Kevin Sullivan
We asked Belmont Voice readers for suggestions on how to solve the traffic turmoil at the Belmont Center underpass, and boy, did you have a lot to say!
Michael Flamang and Gladys Unger took up our challenge, marking up the inaugural issue of The Voice. Their plan boils down to no left-hand turns. They propose turning the World War I Memorial in front of the Lions Club into a roundabout. Drivers passing through the underpass from Belmont Center would be forced to turn right onto Concord. They could change direction by navigating the roundabout to head west towards the high school.
On social media, we got everything from pithy one-word responses (“Rotary!” exclaimed Tko Kelly on Facebook) to Roger Diebold’s colorful whiteboard sketch on Instagram.
Diebold, like many readers, advocates for two roundabouts — one on each side of the underpass. He also thinks it’s essential to have two single lanes of traffic through the underpass, with a “soft divider” in the road. He calls for a professional traffic engineer to help the town fix the problem.
Natalie Zahniser-Word wants to add some green space by shutting down Concord Avenue between Pleasant and Leonard streets (the section that runs in front of the police station). Instead, drivers on Pleasant Street would have to turn down Moore Street (which would become one way). She also joins the chorus of readers advocating for a rotary on Concord Avenue.
A lot of folks suggested rotaries or roundabouts, but Alek Mansouri points out, there is a difference.
“[W]e should add ROUNDABOUTS instead of ROTARIES in these two proposed points,” Mansouri wrote.
The Massachusetts Department of Transportation explains, “Roundabouts are designed with slow vehicle speeds in mind and their central island and traffic separator islands make drivers react to them and force them to slow down. Rotaries are large circular intersections with wide sweeping lanes that allow vehicles to drive at much higher speeds.”
Greg Hall took the assignment seriously. He created his own virtual map and then sketched out two bold plans. His first plan calls for turning Leonard Street into a pedestrian mall. He then creates a one-way loop along Claflin and Pleasant streets, a traffic circle on Concord Avenue, and a pedestrian bridge over the railroad tracks near the high school.
The town is proposing a pedestrian walkway under the railroad tracks instead of over them near the high school, as part of the Community Path Project. MassDOT is scheduled to hold a hearing on the plan on March 7.
Hall’s other idea is slightly less radical. Instead of a pedestrian mall, he would install traffic circles on both sides of the underpass and make Leonard St. one way towards Pleasant St.
We’ve heard what you would do to fix the traffic problems (and keep the ideas coming — tag @belmontvoice on Facebook or Instagram). We’re planning a story on how the town has approached the issue over the years, and whether anything is in the works to tackle this issue.
If you want The Belmont Voice to investigate another traffic quagmire in town, email editors@belmontvoice.org.
| Fixing Belmont’s Underpass “The self-policing Leonard St. intersection works when people do what they are supposed to and take turns. Any sort of traffic light there would create far more problems than it would solve.” –Sue Post “As a pedestrian, this area is a total nightmare. How does one get to the bus stop [in front of the library], and from the bus stop to the Royal Road? Shouldn’t the bus stop be next to the Commuter Rail?” –Veronika Tuckerova “Traffic lights!” –Bobo Link “When my son was learning to drive I called Belmont Police to learn the rules of this particular road. The response: ‘Every man for himself!’” –Anne Donohue (Belmont Voice board member) “Rotary on either side of the train tracks — everyone will know whose turn it is.” –Amy Kindred Anastasi |
