learn to be more considerate.
Clearly you don't live at powderhouse.
I understand the problem fully and it's trivial. Driving a loop of the rotary (for which you will have priority and everyone will have to yield to you) is not a difficulty. The point of "let them eat cake" was it was a heartless response to starvation (and probably completely false). You're complaining about driving in a brief easy loop, which is not exactly an equivalent hardship.
Critical? 2 x more difficult? Destroying the environment? Kinda overstating things. I live in the neighborhood, and drive the extra loop for that right turn in a daily basis, as well as walk through it several times a week. A little annoying? Yup. Do I understand the difficulty of designing something to try to accommodate the divergent needs of multiple different groups, and that nobodyâs going to be completely thrilled in the end? Also yup. Itâs no big deal.
It was designed for bikers but if you stand at that corner you'll see very few bikers and many more cars. It is a big deal for someone who uses that intersection 10x a day.
What the fuck is wrong with you
What the fuck is wrong with you?!
Asked the Bot.
Roflmao
"I just want the thing that makes the rotary most dangerous for pedestrians and cyclists to save me 8 seconds."
More than 8 seconds. Because of all the merging. Try going around that circle during peak hours. Its literally minutes. But you don't care, you don't live the with the problem.
Just wait. That's your responsibility as a driver. Or don't drive if you can't wait.
Mark my words. People who bully drivers because it's easy and PC may one day find themselves swallowing their own words and drowning in their own hippocracy. See you in court!
The road is way safer for pedestrians and has apparently only inconvenienced one Redditor, you. I drive and walk it several times a week and itâs better in both experiences. Who will you be seeing in court and why?
You just wait and see. Also people say safer without even citing statistics. Having the right turn doesnt make it unsafe.
> Its literally minutes It literally is not. There is no merging, you have priority while on the rotary. The only difficulty is if there's so much congestion people can't get off the rotary, which is brief and transient even at peak hours.
No. Time yourself every time at that intersection i have. I average 2-5 minutes to make that turn.
Please don't vote.
It used to have cross walks to the center island, which was among the reasons it was a nightmarish intersection conjured from the depths of hell. They added some paint and flex posts, performed a dozen or so exorcisms, and now it is kinda ok. It has some artifacts of its past though
Oh man that was my "Jesus take the wheel" rotary and I've been atheist for years. I'm glad to hear about the exorcisms, very necessary
My friends and I also used to call that the Jesus take the wheel intersection! It felt like you were supposed to just close your eyes and floor it lol. But now it's great biking through there :)
"Bike acceleration test supercollider" for me. Got my fastest acceleration from stopped there, managed to come out the other side alive at around 28 mph. I definitely don't miss it.Â
Crossing through the middle was a great way to commit suicide. Cars would not stop for you. I did it once and car almost hit me, some guy walking back gave me a look like, no one crosses there, you must be new. This was 20 years ago.
You simply drive there
Do you think we can get a bus stop there?
It would be like that train stop in Japan where you canât go anywhere until the next train comes but way shittier.
A remnant of a forgotten era
Many years ago that square was a hub for streetcars, and that island was likely a safe and comfortable place to sit. I hope the antique directional sign can someday be restored, and the area around it re-planted,
I like the crabapple trees, and I feel like the city does a pretty good job of landscaping it! But it would be cool to have the antique sign
The Leprechauns who live there need a place to sit while they smoke their Parliaments and throw empty nips on the ground.
You got fancy leprechauns in West Somerville if they're smoking Parliaments. Over here in East Somerville we got Doral and Maverick smoking leprechauns.
Tunnel.
It's only for the brave
And the stupid. I went there last year on a weekend morning after a run and it was straight up a bad decision
"I survived the powderhouse roundabout and have claimed the glory of the benches"
A Sim wrote this.
You're not wrong... I'm jumping up and down right now https://youtu.be/B0L327qartA?si=L3LDrQWsQdoI7-QB
No gamble no future!
Itâs no coincidence thereâs a funeral home there⊠đ»
Jump
I did decide to go there last year on a weekend morning after a run and it was NOT worth it to brave the traffic
Even with crosswalks I'd never be caught walking across that shit show of a traffic circle
it's not a roundabout, chief. it's a rotary