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Health & Fitness

Bow Street In Somerville's Union Square: Safer Street for Everyone

The new Bow Street configuration in Somerville should be commended. The addition of back-in angle parking and a bike lane have made the street safer and more accommodating for everyone.

Welcome to my new blog on Patch. As Vice Chair of the Somerville Bicycle Committee, and Board Member and Advocacy Committee Chair at LivableStreets Alliance in Cambridge, I intend to share my perspective on local transportation issues in the Boston area. This is a subject in which I have a great passion for, particularly as it relates to creating equity between all modes of transportation and creating streets and public spaces that enhance our quality of life. There are certainly a wide variety of opinions about transportation since it’s something that affects all of us. As you read my posts, I welcome your thoughts and comments.

There has been some news coverage lately about the new configuration of Bow Street in Union Square, Somerville. Personally, I feel that this is one of the most worthwhile projects the City has done to improve a street. Change is not always easy, and for many people, they will need some time to adapt. But when the result is so positive for everyone, the short term pain is well worth it.

In late May 2012, the City of Somerville restriped Bow Street in Union Square in an effort to improve safety and access for all modes of transportation (walking, bicycling, cars, buses, trucks, etc.).

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Prior to this, Bow Street was a wide mostly unmarked street, with the stretch between Union Square and Summer Street acting as either one wide lane or two narrow ones, and the stretch between Summer Street and Somerville Avenue acting as one wide lane. There were no accommodations for bicycles, and especially in the wide pseudo-two lane section, motorists would often drive too fast as well as illegally double park.

When Bow Street was repaved by NSTAR last year, the Somerville Bicycle Committee had recommended that a bike lane be striped along the entire length of street. The SBC noted to the City that since Bow Street was only fed by one travel lane at a time from Union Square, only one travel lane was needed on the street itself, despite it being wide enough for two lanes. The City took this suggestion seriously and realized that in the wider stretch they had room to not only add a bike lane but also add additional parking. So in the place of the wide stretch of unmarked pavement they installed a single travel lane, a bike lane, and back-in angle parking. This resulted in a 90% increase in parking spaces for visitors on Bow Street.

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There are many benefits to this new configuration:

  • Single, narrower, marked travel lane encourages motorists to drive at slower speeds, resulting in a safer street for everyone (especially pedestrians)
  • Bike lane provides a dedicated space for cyclists and reduces the number of sidewalk cyclists
  • Additional car parking is good for local businesses
  • Back-in angle parking is easier and safer for motorists and bicyclists
  • Slower traffic results in reduced noise along the street

Some people quoted in the press coverage have criticized the new configuration, saying that the back-in angle parking is confusing and difficult to do, that the single travel lane is causing traffic back-ups, and that the right turn onto Summer Street is difficult and confusing with the new bike lane. These are legitimate concerns. However, as with most change, people are quick to adapt.

Back-in angle parking is not new to the United States or to Massachusetts, but it is new to the Boston area. The City did a very good job publicizing the addition of this parking with a brochure, press announcements, and videos instructing people how it works, by posting signs and variable electronic message boards in Union Square for two weeks prior to the change, as well as holding a community Open House a month prior to the changes. When the parking was first installed, some people were trying to pull head-in, but since then this seems to be less of a problem. And once people have tried back-in angle parking, they will realize that it’s actually much easier than parallel parking or head-in angle parking. (Parallel parking is obviously more complicated, and with head-in angle parking, backing out of a parking space is both difficult and dangerous -- especially for bicyclists -- since a driver’s visibility is quite poor.)

A Nelson Nygaard report [pdf] states the following about the safety advantages of back-in angle parking:

"Back-in/head-out diagonal parking is superior to conventional head-in/back-out diagonal parking. Both types of diagonal parking have common dimensions, but the back-in/head- out is superior for safety reasons due to better visibility when leaving. This is particularly important on busy streets or where drivers find their views blocked by large vehicles, tinted windows, etc., in adjacent vehicles in the case of head-in/back-out angled parking. In other words, drivers do not back blindly into an active traffic lane. The back-in maneuver is simpler than a parallel parking maneuver. Furthermore, with back-in/head-out parking, the open doors of the vehicle block pedestrian access to the travel lane and guide pedestrians to the sidewalk, which is a safety benefit, particularly for children. Further, back-in/head- out parking puts most cargo loading (into trunks, tailgates) on the curb, rather than in the street."

The City has been very responsive with concerns in general, getting feedback from people on Facebook, Twitter, and through 311. Regarding the right turn onto Summer Street, the City has already modified the bike lane to have a longer dashed segment. This encourages motorists to merge over the bike lane (yielding to bicyclists) prior to the turn onto Summer Street.

Regarding the single travel lane, there will be some pain as traffic has to wait for cars to pull into parking spaces (parallel and back-in angle), but this is not unreasonable. This is an issue on many roads throughout the City and is one that we all must deal with. The benefit of the additional parking and bike lane is well worth this little bit of pain in my opinion.

Overall, the City should be commended for its forward thinking and efforts to make a much safer and accessible street for everyone simply by adding paint and a few signs. It took advantage of regular roadway resurfacing as an opportunity to transform a street into something much better than it was before.

More information:

“Traffic & Parking Department to Pilot Back-In Angle Parking in Union Square” City of Somerville: Press Release [pdf], Informational Brochure [pdf], Video

“New angled parking to add 22 spaces on Bow Street in Somerville.” Somerville Journal 20 March 2012

“Union Square Gets More Parking, with a Twist.” 21 March 2012

“Open House for Head-Out Angled Parking Pilot.” The Somerville News 27 April 2012

“Head-Out Angled Parking pilot on Bow Street” The Somerville News 9 May 2012

“Angled parking coming to Somerville’s Bow Street.” Somerville Journal 17 May 2012

“Back in Angled Parking Experiment Now in Progress” Union Square Main Streets 29 May 2012

“Is Back-In Angled Parking Working in Union Square?” 1 June 2012

“Somerville residents paint ugly picture of new bicyclist-friendly parking spots.” Boston Herald 1 June 2012

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