The sun shines on Commonwealth Avenue once again.
Spring is finally here, bringing temperatures of up to 78 degrees Fahrenheit on Tuesday. And with the weather come Boston University students and other pedestrians making their way up and down campus, following and crossing Commonwealth Avenue.
In particular, the intersection of St. Mary’s Street and Commonwealth lies around several campus staples: just north are Marsh Plaza and BU Beach, west of those is the College of Arts and Sciences, and sandwiched in between lanes of traffic is the BU Central train stop.
Follow along for live reporting as pedestrians work around bikers, trains and cars all while crossing the street.
Working around the bus — 3:20 p.m.
On the north side of the intersection, pedestrians watched as the BU bus pulled away before crossing while the signal was red. Once the signal changed, however, it was only on for around a dozen seconds.
Signal timing staggered while crossing tracks — 3:25 p.m.
The signals controlling the north and south crosswalks are staggered from each other, giving pedestrians about 13 seconds to make it halfway across Commonwealth Avenue. Still, even after one pedestrian waited for the first signal, they crossed beneath the glowing orange hand after seeing no oncoming traffic.
Warmest day of the year so far, Globe reports — 3:31 p.m.
Today is the warmest day the city has had all year, according to the Boston Globe. At the intersection, there’s little cloud cover and a steady wind blowing east.
Photo by Andrew Burke-Stevenson
Horn blown as pedestrians cross train tracks — 3:38 p.m.
While two pedestrians walked across the tracks at BU Central, a westbound Green Line train blared its horn as it pulled into the stop. As it finished crossing the street, half a dozen people waiting at the curb walked out behind it.
Plenty of time while crossing St. Mary’s — 3:43 p.m.
The crosswalk signal for St. Mary’s Street stays on for over a minute, much more time than the longer Commonwealth Avenue intersections. However, there is also substantially less traffic down the one-way street, as the only way drivers get onto the road is by turning off of Commonwealth Avenue.
Electric scooters fly past pedestrians — 3:47 p.m.
As two pedestrians tried to cross two different parts of the intersection, a rider on an electric scooter drove by in front of them, stopping the walker in their stride.
Cars avoid bus stop, pedestrians — 3:55 p.m.
On top of pedestrians and bikers, drivers on Commonwealth Avenue have another road user to keep an eye out for: the 57 bus. The bus stops near the intersection are not recessed into the curb, cutting off part of the outside lane and all of the bike lane.
MAP: Looking at the intersection top-down — 4:02 p.m.
Take a look at the intersection from a birds-eye view:
View Larger Map
Pedestrians and drivers stop each other at St. Mary’s — 4:08 p.m.
While drivers turn left onto St. Mary’s Street and pedestrians attempt to cross the short walk, both stutter their movement as the other tries to go forth. A line of cars builds up across the tracks, and a group of pedestrians wait at the curb.
Quieter moment at the intersection — 4:14 p.m.
In a quiet moment on Commonwealth Avenue — when the cars and buses are stopped at a red light, the trains aren’t yet here and the pedestrians cross in silence, you can here the crosswalk signals chirp as a bright orange hand glows in the black frame. But just seconds later, the train’s bells ring and the chatter picks up once again.
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