Myopia/Braeburn Road Rotary Issues

[Elaine Coveney]

Hi Gabe,

Unfortunately we're not able to attend today's 1pm Field Friday, but we'd like to add our comments about the rotary at the intersection of Myopia and Braeburn Roads to those you've already received from our neighbors.

We live at 5 Braeburn, which directly faces the rotary, so we have a front-row seat.

• Most drivers coming from the school end of Braeburn towards Myopia (~ 60%, conservatively) do not keep to the right to go around the rotary. They go up the wrong side, on the left. And of course many of these drivers are speeding too.
  
• All types of vehicles do this, including some school buses.
• Many do this to get ahead of the vehicle in front of them that is keeping to the right. They start accelerating as soon as the road widens, blow up the rotary's left side, and cut off the lead vehicle as they meet on the Myopia side of the rotary. We're all waiting for the first big crash.
• At the Myopia stop sign (coming from Austin), some drivers cut directly onto Braeburn rather than going around the rotary. Drivers coming from the school end of Braeburn are surprised to see someone heading towards them in their lane.
  
• Occasionally cars come the wrong way down Myopia, adding to the chaos.
• We and our neighbor at 1 Braeburn take our lives into our hands every time we back out of our driveways. You can look in both directions multiple times and still someone will come out of nowhere and come close to hitting you.
  
• There are children living in the houses surrounding the rotary (66 and 75 Myopia, 1 Braeburn).

We agree with our neighbor Tim's suggestion that a speed hump on the left side of the rotary would help to disincentivize cutting up/speeding on the left.

We put in a 311 request about the damaged rotary sign on June 1 and got an email that said it should take about 2 weeks to fix it. Someone came by and spray painted the sign (and the rotary, unfortunately) but nothing else has happened. If you could check status that would help.

Thanks,

Bob and Elaine Dynes

[Elaine Coveney]

And thank you, Gabe. Please forgive the mess that the rotary garden is at the moment; Bob and I have been busy and haven't been able to get out there.

On Friday, July 18, 2025 at 08:58:10 AM EDT, Gabriel Cruz <gabrie...@boston.gov> wrote:

Hi Elaine, 

Thanks for sending this over! We plan on stopping by the rotary today to take a look and send over any photos and concerns to BTD. I’ll make sure to keep you posted.

Best,

Gabe

[Elaine Coveney]

Hi Gabe,

Just wanted to say thanks for bringing this to BTD; glad they're willing to address the issues we're experiencing. If they could solicit neighborhood input about any proposed fixes before implementation that would be great.

Also, not sure if you had a chance to follow up on our June 311 report about the damaged rotary sign? Or will this be addressed as part of any other fixes?

Best,

Elaine

On Monday, July 28, 2025 at 10:19:30 AM EDT, Gabriel Cruz <gabrie...@boston.gov> wrote:

Good Morning All, 

I hope all is well! I just received an update from BTD. I was told that BTD Operations will address the ongoing issues with the rotary. They are currently dealing with a heavy backlog of requests, however I will make sure to stay in touch with them for an exact timeline and keep you all posted. 

Best,

Gabe

On Fri, Jul 18, 2025 at 3:42 PM Gabriel Cruz <gabrie...@boston.gov> wrote:

Good Afternoon All, 

Thank you all for sending over your concerns regarding the rotary. My colleague and I were able to visit the rotary this afternoon, and witnessed a car on Braeburn bear left rather than going around the rotary. I have sent a rather detailed email to the Boston Transportation Department, calling for them to address some of the things that we noticed during our visit: 

• Improved existing painted markings 
• Improved existing white painted arrows (we noticed very faded arrows by the rotary that may be contributing to the neglect of the rotary  )
• New painted arrows in the rotary (to help with traffic flow)
• Repair broken signage in rotary
• Address speeding concerns (speed humps or other BTD recommended safety improvements)

I will make sure to keep you all posted with any updates BTD provides. 

Have a great weekend!

Best,

Gabe

[Elaine Coveney]

Thanks again, Gabe—appreciate all your help with this!

On Monday, July 28, 2025 at 02:01:26 PM EDT, Gabriel Cruz <gabrie...@boston.gov> wrote:

Hi Elaine, 

The damaged rotary sign will be addressed as part of all other fixes. I'll check in to see if this can be fixed sooner than later, as it should be a relatively easy fix compared to everything else. 

Best,

Gabe

[Elaine Coveney]

Hi again Gabe, just wanted to let you know that the rotary sign has been fixed and to say thank you for your help. Looking forward to hearing BTD's ideas for addressing the rest of the rotary traffic issues.

On Tuesday, July 29, 2025 at 09:00:16 AM EDT, Gabriel Cruz <gabrie...@boston.gov> wrote:

My pleasure!