Memorial Drive – BU Bridge gyratory

there are MANY rotaries («roundabouts») littered all over boston and the area, this certainly isn’t the only one. boston is known for it’s antiquated amount of rotaries.
however, this is one of my favorite rotaries.
It’s so smooth! my favorite approach is heading west on memorial drive, then getting off the rotary exit. you can usually sail right in, whip around in the center lane, then fling yourself out at the BU bridge.

Why does every Bostonian that has to drive through this traffic circle, er, rotary, have to completely lose their minds? I don’t get it, its really not that hard. Tom, 80% is very generous…
I have the misfortune of having to drive around this crappy traffic control device every day on my way home from work. I routinely deal with people who travel on the innermost lane of the circle who decide at the last moment «OH! I want to go over the bridge!». Often I have an idiot in front of me too scared to enter the circle. (Its 5:15! There is going to be traffic! You have to pick a moment and go for it!) Most people don’t realize that its two lanes going into and over the bridge. Then of course there are the people who get in the left lane to go over the bridge and who intend on making the right onto Comm Ave. Plan people… plan.
In the warm months sometimes you have to stop and wait for the ducks and swans to cross the road and when we get lots of rain or snow the inner part of the circle floods. To the city’s credit they did fix some of the MONSTER potholes that used to exist on the bridge.

Boston has a roundabout! Cool — 5 stars. But wait… having a roundabout is only good if Boston’s drivers know how to use it. Do they? Well 80% do, but the other 20% seem to threaten my life twice a day on my brief cycle to and from work. Seriously, if I’m going to have a cycle accident in Boston it will be here, and that really is a grim thought — to actually know where you are likely to be knocked off.
Ok, so the city could signpost the gyratory better and lay out properly (not with a weird set of lights at one stage only) but honestly Boston drivers, don’t you realise YOU have to YIELD to traffic (including bikes) that is on the gyratory already. Not just drive straight at them.
Death-​trap rant aside, I do think it’s cool that Boston has a roundabout — it shows internationalness — and this one has added shelter for homeless people which counts for something.