Issue Voted For

Wholeheartedly agree. This road is a disaster. The two lanes turn into one at the Hampshire St. intersection anyway, which is a mess in itself. This is a road where I always take the lane, though motorists are always courteous, but I try and avoid this pavement as much as possible.
The lane reduction and bike lanes would be best for everyone, especially pedestrians. I actually think walking down Prospect is worse than biking. It's loud, hot with exhaust, dusty, cramped, and generally unfriendly.

Woops....motorists actually aren't always courteous. Mostly, but not always.

It's a shame that, in our modern society, people are forced to use Prospect street for any purpose. When I drive south, it is usually crowded, and I create an obstacle with the cyclists that I share the road with. I'm nervous that I'm going to hit one of them.

When I drive north, no one knows what to do. There are two lanes, but are they for passing or turning? There usually isn't a lot of room for passing, but people do it anyways. What nepotism lead this road to be designed in this way?

And yes, along the sides of the road are bizarre scars where decades of patching has left a bumpy, ugly surface. It's annoying to drive over, and it forces cyclists in front of me.

The rain has reminded me of another reason why walking down Prospect is so awful, and why this street makes a joke of the whole 'Most walkable city' hoopla. The potholes from Union to Central fill with water that is frequently splashed, sometimes with great ferocity, upon the pedestrians braving the rain. And, of course, once the rain has stopped, the water-filled potholes remain--one of the many indignities of traveling by foot in Cambridge. The area in front of Carberry's cafe is possibly the worst.

As for sharing the road with cyclists, thanks! Really share, though. Cyclists shouldn't have to ride in the "gutter". They're perfectly right to take the lane, and on a street like Prospect it's actually wise to do so. Besides, traffic rarely moves faster (red light-to-red light) than a cyclist. So if someone on a bike ends up in front of you, enjoy a relaxed trip to the next intersection.

For cyclists going to Union from Central (or beyond) consider taking Harvard St. East, and using Columbia St. to Webster to Prospect. It's really only a few extra blocks, and it's a much safer route. This detour is not, however, a reason why the city shouldn't redesign this road.

The entire stretch was repaved last fall.