Newton's Deadliest Intersection

Can you guess which intersection is the deadliest in Newton? I bet a bunch come to mind. Between the narrow roads with no sharrows, wide roads with no bike lanes, and drivers speeding with little consequence, bikers are left to fend for themselves as best we can.

According to MassDOT data, Newton's most dangerous intersection for bicyclists is where Homer Street meets Commonwealth Avenue between the carriage lane and main road. Between 2010 and 2020 there have been a total of 7 crashes there, 3 of which were incapacitating and 1 death. This was (thankfully) the only bicyclist death in Newton during this time frame. And because of this, it is even more important that the city pay attention to this critical intersection.

There are many factors contributing to the dangers of this intersection. For one, it is a double intersection, with the carriage lane crossing over Lowell Ave, and Comm Ave intersecting the start of Homer. The traffic light is located past the carriage lane, which, for unaware drivers leads them to cruise to the light often unaware of the carriage lane's crossing traffic. The city added a large X to mark this crossing but I have still witnessed drivers squeezing behind the last car at the light and blocking the road all together. For drivers crossing over the carriage lane on a green light, they are focused on driving and not looking for crossing traffic.

In addition, there are two lanes at the Lowell Ave light with no sharrows to alert drivers that bikes are turning and going straight too. So many drivers hug the right lane to make a turn on red with no forethought for bikes. Adding sharrows would be an easy way to increase awareness.

The bike lanes in Newton are completely disjointed and lack consistency. Here are a few scenarios just approaching the Homer St/Comm Ave intersection:

- You're riding West down Comm Ave past city hall in your newly painted bike lane, you get to the intersection with Homer, cross over, and bam, no more bike lane.

- You're going East down Comm Ave, you're taking up space in a lane with no sharrows, you get to the Homer St intersection and breathe a sigh of relief when you make it past to a freshly painted bike lane. And then just past city hall, the bike lane ends again and you are back to fending for yourself.*

- You're riding South on Lowell Ave or North on Homer toward the intersection and have no bike lane or sharrows to make your ride safer.

So far we've listed lack of awareness of bikes on the road, no sharrows and inconsistent bike lanes as contributing factors to the lethality of this intersection. Let's add the speed at which cars blast down Comm Ave. The 30 mph limit translates to 40 in many drivers' minds with little consequence. This is evident to anyone walking or riding on this road, feeling the weight of the cars whoosh past you at alarming speeds. Reducing the speed limit on ALL local Newton roads to 20 mph would greatly reduce the severity of crashes** experienced at this intersection and all others.

And so, DIY Newton did a drop last night at this intersection. This time we left a pallet sign AND a sign with statistics to let drivers know why they need to pay attention and stay alert.

*Funny how the bike lanes are only on the City Hall block and not on roads leading to and from. Does the city think we bike back and forth in a one block radius?

**Check out NACTO for more info on this simple solution!