Commonwealth Avenue
“Carriage Lane” Bicycle Promenade
Proposal by Sam Hawkins, Matthew Brett, Steve
Soderlund, Adam Blaser, Ben Holsapple and Chris Leitao
Northeastern University
Faculty Advisor: Prof. Peter Furth
September, 2009
Design
g Concepts
p Learned in Holland
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Commonwealth Avenue Bicycle Path
…applied
pp
in Massachusetts?
Four Obstacles to a Safe Bicycle
Promenade
1. Carriage road disappears at four major intersections and at the
Marriott hotel.
2 Minor
2.
Mi
Intersections
I t
ti
are nott designed
d i
d ffor safe
f th
thru (bi
(bicycle)
l ) ttraffic
ffi
3. Frequent stop signs on Carriage Lane
g
two-way
y bicycle
y
traffic
4. Need to legalize
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Commonwealth Avenue Bicycle Path
Bike Path Sharrows
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Arrow representing
counter flow bike traffic
Commonwealth Avenue Bicycle Path
Typical Signage
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Commonwealth Avenue Bicycle Path
Treatment A:
Enhance Stop Signs at Minor Cross
Streets
• 30 intersections
where
h
cross
street has Stop.
• 8 intersections
lack Stop signs
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Commonwealth Avenue Bicycle Path
Treatment A
E h
Enhance
E
Existing
i ti St
Stop Si
Signs
• Relocate Stop
p
Signs
• Stop Lines
• Bike Traffic Signs
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Commonwealth Avenue Bicycle Path
Treatment B:
Alt i Stop
Altering
St Sign
Si from
f
Carriage
C i
L
Lane
to Cross Street
• 15 Intersections where
Carriage Lane has Stop
Stop.
• Convert about 12 to
stopping the cross street.
• “All
All Traffic Must Turn”
Turn
(Except Bikes) regulation
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Commonwealth Avenue Bicycle Path
Treatment B
Wh is
Why
i iit IImportant?
?
• Consistent with carriage
lane being part of main
street.
t t
• Consistent with bicyclist
behavior
• C
Consistent
i t t with
ith an
attractive bike road.
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Commonwealth Avenue Bicycle Path
Treatment B Elements
• Stop signs
• Stop lines
• Yield signs
• Yield lines
• “All
All Traffic Must Turn”
Turn signs
• Bike Traffic Signs
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Commonwealth Avenue Bicycle Path
Treatment C:
Four Smaller
S
Cross
C
S
Streets with Traffic
ff Signals
S
Pedestrian Traffic Signal
g
• Queues sometimes block the carriage lane
• Unclear right-of-way
• Protect
P t t carriage
i
lane
l
bikes
bik ffrom lleft
ft turns
t
from
f
Comm
C
Ave
A
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Commonwealth Avenue Bicycle Path
Treatment C Elements
New Bike Traffic Signal
•
•
Left turns from Comm. Ave. on green arrow only
Bike traffic signals on the carriage lane
– Incorporated into existing signal timing
•
•
“All Traffic Must Turn (Except Bikes)” sign
Stop lines
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Commonwealth Avenue Bicycle Path
Treatment D
Cl i Openings
Closing
O
i
iin th
the M
Median
di
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Commonwealth Avenue Bicycle Path
Relative Safety of T-intersections
T intersections
1
2
3
4
Car Traffic
Bike Traffic
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Commonwealth Avenue Bicycle Path
Treatment D
Three to seven closures are recommended; specific
j
to further study
y
locations are subject
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Commonwealth Avenue Bicycle Path
Proposed Closure at Rowe Street
This intersection is dangerous due to the high speed of vehicles coming south from Rowe St. across the carriage road. th f
R
St
th
i
d
Due to the small angle between Commonwealth Ave and Rowe St, vehicles approaching from Rowe St do not need to slow down as they
vehicles approaching from Rowe St. do not need to slow down as they make a turn.
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Commonwealth Avenue Bicycle Path
Safer Rowe Street Intersection
‐Reclamation of green area
‐”T up” intersection, reducing speeds and increasing visibility
‐Stop signs to further slow traffic.
St
i
t f th l t ffi
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Commonwealth Avenue Bicycle Path
Major Intersections
Four major intersections where the carriage lane
i di
is
discontinued:
ti
d
– Centre St.
– Walnut St.
– Washington St.
– Lexington Ave.
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Commonwealth Avenue Bicycle Path
Centre Street
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Commonwealth Avenue Bicycle Path
Shared Use Path Connectors
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Commonwealth Avenue Bicycle Path
East Side
•8 to 10 ft wide
•Bollards are an option to block car entry (shown in red)
•Bike / walk signals needed for crosswalk
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Commonwealth Avenue Bicycle Path
West Side
‐90 degree intersection for merging bicycles for safety; bicycles naturally yield to vehicles.
‐10 ft width to accommodate both bicyclists and pedestrians Northeastern University
Commonwealth Avenue Bicycle Path
Walnut Street
Walnut Street poses similar obstacles as Centre St. The carriage road ends just to the right of this picture, and sends bikes into the street with traffic. It then continues after the intersection. Bikes should have a place to cross safely in their own lane.
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Commonwealth Avenue Bicycle Path
Recommended Treatment
‐The path will follow the existing dirt/paved path ‐The crossing will accommodate both pedestrians and bikes
g
p
‐Bollards should also be placed where indicated in red above.
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Commonwealth Avenue Bicycle Path
Lexington Street
At Lexington St, the carriage road once again ends, forcing bicycles to merge with vehicular traffic on Commonwealth Avenue for a short distance before returning to the carriage road.
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Commonwealth Avenue Bicycle Path
Recommended Treatment
‐We propose converting the existing sidewalk into a shared We propose converting the existing sidewalk into a shared
bike/ped path
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Commonwealth Avenue Bicycle Path
Washington Street
Main roadway has taken over the carriage lane
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Commonwealth Avenue Bicycle Path
Recommended Treatment
•Shift curb into WB roadway, eliminating right turn lane
•Build two‐way bike path between sidewalk and street
•If extra lane is needed expand WB roadway into the median
•If extra lane is needed, expand WB roadway into the median
•Bike / walk signals for the crosswalk
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Commonwealth Avenue Bicycle Path
Sidewalk, Cycle Track, Grass Buffer,
Road
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Commonwealth Avenue Bicycle Path
Typical Street Crossing in
Th N
The
Netherlands
th l d
Notice the Notice
the
Pedestrian Crossing
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Notice Bike Crossing
Commonwealth Avenue Bicycle Path
West Side
‐
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Commonwealth Avenue Bicycle Path
Woodbine Street to Boathouse /
A b
Auburn
St
Streett
• Western end of Bicycle Promenade should be at
Charles River Canoe & Kayak, with access (via
Auburn Street) to Charles River footbridges
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Commonwealth Avenue Bicycle Path
Woodbine Street to Boathouse /
Auburn Street
•
•
Extend curb into the street (Road Diet)
Add a cycle
y
track (bike
(
p
path),
), separate
p
from the sidewalk.
Stop Line
Mixed Use Path Sign
Striping & Sharrows
Across Intersection
Granite Curb
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Commonwealth Avenue Bicycle Path
Summary of Treatments
• Stop signs
signs, stop lines
lines, road markings:
about 50 intersections
• Left turn arrows and bike / walk lights:
about 3 intersections
• Bike
Bik path
th extensions
t
i
off th
the carriage
i
llane
across major intersections: 3 intersections
• Median closures: 3 to 7
y
track next to
• Road diet with new cycle
sidewalk: approx. 2000 ft
Conclusion
Although there are obstacles to
y
traffic along
g the Carriage
g
bicycle
Lane, they can be overcome
through the use of the low-impact
treatments outlined in this
presentation.
By applying these treatments,
the
h Ci
City can turn the
h existing
i i
Carriage Lane from a seldomused service road into an
attractive bicycle promenade.
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Commonwealth Avenue Bicycle Path