Description
As a Cambridge resident, I drive through Harvard square more than frequent. I almost had accidents more than 5 times here. As you can see on the google map, if I am driving on the right lane on Mass Ave to continue to Mass Ave toward Porter Square. I have had drivers on the left lane drive(turning back to Mass Ave toward Harvard Square or to garden st) straight into my lane while crossing the white dotted lines in between of the two lanes. I have no idea when this happens so frequently here, as I thought the white dotted lines on the ground should guide people driving in their lane. For those drivers who completely ignored the white dotted lines, they all did not use turn signal and drive into the right lane like a merge. I am so confused why this happens so frequently here, are those white dotted lines suppose to guide drivers to drive in their lanes?
4 Comments
City of Cambridge (Verified Official)
jk02140 (Registered User)
This is a nearly impossible intersection, with traffic coming up Mass Ave (from below your picture) needing to merge with traffic coming in from JFK St. The latter sometimes want to turn and go through the tunnel, while the former (apparently including yourself) want to go left and continue on Mass Ave toward Porter Square. The traffic entering the mess from Garden, and wanting to go either on Mass Ave toward Porter Square or through the tunnel toward Cambridge St, Broadway, etc, does not help much either. While I think relatively recent changes have made things a bit better, the reality is that almost any change make some transitions easier and others harder.
Having been sideswiped once and had many near-misses, when I'm driving up Mass Ave from Central toward Porter, I tend to avoid the problem entirely by taking a right on Trowbridge, going to Broadway, and then going around and through the tunnel and onto Mass Ave there. That route probably takes longer and has its own disadvantages, but I end up feeling much safer.
That, of course, doesn't make your questions any less important but, unless the rules are made more clear and then enforced, it is not clear where they lead.
Acknowledged Traffic - JB (Engineering) (Verified Official)
Claire Laporte (Registered User)