CAMBRIDGE — About five months after the City of Cambridge began turning off certain downtown traffic lights and replacing them with three- and four-way stop signs, the traffic lights are officially coming down.
At a City Council meeting on July 8, the council voted unanimously to remove the traffic lights at six intersections where stop signs have been installed.
In a July 1 memo addressed to the City Council, Cambridge City Engineer Carl “Bucky” Jackson shared some background on this project. Last summer, the city contracted with The Traffic Group to complete a downtown traffic study, according to the memo. In December, the City Council voted to temporarily — pending feedback — replace the traffic lights with stop signs at certain intersections.
Since February, the city has replaced six intersections with stop signs over three phases. Those intersections are:
Spring Street and Gay StreetMuir Street and Race StreetMuse Street and Gay StreetHigh Street and Glasgow StreetHigh Street and Locust StreetGay Street and Poplar Street and Race Street
At the City Council meeting on July 8, acting City Manager David Deutsch said the city found no negatives associated with the study. He said there wasn’t an increase in traffic accidents, and neither the city nor police department received “feedback of any significant nature.”
In the memo, Jackson said the city received both positive and negative feedback about a week after each phase of the project was completed.
At a City Council meeting in March, Cornelia Turner expressed concerns about the switch from stop lights to stop signs.
“It’s a mess,” she said at the meeting. “I’ve almost been rear-ended.”
Jackson said that since all three phases were completed in mid-April, the city has received little to no feedback on switch to signs.
With City Council’s approval, Deutsch said the city would get started on taking down the traffic lights as quickly as possible. It will cost the city about $4,000 to remove the traffic lights and poles.
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