Now that I've slept on it and looked back at the slides, I see the problem. MassDOT considered fewer lanes (1st pic, items 7, 12) but they list an unbreakable constraint "Equal or better intersection Level of Service" (2nd pic).

The overpass is overbuilt today. If you require it to fit as many cars, of course you'll get a highway off ramp again!

#MassDOT forgets that #MassDCR is trying to shrink #MemorialDrive : https://mass.streetsblog.org/2024/12/13/dcr-will-start-tearing-out-pavement-for-memorial-drive-narrowing-project-in-2025

Livetoot thread: https://better.boston/@sky/115850780842273698

#CambridgeMA

I'll be livetooting at the #MassDOT meeting about the #MemorialDrive overpass

https://www.mass.gov/event/cambridge-bridge-replacement-memorial-drive-over-brookline-street-01-06-2026

1/?

#Massachusetts #SafeStreets #BUBridge #MassDCR #CambridgeMA

These crashes are not tragic anomalies, but indicators that something preventable failed — and crucially, can be fixed. Through measurable and outcome-based transformations, we can reshape the streets themselves and create mobility justice.

https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2025/4/9/lawrence-harvard-just-culture/

#CambridgeMA #BikeTooter #RoadSafety #MemorialDrive #Harvard #MassDCR

Here are the slides from today's public meeting about #MemorialDrive, with a list of short-term improvements they're planning to make to the dangerous rotary. They were also collecting input on what people would want out of a long-term solution.

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1d_Z4uyxO86RKuO6vzR_OZDcNIESdVIUW55MmyvCOyA4/edit?usp=sharing

#CambridgeMA #Cambridgeport #BUBridge #MassDCR

"How could an unprotected 3-foot patch of asphalt wedged between a highway and a riverbank possibly be safe?" resident Jacob Klaybor asked during public comment, recalling a near-miss seven years ago when a car drove off Memorial Drive and into a tree less than 5 feet ahead of him. "A freshly paved four-lane stretch of roadway next to a crumbling, narrow path serves the interest of neither conservation nor recreation."

https://www.cambridgeday.com/2024/10/01/though-memorial-drive-council-order-is-paused-changes-are-coming-after-the-death-of-a-bicyclist/

#CambridgeMA #Massachusetts #MassDCR #BikeTooter #Boston #transit

“That’s why we’re here, because his death was a tragedy,” he added. “Senseless, ridiculous, to be grieved for, never to be done again. This didn’t have to happen.”

https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2024/9/30/corcoran-crash-memorial/

#CambridgeMA #Harvard #Massachusetts #BikeTooter #MassDCR #MemorialDrive #GhostBike