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South Huntington slip and slide claims another victim
By adamg on Wed, 08/13/2014 - 10:19pm
At 9:18 p.m. Mr. Eggcorn posted this photo of the latest wet-weather crash on South Huntington Avenue. Maybe it's time the city posted "Slippery When Wet" signs at either end of the stretch between Heath Street and Huntington Avenue.
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Comments
Trolly Tracks..
Yea, you don't drive on them, wet or dry. Your tires should be on either side. Not hard to do.
Not so simple
to do that in this area. With two lanes of traffic, and the T tracks (and the rubber around them) encroaching into the driving lane, you are going to be driving on the tracks at some point whether you like it or not, and even if you aren't on the actual tracks, if I I'm picturing this correctly, you are still going to be riding on the rubber that is slick when wet.
Good luck with that...
Well, that's great, except South Huntington is two lanes in each direction, so if you drive without your tires on the tracks, you have two choices: straddle both lanes in one direction; or cross ~8 inches over the double-solid line into incoming traffic.
Strangely, there seems to be quiet consensus on the matter in the morning, when northbound traffic crosses the center line and southbound traffic straddles two lanes to make room for their lane-encroaching contemporaries going the other way. But that's a horrible way of doing things.
This, of course, was much less of a problem before the T ripped up the metal grating around the tracks a few years ago. It was supposedly to keep the T from derailing on that stretch of road, but I have to wonder if 1 minor derailment a year is worse, on net, than two major motor-vehicle accidents every time it rains.
I avoid this stretch of So. Huntington like the plague.
I agree driving on the trolley tracks is dangerous but on Huntington Ave in the stretch between the intersection with So. Huntington and the Brigham, it is impossible to stay off the tracks. Two lanes of traffic, parked cars on either side and the E train barreling down the middle, I am frequently forced onto the tracks if I don't want to be hit by the trolley or by an oncoming uber sized SUV's driver's side mirror.
Um, how exactly does avoiding
Um, how exactly does avoiding a trolley force you ON to the tracks?
Shouldn't avoiding a trolley that is on the trolley tracks force you OFF the tracks?
If you are in the center lane
If you go north in the left lane (say, around a double-parked car), then you might put your wheels to the left of the tracks and try to remain *juuuuust* within the double yellow divider. However, when a train comes south at you, you have to slide to the right because it goes pretty much flush against the yellow line and your mirror or something would get taken out instead. BUT by flinching and moving right that much to let the train go by in the opposite direction, you've put your wheels on the tracks again just as if you were another trolley passing each other...and wham-o...now you're sideways and headed towards the curb.
I should have been clearer,
I should have been clearer, If i am traveling toward Brigham Circle on Huntington between So. Huntington and say Mission Park, oncoming trolleys heading toward SO. Huntington almost brush my car if I am driving in the left lane lane. (say to take the left at Fenwood Rd). Lots of drivers go way too fast along this stretch.
That makes more sense.
That makes more sense.
But realize that that trolley will get very close to you, but would never actually hit your car as long as you're on your side of the double yellow. Unlike cars, trolleys can't move side-to-side in the lane, they're always going to be in the same place.
And if two trolleys can pass each other without touching, then you can pass a trolley, since your car is likely much smaller than a trolley. So you really don't need to move over as long as you're fully in your lane.
Simple solution would be to
Simple solution would be to remove the on street parking, give the green line its own dedicated lane, and put up guard rails to stop cars from crashing over the sidewalk into buildings.
It's not always intentional
I've been hit head-on on this street because of wet tracks. Neither myself nor the other driver were going faster than 25mph. It's just a dangerous area. I completely avoid it now if it's raining.
There shouldn't even be T
There shouldn't even be T tracks up S.Huntington, or Huntington from Brigham Circle on. A couple of years ago the MBTA decided to stop E-line services past Brigham Circle (except on the weekend i think) which lasted for about a month then it started up again. I've always wondered why. Huntington between Brigham Circle and Riverway is complete mess on any given time of day - getting rid of a redundant T line that makes stops every two months would at least relieve some of that traffic and kill the S.Huntington Slide I've witnessed first hand on multiple occasions.
The Green Line trolleys aren't the problem
I used to work on this stretch of Huntington - the trains and tracks aren't the issue. The drivers are the issue. Speeding, ignoring the existence of the tracks, changing lanes without regard to the traction in order to blow around other vehicles, blowing through the crosswalks at the stops ...
Why penalize those who live beyond Huntington Circle - or work at or need to go to the VA hospital - because these drivers can't behave themselves? How about traffic calming measures, aggressive ticketing of double-parked vehicles, and separating the tracks from the travel lane. I would suggest separating the tracks, and having one travel lane each direction with raised crossings where people need to get onto the trains.
Yeah, removing green line
Yeah, removing green line service to the VA hospital will "relieve" traffic. Just like removing A line trolley service to Brighton "relieved" traffic on Washington Street.
The 2012 service cuts
The 2012 service cuts eliminated E service beyond Brigham on weekends (but left weekday service).
However, the T quickly realized that it was quicker and easier to just run the trains to Heath to turn them on the loop, rather than have the operator switch ends on the platform at Brigham and then use the crossover (not to mention passenger confusion from boarding/unloading on the wrong side). So they unofficially began carrying passengers to Heath on the weekends again, and after a few months the T quietly removed any reference to there not being weekend service.