Somerville, Mass., Dept. of Public Works

Somerville Ave. in Union Square, especially the right lane in the area of the Stone Ave. bus stop, is in terrible shape. Riding a bicycle over this tarmac is like skiing straight down a hill of moguls. Not fun. I hope this gets fixed before my teeth are rattled from their sockets one day.

traffic has completely worn away the bike lane on Willow Ave, just before Highland Ave intersection. This makes cycling very dangerous due to crowding by drivers illegally bisecting the end of this street, leaving no room for cyclists to enter the northern half of Willow Ave.

This intersection needs a light. Navigating the traffic here is difficult at best, and during rush hour, people don't know what to do with themselves. Traffic down Powder House has a blinking yellow, while traffic down Packard has a blinking red light. This creates a situation where Powderhouse traffic almost never stops, and Packard traffic has to wait for an extended period of time.

The intersection and on-ramp on Washington Street, under the McGrath Highway near Union Square, is one of the most embarrassing, damaging, under-maintained main roads I've ever encountered, even by the local standards. The street is covered with horrible potholes that I'm sure contribute to thousands of dollars in tie-rod, tire, axle and other repairs for local motorists, not to mention local emergency officials. The city ought to repair this asap despite, or especially because of, the current economy.

The 'bike zone' of the northbound lane of Willow Ave is riddled with potholes bad enough to pop a tube, forcing cyclists to ride in the middle of an already too-narrow street. This is a highly dangerous area.