Stoplight project to be completed by end of fall

The junction of College Ave. and Boston Ave. has long been a dangerous pedestrian crossing and a constant construction annoyance to Tufts students and local residents. But by the end of this semester, traffic at the intersection will be regulated by fully functioning stoplights.

Although the stoplights were connected to a power supply shortly before school resumed, they only flash red and yellow, signaling cars on Boston Ave. to stop before entering the intersection but allowing College Ave. traffic to proceed with caution.

The lights are not yet fully operational because of what personnel in the Medford mayor's office called "conflicting traffic patterns." The unconventional intersection requires that the lights undergo special procedures to effectively filter traffic. Until the stoplight has been adapted to do so, it will continue to blink.

The Massachusetts State Engineering Department is working to write the specification to correct the problem, after which the state contractor can do the work on the intersection. When the work is done, the stoplight will be in red, yellow, and green full stop mode. Medford officials expect completion of the project in one to three months.

Construction on the intersection, which has been planned for years, began about six months ago with the replacement and repair of underground utility lines. The road was repaved in late May, but complications with the signal work delayed installation of the traffic lights until mid-August.

The entire project was planned by the city and state, and Tufts knew about the construction but was not greatly involved, according to Vice President of Operations John Roberto.

Students have expressed frustration at the delayed installation and now the postponed operation of the stoplights. "When the hell are they going to turn them on?" said sophomore John Dulac.

Though the blinking lights can be confusing to some, many say they improve the intersection. "It puts it in some order," said Adam Rowell, a sophomore. "Before it was just a free-for-all."

But engineering student Mike LaFazia, a sophomore, says he felt safer last year before the stoplights were installed. "I actually think cars stop less now," he said. "Just today I crossed the street, and the only car coming had a red flashing light, which would normally mean to stop. But it didn't seem to want to stop."

The problematic parking situation in front of Brown and Brew makes the arrangement even more dangerous. "It seems they put all this effort into dividing the road into lanes, but you can't follow them because there are always cars blocking one of the lanes," LaFazia said.

One Tufts secretary said it was impossible to drive in the intersection because of the combination of new lanes and confusing traffic signals. The skewed angles at which Boston Ave. and College Ave. intersect also make it hard for motorists to see what vehicles are coming from the other directions.

Medford officials said the intersection project was initiated partially because of several Tufts students who have been injured while crossing the intersection in the past. Officials from the city and Tufts hope that the upgrade will help prevent future accidents.