Cambridge has launched a formal Intersection Safety Program aimed at its most crash-prone corners, starting with Massachusetts Avenue at Albany Street near MIT, after seven traffic deaths in the city over the past four years, Cambridge Day reported Friday, Sept. 25.
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The Cambridge Department of Transportation (CDOT) has reviewed dangerous intersections before, but the new Cambridge intersection safety program creates a standing, data-driven process that will be refreshed every two years. City staff said the push grew out of concerns raised by the City Council and others following recent fatal crashes.
Mass Ave at Albany Tops High Crash Locations List
CDOT ranks “High Crash Locations” using a score based on how many crashes occur, how severe they are, and whether people walking or biking were involved. The underlying data comes from MassDOT’s crash database, cross-checked with the Cambridge Police Department’s records, with extra weight for vulnerable road users. Mass Ave at Albany Street ranks as the city’s most dangerous intersection.
Two more intersections were picked for the first round of reviews: Mass Ave at Vassar Street and Hampshire Street at Prospect Street, both on the busy corridor linking MIT, Central Square, and Inman Square. CDOT street design project manager Leah Grodstein said safety reviews and improvements at all three will begin this year, though exact schedules are not final. A project page for Mass Ave and Albany is already online, with the others to follow.
Quick-Build Fixes: Bumblebee Strips and Corner Islands
Most changes are expected to be quick-build projects—signal timing adjustments, flex posts, signage, and pavement markings designed to slow drivers and improve sightlines. Newer tools include corner islands that tighten turns and yellow-and-black “bumblebee” strips that replace flex posts at the mouth of an intersection so buses and fire trucks can still roll over them. Some locations could ultimately require full reconstruction.
Beyond the top-ranked sites, the program will make smaller targeted fixes at other higher-crash intersections without a lengthy design process. An interactive map on the city’s Intersection Safety Program website shows rankings, project status, and completed work, Cambridge Day reported, and residents can sign up for safety updates there.
Vision Zero Gaps: State Roads and Regional Comparisons
The effort is part of Cambridge’s Vision Zero goal of eliminating fatal and serious-injury crashes. Neighboring Somerville has gone four straight years without a road death, Cambridge Day noted. Chris Cassa of Cambridge Bicycle Safety welcomed the systematic approach but pointed out that it does not cover crossings on state-controlled roads such as Memorial Drive, Fresh Pond Parkway, and McGrath Highway, urging city and state officials to press MassDOT and DCR for fixes there.
Street safety has been a recurring theme across the region this fall, from the River Street Bridge crash that sent debris into the Charles to Boston’s bus lane camera fines starting Oct. 1. For Cambridge commuters crossing Mass Ave near MIT, the first visible changes could arrive before year’s end.
Background: The Boston Globe reported on Oct. 2 that likely quick-build measures at Mass Ave and Albany Street include signal changes, flex posts, signs, pavement markings and corner islands. Exact installation timing had not been finalized.
Sources
- Cambridge Day: Cambridge's worst intersections getting safety makeovers
- Boston Globe: Cambridge targets its highest-crash intersections
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