Rotary traffic, the miracle merry-go-round that would turn Harvard Square into a pedestrian playground, no longer exists. Recent changes in the new stop-lights and street directions now shuttle traffic along most of the old routes, and according to City Engineer Edgar Davis, "it's only the businessmen who have benefited much from the experiment."
Davis explained that the grouping of bus-stops around the kiosk and near the Yard, now keeps the Coop block from becoming "one big loading platform." Merchants in that block had previously complained that the bus-stops discouraged customers with automobiles and blocked off the store fronts.
The myriad stop-lights installed to enable bloodless crossings at a half-dozen new cross-walks will remain. City and state engineers are continuing experiments to determine the best combinations and directions for the lights. Many of the flashing red and yellow markers have recently been changed to arrows, as a result of their investigations.
The former subway exit near Wadsworth House on Massachusetts Avenue will retain its new status as an "open station"--an entrance as well as an exit.
Complaints by local businessmen have been largely responsible for the demise of rotary traffic. The one-way traffic system evolved for upper Boylston Street was a vital part of the master plan, which was a vital part of the master plan. It on the western side of the block claimed that it was harming business
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