Thank you Heather - just to add details to this issue/complaint, I went through the light again in my way to Assembly making a left turn at the light - this is what I noticed:

- the light sought ground including the left arrow was only green for about 8 seconds. Only four cars were able to turn left of the ten+ in line.
- the access to the left turning lane is restricted to only about seven cars b/c of the median in the middle of the road in front of Taco Loco being too wide
- this causes major backup
- this southbound route is a major thorough way for buses in route to Sullivan which take up apx three regular car size spaces in line
- the cross traffic coming from Assembly and on Mt Vernon is green for at lease 18-20 seconds which is twice as long
- sometimes the white walker with ALL red lights goes on for pedestrians when NO pedestrians are there - it would be better to have this white walker timed only if pedestrians press it which I believe I've seen intersections around the city implement. The white walker signal could also go on when there are green lights in the pedestrian favor.

I took a video tonight on my way back from a run of this intersection. The video shows 45+ seconds of green on the Mt. Vernon cross street (then a driver had nerve to run through a red after it changed), at least 12 seconds of a white walker with no pedestrians (though a runner ran through the red after it ended in the precious green for those waiting southbound East Broadway) and then only about 10 seconds of green on East Broadway in direction towards Sullivan. Two cars ran through the red light at the end. While not safe I can see why someone might if they just waited over a minute at this light. It reasonably takes at least 3 seconds for the first driver in line to even react to the light changing green. How can 10 seconds of green be reasonable??? This intersection light timing setup is going to cause serious issues of drivers running red lights.

Where/who should I send the video?

Good Morning Theresa,

You can email me at hwright@somervillema.gov.

Yes, I agree this is REALLY frustrating as I have experienced it. The light needs to change so it allows more time for traffic to go through.

These are mass dot timed lights. They have looked into this issue and everything is working fine.If you would like to follow up with them you can call 781-641-8300. Thank You

Hi - I will give that number a call. This is really disappointing. See a related Issue ID: 1576171, which has yet to even be acknowledged... this problem is proliferating drivers creating their own workarounds, including breaking the law and ignoring other types of Somerville rules (e.g. one-way streets, not cutting through neighborhoods with the "do not enter at such-and-such time" restrictions)... I can only imagine this getting worse as Partners comes online in Assembly. I shouldn't have to tackle this issue myself up against MASS Dot.

We should have Somerville Reps working with MASS Dot who appreciate (and believe) the pain and risk this causes to the East Somerville neighborhood championing a better answer than just "Mass Dot says it's ok... so here call this number if you don't agree"... I am envisioning wasting several hours of my time getting the ring-a-round, explaining the issue to 10+ different people and then still not getting it resolved.

Yes, I agree with Theresa. The timing is Not Appropriate for that intersection. Mass Dot needs to re-evaluate the timing and should conduct at least a week's worth of observations. I also agree this is not something a resident should have to take on. The City should work with Mass Dot to resolve it. This problem is only going to get worse as traffic continues to increase.

This issue should not be thrown over the wall by our Somerville representatives just because the lights are timed by MassDoT. This is an issue that impacts a large portion of East Somerville residents and our representatives should fight for us to have the problem resolved. The MassDoT light timing might very well be working as intended. But then the intended timing is inappropriate for current traffic conditions and will be horrendous for when 2,000 additional cars commute to Partners Healthcare building in a few years and the influx of traffic to Sullivan Square when the Casino arrives. Now is the time for Somerville to work with our stakeholders and authorities, not when the problem becomes unbearable.

Somerville needs to look at this issue and work with MassDot. According to papers filed on the Somerville website about the traffic impact of the Partners building, there are no additional remedies to the intersection in question other than what had been previously completed for when the IKEA was going to be at the location. Whoever let that traffic proposal slip by the approval board FAILED the community of East Somerville.

Also, with the Casino going in over the river, and Sullivan Square being redesigned as part of the traffic mediation for Boston, Somerville should and must get their foot in the door to protect and ensure impacts on East Somerville traffic are taking into account.

To summarize, "saying the lights are MassDoT timed, take it up with them" is unacceptable and a failure on the part of Somerville Reps. Somerville should be working closely with MassDot considering the changes to the areas and this intersection is a key part of transport in an out of the area. East Somerville residents need someone to stand up and look out for them.

Good Afternoon,

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