Absolutely. This is very unsafe. Especially where the traffic is coming in from the pike and many of the cars and trucks are not from this area. As a pedestrian, I would rather a 4 way red light to safely pass over Mass Ave and Prospect st.

Councilors Mallon and Siddiqui sponsored a Policy Order to have the City Manager and Traffic, Parking, and Transportation (TPT) to look at the feasibility of an all-walk phase in Central Square back in February. Here is TPT's report on the issue: https://cambridgema.iqm2.com/Citizens/FileOpen.aspx?Type=4&ID=4690

TPT concluded that a "super leading pedestrian interval (LPI)", with a 15-second lead time for pedestrians rather than the current 5-second interval, would better accomplish the goal of reducing pedestrian-vehicle conflicts compared to an all-walk phase.

You can hear Councilors Mallon and Siddiqui discuss the proposed Super LPI in their podcast, starting 2 minutes and 40 seconds into their March 29 episode: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/women-are-here-episode-8-3-29-2018/id1341060679?i=1000407776052&mt=2. They praised the Super LPI, which was also endorsed by the Livable Streets Alliance, the Cambridge Pedestrian Committee, and WalkBoston.

In the podcast they said the new Super LPI would be implemented "in a few months". Not sure what the timing is looking like now.

Thank you

Thank you for reporting your concern to City of Cambridge via Commonwealth Connect. We have reviewed the information you provided our staff and will be investigating this issue further.

Exclusive pedestrian phases are typically used at locations with lower volumes of pedestrians where drivers may be less likely to expect a pedestrian in the crosswalk during the green phase. In locations of high pedestrian volumes, our experience shows that pedestrians will disregard the signal indications if concurrent phasing is not provided, which can result in additional confusion potential unsafe conflicts. Pedestrians waiting for an exclusive pedestrian phase experience considerably higher delay than in a concurrent system, as the walk signals display DON’T WALK indications in all directions for the majority of the signal cycle.

Given the extremely high pedestrian volumes in Central Square, it is necessary to provide continuous movement for pedestrians throughout the signal cycle. In order to further improve safety for pedestrians, the Traffic Department will be installing upgraded traffic signals that delay the right turn movements in the northbound, eastbound, and westbound direction to allow pedestrians to cross before conflicting turning vehicles begin moving.

This work is ongoing and should be completed later this year.

Thank you for your report.

Thanks for fixing this request!