u/AdImpossible2555

Readers of r/ArlingtonMA recently engaged in a discussion of folks stopping for the yellow flashing light on the Route 2 frontage road at Dow Avenue.

The yellow flashing light is going away.

MassDOT will begin work on Monday (August 17) that will, among other things, convert the two Dow Avenue intersections into an all-way stop. Plans around the intersections call for reducing the frontage roads to one lane as they approach Dow Avenue.

The only detail comes from the two photos posted by MassDOT, but it appears there will be additional work that includes a 5' bike lane with 3' buffer between Pleasant Street and Watertown Street in Lexington. The photos hint at channelizing traffic around the on-off ramps.

MassDOT reports that work on the project will extend for the next two weeks.

Alewife Brook used to look more like a river and was called "Menotomy River" when it was connected to Fresh Pond. That connection was severed around 1873, when a dam was built over by the Fresh Pond rotary. Later that connection was forced underground. But remnants of the hydrological connection may still exist - back in the 1990s, environmental activists noticed there was something weird floating in the brook and started a campaign called "What's in the Brook?" to get it addressed. They contacted the Department of Environmental Protection. Upon investigation, MassDEP discovered an old underground oil tank was leaking at the Ground Round site, over at the Fresh Pond Rotary. Thank you to DEP, for getting that addressed.

Here’s a look at Arlington’s choices in the September 1 primary. Voters enrolled in a political party must vote that party’s ballot. Unenrolled voters may choose a Republican or Democratic ballot. I have included links for the candidates’ websites.

Republican Primary
The only contested race on the Republican ballot is the race for governor. There are two candidates for Governor:
Michael Roger Minogue, 11 Villa Rd., Hamilton
Brian Shortsleeve, 995 Sea View Ave., Barnstable

Most of the local GOP ballot is blank, as no candidates have filed to run for the Republican nomination for local offices. An organized write-in campaign can place a candidate on the November ballot. According to the Secretary of the Commonwealth, a write-in candidate needs to receive at least as many votes as the number of signatures required to file to get on the ballot for that office. This number varies by office – a state representative candidate needs 150 write-in votes, and 300 write-in votes are required to get on the November ballot.

Democratic Primary
The only contested statewide Democratic race on the ballot is the race for Senator in Congress:
Edward J. Markey, 360 Charles St., Malden
Seth Moulton, 37 Chestnut St., Salem

District-level contested races follow:

Representative in Congress: Fifth District
Katherine M. Clark, 15 Ocean Pier Ave., Revere
Jonathan Paz, 15 Howard St., Waltham
Tarik Samman, 12 Wendell St., Cambridge

Councillor: Third District
Mara Dolan, 1538 Main St., Concord
Margie Palladino, 609 Washington St., Wellesley

Representative in General Court:
Twenty-Fourth Middlesex District
(Arlington precincts 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12)
David M. Rogers, 18 Richard Ave., Cambridge
Nomita Ganguly, 193 Orchard St., Belmont

District Attorney: Northern District
Marian T. Ryan, 8 Bradford Rd., Belmont
David Marc Solet, 100 Landsdowne St., Cambridge

Fond memories of our friends from Scotland after their World Cup visit.
We will never, ever look at a traffic cone the same way. And if you want to know why this is more than a silly joke, check out the Boston Globe.

The MBTA is proposing a series of amendments to its Bus Network Redesign plan. One package of changes (Proposal 2, Package A) has three key components:

• Extends Route 80 to Arlington Heights instead of consolidating with Route 350 to Burlington, with increased frequency on Route 80.
• Retains existing Route 350 between Burlington and Alewife.
• Retains existing Route 67 via Pleasant Street in Arlington.

Package A allows higher frequencies on Boston Avenue on Route 80 to the Red and Green Lines – every 20-30 minutes, 7 days per week.

These frequencies will not be available under Package B, which diverts buses to running a restored Route 94. Package B provides lower overall frequencies on Boston Avenue because separating service into two routes creates difficulty coordinating two routes and inherent bus bunching.

Package C has no impact on Package A, and both can be adopted as part of the final plan.

Extending Route 80 to Arlington Heights connects more of Massachusetts Avenue to the Green Line and West Medford commuter rail. It also gives Medford residents access to Stop and Shop & Trader Joe’s in Arlington.

These changes are currently in a public comment period until August 5. There's more information, and links to the public comment options, at www.better80.com.

If you are exiting eastbound Route 2 at Dow Avenue, please do not treat the intersection of the frontage road at Dow Avenue as an all-way stop.
This is a flashing yellow light, which is regulated under 700 CMR 9.06 (10) Obedience to Traffic Control Signals:

>(h) Flashing Circular Yellow. Vehicular traffic approaching a flashing circular yellow may proceed through the intersection with caution per the provisions of M.G.L. c. 89 § 8 and shall yield the right of way to pedestrians.

All too often I reach the intersection and a car in front stops at the intersection and treats it like an all-way stop. Please don't. Slow down, use caution, and assert your right-of-way.

I have seen too many instances of near misses when an eastbound car is not expecting someone to stop at a flashing yellow light.

The MBTA is proposing a series of amendments to its Bus Network Redsesign plan. One package of changes (Proposal 2, Option A) has three key components:

• Repeals the plan's change to the Route 67 bus, which will move the bus off of Pleasant Street, sending it down Massachusetts Avenue through East Arlington on its way to Alewife Station. Option A preserves the current routing of the Route 67 bus.
• Repeals the plan to change the Route 350 bus, which will merge the current 350 with the 80. Under the current plan, the 350 connection to Alewife Station via Massachusetts Avenue will be replaced with a routing through West Medford to Medford/Tufts and Davis. Option A preserves the current routing of the Route 350 bus.
• Transforms the Route 80 bus to connect Arlington Heights, Arlington Center, West Medford, the Medford/Tufts GLX stop, with an eastern terminus at the Davis Square (Red Line connection). Option A creates a new bus connection between Arlington Heights and the Green Line.

These changes are currently in a public comment period. There's more information, and links to the public comment options, at www.better80.com.

There is no way to use FSD when the Tesla's opinion of the speed limit is way off.
Here the FSD thinks the speed limit is 60 in a 25 mile zone. The car was accelerating through the 30s when I had to disengage in order to avoid a significant speeding violation. (Note: the photo shows the car was in sloth mode when it decided to speed through this 25 mile zone.)
Tesla needs some sort of mechanism to enter the actual speed limit for a road when the car has a wildly divergent view of reality.

The MBTA is phasing in its Bus Network Redesign. There are major changes for Arlington that haven't happened YET... but they are part of the plan approved by the MBTA board.

However, the MBTA is proposing a package of amendments to the Bus Network Redesign. The MBTA is looking to improve service along Boston Avenue in Medford (Proposal 2) with three options to achieve this goal. Option A will preserve the current routing of the 67 and 350 buses, and Route 80 will connect Davis Square, the Medford/Tufts Green Line stop, and the West Medford commuter rail with Arlington Center and Arlington Heights.

If you are a current rider of the 67 or 350, or if you want a better connection to the Green Line Extension and West Medford, you need to tell the T. The MBTA will be holding a Virtual Public Meeting (Zoom) “to hear public feedback on the changes we propose and incorporate it into our decision-making process.” The meeting will be held Monday June 15 at 6:00 p.m. Sign up for the meeting on the MBTA website, https://www.mbta.com/events/2026-06-15/bus-network-redesign-proposed-updates-virtua

There has been discussion aboput the impact of the three alternatives proposed by the MBTA to provide improved bus service on Boston Avenue in Medford. Remember that the plan is an amendment to the total redesign package, not the current system. The redesign calls for frequent service on the 96, with Red, Green, and Orange Line connections. On the other hand, the redesigned 80 is awful.