Description

Since the new School of Management building opened, there have been increased and routine car/bike/pedestrian conflicts, especially during morning rush hour, evening rush hour lunch hours, and periodically with class times . The signaled pedestrian phase is helpful but many problems at the intersection remain. Problems include:

A. Frequent pedestrian crossing against signal into fast-moving traffic
B. Illegal right turns against the light from Sachem to Whitney, endangering pedestrians
C. Inadequate bike parking (<10 spots); bikes are affixed to street signs and sometimes interfere with vehicle lanes on Whitney.
D. Pedestrian/bike conflicts; new bike path to Pearl St requires riders to use sidewalk for ~30ft stretch, most do not dismount.
E. Elementary school groups visiting Peabody often crowd the northwest corner and endanger children, especially when school buses are parked on Sachem.

This problem extends the existing pedestrian/car conflicts south of Trumbull (e.g. 55 Whitney). Traffic calming seems to be increasingly importantly along this stretch.

Whitney is narrow and fast at that intersection, so bump-outs are not feasible. Solutions could include:
A. Better defined pedestrian crosswalks (like Chapel/York)
B. Traffic calming measures north of intersection, like "Reduce Speed Ahead" signage
C. Enforcement of no-right-turn-on-red rules
D. Increased bike parking at School of Management
E. Segregate bike path from footpath
F. Require alternative parking for school groups at Peabody, possibly in the Humphrey lot.

I'm not sure refuge islands are possible along Whitney, but they would usefully signal to southbound traffic that Whitney is becoming increasingly pedestrian-heavy.