If its a choice between traffic jamming up on the parkway or traffic jamming up on sidestreets from people trying to cut ahead of traffic on the parkway, the parkway should get the advantage with a lot more cars coming through. Maybe they can keep the green light going a little longer to allow more cars through each light.

The issue is not traffic jamming on the parkway. The issue is that, if cars can turn right on red at that intersection, a lot more cars flow from Rindge onto the parkway, and that keeps traffic moving. Without the right turn on red, the cars back up all the way down Rindge, a mile back, even if traffic is flowing on the parkway.

In my "not-a-traffic-engineer" opinion, I believe a large part of the problem is that drivers coming over the bridge continue through on yellow lights and don't leave any room for drivers turning to get on ABP and continue forward. With the previous ability to turn right on red, these drivers could turn once the light on the parkway turned green and the drivers at the bridge still had a red light... but this is no longer possible (read: legal). This, combined with a number of other factors (like the traffic pattern changing with absolutely zero communication, etc) is causing the extreme backups we're seeing.

I live off of Cedar and have lines of cars when trying to turn out of my driveway every morning now... which I've never had. It takes 15-20 minutes longer to get out to Rt. 2 in the morning now. Hell, it took my partner 15 minutes to get from Cedar to Sherman street the other day which is just obnoxious.

*sigh* word choice. I want to point out that that isn't an expletive, but apparently seeclickfix has decided to treat it as such.

Another major issue with that intersection is that, for cars traveling west along Rindge Ave toward Alewife Brook Parkway, the single lane of traffic is supposed to become two lanes, one turning right onto ABP, and other turning left onto ABP (this is supposed to happen right after the traffic light by the entrance to Comeau Field). But because Rindge is narrow, those two lanes are very narrow, and it's usually hard for larger vehicles (vans, SUVs) to be side-by-side in those two lanes. So the traffic ends up remaining in one lane, right up until the cars approach the ABP intersection. This adds to the slow-down too, because it just takes longer for vehicles to reach the intersection, so fewer vehicles pass through on any given green light.

The new "No Turn on Red" sign has caused so much traffic congestion all along Rindge and side streets, that there is now a discussion thread about it on Nextdoor.com with over 150 comments. The discussion has been going on for four days and still going strong. People are very concerned: https://nextdoor.com/news_feed/?post=129687074

Issue 6990028 has been marked as a duplicate of this issue.

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.

Just adding to this - the sign caused a new, different problem that is no better than the old issue. Now, there is so much traffic in the neighborhood that it blocks the sidewalks and I saw kids crossing in between cars blocking the sidewalks. There has to be a better solution than just throwing up a sign and dusting your hands off saying, yep, that'll do. I walk, I bike and I drive - so I want safety for all - but it's got to be a balance. Like above, I am not a traffic engineer, but some combination of giving those taking a right on ABP from Rindge (perhaps a green arrow) or a longer Rindge Ave lifecycle or allowing right on red after stopping would work better. At the very least, some study needs to take place - the current solution caused way more problems.

Issue 6959149 has been marked as a duplicate of this issue.

Issue 6988128 has been marked as a duplicate of this issue.

Issue 6999522 has been marked as a duplicate of this issue.

Alewife Brook Parkway is a state roadway so we are working with the Department of Conservation & Recreation to address the situation.

Dear Traffic KC (Admin) - be advised that I received this mail this morning from DCR:

"Good Afternoon Mr. ___!

Thank you for contacting the Department of Conservation and Recreation regarding the “No Turn on Red” sign. This sign was requested by the City of Cambridge’s traffic department. I would suggest reaching out to them to find out their reasoning, and to see if you can get a copy of their study.

Please let me know if I can assist with anything else.

Best Regards,
Ashley N. Rosone
DCR Community Relations Manager
617-626-1412
Ashley.Rosone@mass.gov"

It seems they put the sign up AT YOUR REQUEST. This is a huge problem. Kindly take down that sign and come up with a better solution. Numerous ones have been proposed here and neighborhood.com.

Issue 7011087 has been marked as a duplicate of this issue.

Hi Cambridge Traffic Parking and Transportation Staff, I wanted to add to this complaint by letting you know that there was a car accident yesterday, Tuesday, November 26, at the intersection of Rindge Ave and Reed Street, around 3:40pm. It involved two cars, at least one of which had children as passengers. It was a bad accident, the side of one car was badly dented in and scraped all along its surface. Two police officers were on the scene helping the people involved in the accident, and directing car and foot traffic. There continues to be heavy traffic backed up on Rindge and along the side streets feeding on to Rindge because of the new "No Right Turn on Red" sign at the intersection of Rindge and Alewife Brook Parkway. I believe this congestion may have contributed, in part, to yesterday's car accident. I remain hopeful that you can remove the "No Turn on Red" sign as soon as possible, to prevent additional accidents caused by this congestion.

The Department of Conservation and Recreation has removed the NO TURN ON RED sign.

Thank you for your report.