Charlie Breitrose
Cars wait on Arsenal Street for a driver to turn left onto Louise Street. A bump out extending too far down the road has caused the choke point.
Travelers of Arsenal Street will have noticed the sticking point as you head west toward Watertown Square near the Lexus dealer. Town officials are working with the developers of a nearby apartment complex to fix the situation.
The problem has been caused by the new raised bicycle path that runs in front of the block of businesses on that area of Arsenal Street and stretches a bit too far. The extra section causes a choke point when drivers try to turn left onto Louise Street because cars have no room to go around, said Town Engineer Matt Shuman.
“The bump out was supposed to end west of Louise,” Shuman said.
The developers of the new apartment building with some commercial space at 204 Arsenal Street paid for and designed the path, said Assistant Town Manager Steve Magoon.
The work was done with some alterations before town officials signed off on the changes, said Department of Public Works Superintendent Gerry Mee.
“We are in discussions with the developers and we hope to require the to go back and change it,” Mee said.
How does work “get done” without approval of the Department of Public Works in the first place? Maybe this is why Watertown is under such scrutiny by so many residents.
Agreed this should have all been checked before they did any actual work. Now add another traffic light at the VFW and Arsenal street is a parking lot.
“Hope to require”? It was done without the proper permits. Make them fix it! If the town officials don’t then the other developers will know Watertown is run by a bunch of doormats! Get tough now!
I work right near there and rarely see any issues even at rush hour, not sure what the fuss is.
Really? I passed the opposite direction by a car looking to turn into the Toyota dealership that had a backup of 10 cars behind it. This morning I got stuck behind someone trying to turn left on Beachwood Ave. Only 1 car in front of him got through because he could not make the turn until the light changed.
Oh, and I had to cross into the turning lane in front of Touota because a guy in a minivan was unloading street side. It is absurd how narrow they made the street.
There are a lot of problems with this new design. And they are acting like it was not planned this way.
Really because I have sat there on multiple occasions to the point where people are trying to bang U turns and making it all worse.
I have to turn down Louise to get home or take a chance with North Beacon when the Athena Health workers are getting out of work. Traffic is terrible and the back up is huge.
…that quarter mile bike path which resulted in the bump out was a silly idea…it’s now obvious that design is a safety issue…
Even as a cyclist, I think that the design is poor. It is confusing and not easy to use. Watertown can do better than this.
So, Watertown has had an opening for a traffic manager since July. I keep asking why we don’t have that person yet. Planning Dept is supposed to hire this person. Town officials bemoan the fact that Watertown is understaffed. All the development is causing big changes in traffic volume. Does anyone else have a problem with this situation?
Right on! What about a transportation planner as well. I thought that the funds for that were appropriated as well.
Traffic calming is the new buzz word nowadays. Like other “great ideas” it will probably prove to be the wrong approach a few years down the line.
I hate to say this, but I must point out that the bike lane would not be an issue but for the fact that the town failed to preserve the railroad right of way years ago and recently has not required developers to preserve what was left of it. This has been a major oversight on the part of town staff.
If the right of way still existed, there could be a dedicated bike path well off the road that would be safer, more attractive and quicker for cycle commuters. And the design of Arsenal Street would not have been complicated by the need to include a bike path because there would be a superior parallel route.
The last gasp was when 202-204 Arsenal Development (Gables) was allowed to build directly on the footprint of the right of way. An excellent example of poor decision making by the town over the years.
I’d really like to know what someone was thinking when that “bump out” was conceived and put in. I recall the week roadwork began on it, and thought to myself ‘what the hell are they doing now to screw things up even more’?
The Town bears a large part of the blame for not stepping in sooner and halting the project. The change had been underway for the better part of a month or two… it wasn’t like the “bump out” mysteriously appeared overnight before the Town could take action.
One thing head shakingly laughable about it, is we’re supposed to put our faith and trust in the same people that are trying to assure us that the Mt. Auburn St. project will be a game changer in solving Watertowns traffic problems.
I shudder to think what is in store for Arsenal St. and how much they can possibly screw that up. One option being mentioned, is dedicating one lane of Arsenal St. to buses and bicycles only!
http://www.watertownmanews.com/2016/10/05/state-looks-for-ways-to-improve-traffic-transportation-on-arsenal-street/
Realistically… I can’t see that happening, however, just the mere suggestion of it provides some insight into the thought process of these people.
A community meeting is scheduled for Dec 14th, 7:00 PM at the Town Hall to showcase
upcoming street and traffic plans for the corridor. I suggest anyone with any concerns and/or questions attended this meeting.
Yes there will be a meeting Wednesday. It is the Planning Board and they are discussing the Arsenal Mall project. That will include traffic impact on Arsenal.
Yes, the Arsenal Mall project is at issue, but from this article, it sounds as though traffic and transportation issues is the main topic to be addressed.
“Originally, the Arsenal Mall presentation was scheduled for Nov. 29, but the meeting was pushed back a couple weeks. The hearing will focus on traffic and transportation, and the Planning Board could take a vote on the project that night”.
http://www.watertownmanews.com/2016/11/25/arsenal-mall-project-pushed-back-meeting-also-includes-pleasant-street-project/
Personally, as a resident here, I’m not overly concerned with what the developers have planned for their private property.
What I am concerned about, is how much the town is willing to bend over, and acquiesce public roadways to meet their demands and/or needs.
Yes you are rigetting, but I didn’t want people to think it was a meeting designed to just talk about Arsenal Street traffic. It will be much more formal than the meeting about Mt. Auburn St.
Contractors like working in Watertown because they can do things the way they want to. There is no one from the town that checks on them to see if they are doing things the way they should be done. Out of state contractors like Newport construction like the fact that they can pave etc in cold weather ( which by the way doesn’t last as long) . It seems like Watertown is reactive instead of proactive when it comes to most projects.
Homeowners are having a hard time getting permits for front porches or small additions if their windows aren’t aesthetically pleasing to someone else. On the houses they live in with their families but this stuff on Arsenal St is allowed….way to go! Just say “bike path” and all the crunchy Cambridge wannabes let you do whatever you want.