Transportation for Life
Peter Furth’s Blog
Arborway: Yes! DCR Designates Alternative 4 As “Preferred”
Of the four alternatives for redesigning Arborway presented in January, 2022, I am very pleased that the DCR has announced that Alternative 4 is its preferred alternative. Alternative 4’s main features are signalized intersections in place of the two large, existing...
Comments on DCR’s Proposed Arborway Improvements
Overall, the DCR's proposed ideas for long-term improvements for Arborway, from Kelly Circle (at Jamaica Pond), through Murray Circle, to Forest Hills, are fantastic. Still, there are a lot of details that need attention, and some of the alternatives presented are not...
Insane Bike Traffic Signal in Brookline Tells Bikes to Stop when it’s Safe to Go
Hey, look, there's a new bicycle signal on Route 9 in Brookline, at the intersection with the Brook House driveway, where they just finished building a new protected bike lane! But wait – do you see what’s crazy in this picture? The cars have a green light; the...
How a Single-Track Section Limits Headways on the Old Colony Trunk
Peter Furth, 3/8/2021 Single-track sections are common enough on branch lines, but Old Colony has a single track section on its trunk line, from just north of Andrew Station to Victory Road, a distance of 2.6 miles. It is well recognized that single-track...
Sustainable Transportation Dialogue Courses to be Offered Online Summer 2020
While all on-site dialogue programs have been canceled in 2020, we will be offering CIVE 4566 and CIVE 4567 as on-line courses during Summer 2. The online format makes it possible for all students to take the courses, whether they applied for a Dialogue of...
Are 2-way Cycle Tracks Unsafe? A Closer Look at the 2019 IIHS Study
A recent IIHS study comparing protected bike lanes with other forms of bike infrastructure found an unexpected result: That 2-way, street-level protected bike lanes, also called cycle tracks, carried 11.4 times greater risk of injury than riding in the street on a...
Change the Safety Culture: Prosecute the Truck Driver who Killed Cyclist Anita Kurmann
I am grateful for the effort that has been made to illuminate the circumstances around the death of bicyclist Dr. Anita Kurmann on August 7, 2015. Dr. Kurmann was killed when a 48 foot semi-trailer truck executed a sharp right turn in front of her at the intersection...