Ian Woloschin

  • 186 Hampshire Street Cambridge, Massachusetts, 02139 - Mid-Cambridge

    Parked vehicle obstructing the Cycle Track. Fortunately no other cars were parked legally, providing opportunity for cyclists to safely go around. Unfortunately, with nothing stopping other cars from parking legally, the Cycle Track becomes a trap when cars park like this.

    Called CPD to report it immediately after taking the attached photo, the operator appeared to be unaware of what a Cycle Track is or why this form of obstructed infrastructure is so dangerous & frustrating. I strongly recommend educating CPD Dispatchers on what sorts of infrastructure exist in Cambridge.

    Please forward this issue to DPW so they can deploy traffic cones immediately and flexposts when they are able to. Cones can be moved from other areas of Hampshire St that already have flexposts installed.

  • Hampshire St & Broadway Cambridge, Massachusetts, 02139 - The Port
    This intersection needs more signage, paint, or physical protection to alert motorists that they may not continue straight or make a right anymore. Google Maps also is still giving illegal directions.
  • Broadway & Galileo Galilei Way Cambridge, MA, 02142, USA - East Cambridge
    The cycle track is often obstructed by pedestrians waiting for the crosswalk to change. Please install green markings inside the crosswalks across the cycle track to help better indicate that pedestrians should not wait in the middle of the cycle tracks.
  • Hampshire St & Portland St Cambridge, Massachusetts, 02139 - The Port

    Tractor trailer obstructing the cycle track & bus stop. Stopped in the rain to call CPD as this is super dangerous. Not visible in the photograph is the liftgate right at cyclists' head height, making this obstruction far more dangerous than most.

    CPD allegedly sent a police officer though I didn't stick around in the rain to see what happened.

    If this is a common occurrence can Cambridge please work with the area businesses to make shared use of the massive loading dock behind 1 Hampshire St?

    Finally, sure, the bollards were not yet installed, but they would not have helped here. If the bollards were installed they would have also prevented me from safely merging back into the cycle track, so I would have had to just take the lane.

  • Cambridge St & Hampshire St Cambridge, Massachusetts, 02139 - Wellington-Harrington
    The queuing area for cyclists to continue East on Cambridge St is not wide enough or long enough for cyclists continuing south on Hampshire St to safely pass. Please increase the queueing space or fix the traffic light signal. This is a significant downgrade from the prior intersection.
  • Hampshire St & Broadway Cambridge, Massachusetts, 02139 - The Port

    Motorists are not respecting the new Left Turn Only Signage & Signals at Hampshire @ Broadway. I, and several other cyclists, were nearly run over by a motorists intent on not turning left this morning at approximately 8:20am.

    There were no police officers on site who could assist with enforcement/education. I did call CPD's Non-Emergency line and requested officers be visibly present to help enforce/educate the new Left Turn Only signage & signals.

  • Antrim St & Cambridge St Cambridge, MA, 02139, USA - Mid-Cambridge
    Cyclists coming south on Beacon St to Hampshire St have a green light across Antrim St at the same time as pedestrians attempting to cross Cambridge St. This puts cyclists and pedestrians at a 90° conflict. We do not give a pedestrian walk signal while cars have a green light, so why does the signal phasing allow pedestrians and cyclists to conflict here?
  • Cambridge St & Lambert St Cambridge, MA, 02141, USA - East Cambridge

    The crosswalk across Cambridge St from Lambert St to Fulkerson St is at a dangerous angle instead of 90° directly across Cambridge St. Please repaint proper, right angle crosswalks immediately. While walking a giant cargo bike across this crosswalk this morning I was almost run over by an absolutely enormous SUV. They should have seen me, but the wonky angle of the crosswalk across the street does not help the situation.

    I called CPD and left a voicemail with the Traffic Enforcement Division to request Traffic Enforcement until this action can be completed. Please work with CPD to ensure pedestrian safety at this dangerous intersection.

  • 50 Hampshire Street Cambridge, MA, 02139, USA - The Port
    There is a (temporary?) crosswalk installed with no line of sight. Several cyclists, including myself, almost crashed this morning when a pedestrian suddenly popped out from behind the truck (see picture). If this crosswalk must remain please install temporary curbing to ensure vehicles are not parking within 20' of the crosswalk.
  • Hampshire St Cambridge, Massachusetts, 02139 - Mid-Cambridge

    Cyclists coming from Porter Square have a Green Bicycle Signal, motorists turning right have a Yellow Right Turn Arrow, yet motorists routinely fail to yield to cyclists continuing straight. Please switch the signal phasing to disallow cross traffic while cyclists have a Green Bicycle Signal.

    If changing the signal phasing is impossible this turn then needs to be sharpened to slow cross traffic down to a the speed of a baby crawling.

  • 142-150 Hampshire St Cambridge, MA, 02139, USA - Cambridge

    Truck obstruction bicycle lane, crosswalk and one way street exit. Called CPD Non-Emergency line, by the time I hung up the truck was attempting to reverse into traffic (including cyclists) and I had to move to avoid being run over.

    Please install protected bicycle infrastructure on Hampshire St and/or have CPD regularly sweep the street during rush hour to prevent obstructed bicycle lanes.

  • Hampshire St & Murdock St Cambridge, MA, 02139, USA - Cambridge
    Roadwork signs are placed in the bike lane in both directions. I asked the detail officer if a safer location could be found for these signs and he said "Nope!" Forcing cyclists to merge into traffic seems unsafe, could street parking be restricted during working hours to make this safer?
  • Broadway & Galileo Galilei Way Cambridge, MA, 02142, USA - East Cambridge
    No Turn On Red Sign has been removed. Almost run over by two trucks making illegal right on red. Significant danger to cyclists attempting to go straight on green light.
  • 100 One Kendall Square Cambridge, MA, 02139, USA - The Port

    Sysco tractor trailer parked in the bus top and obstructing the bike lane. For bonus points there was a huge liftgate that was hard to see in the glare from the sun at just the right height to decapitate a cyclist.

    Please find a way to prevent trucks from parking in this bus stop and obstructing the bike lane here.

    I called CPD at the scene and provided this information, posting an issue here since it is unclear if the two systems are linked in any meaningful way.

    Of note, this is the second day in a row that a truck was parked here around the same time. This is not an isolated issue, this is a consistent hotspot that requires actual corrective action beyond just enforcement. Please ensure this ticket is seen by someone outside of CPD as they clearly do not have the resources to ensure bus rider & cyclist safety here.

  • 147-151 Hampshire St Cambridge, MA, 02139, USA - Wellington-Harrington

    Box truck parked poorly in a bus stop. The truck was over 1ft from the curb and also blocking the bike lane. Shortly after taking this picture a CT2 bus arrived and blocked all traffic while allowing passengers on/off in the middle of the street.

    Please do something, anything really, to prevent trucks from parking in this bus stop! Consider working with adjacent building management to encourage proper use of loading docks.

    And yes, I stood outside in the rain and called CPD to let them know about this problem because it is absolutely ridiculous that hundreds of cyclists and bus riders are inconvenienced by a single vehicle parking illegally.

  • 300 One Kendall Square Cambridge, MA, 02139, USA - The Port

    The pavement markings around here, specifically the bicycle lanes, are complete faded. This is presumably from heavy vehicles driving over the pavement markings. Please repaint the pavement markings here, with the following additions.

    1) Actually paint the bike lane on the parking side, to help motorists park as close to the curb as possible. Use dashes across driveways or fire hydrants as needed.
    2) From Portland St to Broadway please put down green in the full bike lanes to help indicate the conflict zones. If this whole stretch cannot be done focus on the turn approaching Broadway. This was done at other conflict zones on Hampshire St so I imagine this should be straightforward to implement here as well.

    Happy to meet someone at this location during the day for a brief walkthrough if there is any confusion with this request.

  • 300 One Kendall Square Cambridge, MA, 02139, USA - The Port

    I don't know if this is the right bucket, but I'd like to request flex posts, bollards, or some other vertical separation of the bike lane on Hampshire St between Portland St & Broadway. I often find cars ignore lane markings and larger vehicles (buses, trucks, etc) have trouble not dragging the rear wheels through the bike lane while making the tight turn to approach the intersection with Broadway.

    How can we make this small section of road safer for cyclists?

  • Galileo Galilei Way Cambridge, MA, 02142, USA - The Port
    The new protected intersection at Broadway & Galileo Galilei Way was once again not cleared of snow. Please ensure that this infrastructure is cleared of snow in a timely matter.
  • 31-33 Portsmouth Street Cambridge, MA, 02141, USA - Cambridge

    USPS van parked in the bike lane. Right after I took this picture he drove up another block, and obstructed the bike lane again (see picture below). I stopped to take another picture, which drew the attention of a CPD cruiser going the other way.

    I asked the officer if we could do anything, he claimed he's "sweeping for bike lane obstructions" but he did not appear to be able to issue a ticket. I did not call CPD since they were already on scene and unable to assist.

    The USPS driver then tried yelling at me that I was running red lights, as if that made obstructing a bike lane ok. I do not run red lights (it's illegal, dangerous, and stupid!), so I'm not sure who he was talking about, but even if I had done something wrong I don't understand how two wrongs cancel each other out here. During this encounter the CPD officer was present, but still did not get out of their cruiser to intervene with a private citizen being harassed.

  • Hampshire St Cambridge, MA, 02139, USA - Cambridge

    The bike lanes on Hampshire St are covered in slippery, wet leaves. Slippery enough that when the cyclist in front of me slowed to let a pedestrian cross, my rear wheel instantly locked up and I went down, hard, falling into the car lane. Thankfully no cars were approaching so I did not get run over.

    Street sweeping really needs to be done more frequently than once a month during the fall, at least on major bicycle corridors. I called CPD and reported the public safety issue, but it's not clear if anything will come of that so I'm reporting it here as well.