The Overpass
I biked to the Green Line today from my home in MetroWest. For most of the way to the Woodland stop I ride along Route 16 feeling relatively safe. Sometimes the vehicles come a little close for comfort and I worry I might get run off the road. But I’m usually riding down the edge of the road, wearing a helmet, and not at risk of getting pushed into ongoing traffic, so I feel fairly safe. But then I get to that giant clusterf–k of roads surrounding the 95/128 overpass. In rapid succession you have Wales St., Quinobequin Road, the On and Off Ramps for the interstate, Neshobe Road, and finally Beacon Street.Every time I get there I feel like I take my life in my hands!
I obey the rules of traffic as much as possible when I commute by bike. It seems like the safest way. Today I tried to go straight through a green light while oncoming traffic was turning left. I had the right of way, yet they started and just kept going. If I wanted to get through, I would have had to insist. I started forward and whistled as loud as a could. An oncoming utility van with open windows slowed down, yelled at me, “You’re supposed to act like a car,” and then kept going. It was a nerve-racking situation. I was, in fact, behaving like a car, obeying the rules of traffic and I had the right of way. I made it through safely, but I was flustered, and a bit breathless.