Jason Stockmann

  •
    Damaged Sign Archived
    23 16th Street Boston, Massachusetts - Charlestown
    Stop sign is missing from the intersection of 16th Street and 3rd Ave, making the intersection dangerous for drivers and pedestrians.
  • Pothole Archived
    218-250 Massachusetts Avenue Boston, Massachusetts - Fenway-Kenmore
    Broken pavement, potholes, and bumps in the bike lane make it hazardous for cyclists, especially in slippery conditions. This is already a difficult stretch of Mass Ave for riding with the combination of car doors and heavy traffic. Repairing the pavement surface in the bike lane would be a big help.
  • 71-99 Museum Way Cambridge, Massachusetts - East Cambridge
    Cars turning right from North Point Blvd. onto Museum Way are traveling at high speed and failing to yield to bicycles in the bike lane. I've been cut off at this intersection at least half a dozen times. Signage in the area alerting drivers to bicycles could help. Also in general traffic calming on North Point Blvd. would help, including raised intersections, chicanes, and curb bumpouts for pedestrians. North Point Blvd. has the feel of a suburban collector rather than a city street, and this encourages cars to travel fast.
  • Twin Cities Plaza Somerville, Massachusetts - Somerville
    Excessive drag racing on the Route 28 viaduct over the railroad tracks, especially at night. Hot rods and motorcycles rev their engines here and travel at excessive speed. This creates an extremely hostile environment for other motorists, for pedestrians, and for residents living in the densely populated adjacent areas of Cambridge and Somerville. Traffic calming and improved enforcement along Route 28 are needed to keep the drag racing and speeding at bay.
  • Pothole Archived
    21 Medford Street Somerville, Massachusetts - Somerville
    Severe and extensive potholes near the railroad tracks on Medford St create a hazard for pedestrians, cyclists, and motorists. The potholes also create excessive wear-and-tear on vehicles. They also contribute to an uninviting and hostile atmosphere in the surrounding area and neighborhood. I would encourage the City of Somerville to move these potholes up on the priority list for patching this season.
  • 105 Gore St Cambridge, Massachusetts - East Cambridge

    Too much heavy traffic on the residential portion of Gore Street, including unauthorized truck traffic cutting through the neighborhood. Heavy through traffic should be routed to Cambridge St and the O'Brien Highway. The traffic volumes disrupt quality of life, generate excessive noise inside residences, and make the neighborhood feel less walkable and inviting to pedestrians, weakening bonds between neighbors.

    I suggest implementing a restricted turn from Third St to Gore St such as "no turn during rush hour" or residents-only access. Alternatively Gore St could be made one-way to reduce traffic volumes and better accommodate vehicles on a street that is too narrow to properly serve two-way traffic.

  • Other Open
    North Point Boulevard Cambridge, Massachusetts - East Cambridge
    Drag racing sports cars and motorcycles on North Bank Boulevard and nearby MBTA Green Line parking lot. Especially bad at night. Traffic calming needed along this long stretch of straight road, which invites speeders.
  • North Bank Park Cambridge, MA - East Cambridge

    The North Bank bicycle and pedestrian bridge is not being cleared by the Department of Conservation and Recreation after winter snow storms. I believe the DCR considers the bridge a recreational amenity rather than an important commuter route. This is simply not the case.

    I want to report that many people, including myself, use the bridge as a commuter link between Cambridge and Charlestown. It is a much better bicycle link than the adjacent Gilmore Bridge (whose sidewalk is also not being properly cleared and de-iced... see SCF report on this bridge as well).

    I don't understand why the DCR thinks the bike/ped bridge is unworthy of its resources. In fact, it's one of the most important "parks" in the Boston area, since potentially hundreds of commuters rely on it daily. I am one of dozens upon dozens, if not hundreds, of Ph.D.s who work at a huge Mass General research campus in Charlestown and live in Cambridge. I'd like to think that our commute is worth of a modest public expenditure to clear the bridge. If anything, the DCR should be going out of its way to encourage bicycle commutation, even in the winter, as an alternative to driving.

    Why invest millions of public dollars in a healthy commuter link and then let it sit unused for several months each year rather than spend a modest amount clearing it of snow? That is a very poor use of public resources.

  • 114-150 Mansfield St New Haven, CT 06511, USA - Dixwell
    Dozens of residents on Mansfield St ride bicycles on a daily basis, but there are no bicycle racks on the street. Presently people must hitch their bikes to whatever posts, fences, or signs they happen upon, making for awkward bike parking and putting the bikes at risk. Residents and students on the street would benefit from a partnership between landlords and Yale to provide one bicycle rack per block on each side of the street. This modest investment would promote sustainable transportation, deter bicycle theft, and possibly contribute to real estate values.
  • 643 W. 172nd St. New York, NY - Borough Park

    New York is drenched in unnecessary honking, but in Washington Heights the problem is simply unbearable. Since the neighborhood is served by very few yellow cabs, hundreds of gypsy cabs ply the streets and honk whenever they see someone standing on the sidewalk to get their attention. This is a poor business practice and a non-stop, round-the-clock source of noise that seems to penetrate into every apartment in the neighborhood.

    Aside from gypsy cabs, many motorists in the neighborhood are in the habit of pulling up outside someone's apartment and using their car horn as a doorbell. This is gratuitous and very unfair. There is no need to announce your arrival to every single person on the street and bludgeon their ears with your car horn. Traffic citations should be issued for this practice.

    The third vector of the honking plague is simply motorist anger, aggression, and impatience. Hesitating for more than a nanosecond at a green light, attempting to change lanes, double parking for 2 seconds to drop someone off, etc., etc., are all occasion for you, and everyone within earshot, to endure a vicious aural assault. This of course happens throughout the city, but in a honking hotspot like Washington Heights, it really adds insult to injury.

    Excessive noise is more than a nuisance, particularly when it drifts in through windows and walls into your home. It has been associated with increased blood pressure, difficulty focusing on and completing tasks, and a sense of hopelessness. To say nothing of its effect on sleep. According to the NY Times, the city has anti honking ordinance, but it is not enforced:

    http://www.nytimes.com/1990/03/06/science/research-on-noise-disappears-in-the-din.html?pagewanted=1

    In tonier neighborhoods, there are signs warning of fines for unlawful honking. I'm not implying that these signs are actually observed, but at least they have some sort of calming effect in nice neighborhoods. But in poor areas like Washington Heights, already under stress from a host of other social problems, unmitigated honking has reached an absolutely intolerable level.

    Cynics will scoff at any serious effort to curb honking in NY City. Others will even embrace honking as an indelible part of NY's distinctive urban fabric. I disagree. I think honking can and should be muzzled. I consider it a public health issue, not merely a quality of life issue. If you agree that a campaign should be waged against honking, vote for this issue on SCF.

    Speaking more generally, if NY City wants to take itself seriously as a pedestrian and transit-oriented town, instead of continuing to kowtow to the automobile, then motorists need to know that if they're driving through the city they need to treat it with respect (this also applies to the reckless speeding and maneuvering that is pandemic in NYC).

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