Cambridge Department of Transportation Launches Website for Intersection Safety Program

The Cambridge Department of Transportation (CDOT) has formalized its approach to improving safety at higher crash intersections through the Intersection Safety Program. As part of the City’s Vision Zero effort to eliminate fatal and serious injury crashes, CDOT has developed a data-driven process to identify and rank higher crash intersections, prioritize locations for improvements, and track and assess safety changes over time.

How We Identify Higher Crash Locations

Every two years, CDOT will review and rank City-owned intersections using crash data. This results in an updated list of Higher Crash Locations (HCLs) - Intersections established for further evaluation based on their crash history.

Each intersection receives an HCL score based on factors including the number and severity of crashes and whether crashes involved people walking or biking. Intersections with higher scores will be evaluated first through the Intersection Safety Program.

You can explore the rankings on our interactive HCL map, which shows City-owned intersections, their HCL rankings, and where safety improvements are planned, underway, or completed.

A Formalized Process

CDOT has always reviewed City-owned intersections to assess safety needs and identify potential improvements. The Intersection Safety Program formalizes this work through a systemic process that will be updated every two years.

Starting with higher-ranked intersections, CDOT staff will evaluate crash trends, travel patterns, on-site conditions, and recent or planned changes to determine appropriate safety improvements.

Most improvements will be quick-build projects using treatments from our Safety Treatment Toolkit. The toolkit includes treatments that use signal timing and equipment, flex posts, signs, pavement markings, and other quick-build materials to slow turning vehicles, enhance intersection visibility, and promote safer traffic flow for all users. Some locations may require more significant changes or reconstruction.

Every two years, CDOT will repeat this process using updated crash data, allowing the program to track the impact of completed improvements and identify the next high-priority locations.

Safety improvements will be ongoing under the Intersection Safety Program. Some intersections will receive initial quick-build treatments this year, while others, including those already treated, may see additional enhancements in future years. This phased approach allows CDOT to adapt to evolving crash data, field observations, and available resources, ensuring each intersection receives the most effective mix of safety measures at the right time.

What’s Next?

CDOT has identified the first three locations based on their current HCL rankings for full Intersection Safety Projects: Mass Ave at Albany Street, Mass Ave at Vassar Street, and Hampshire Street at Prospect Street. These locations received a more detailed evaluation to determine appropriate safety treatments. The Mass Ave at Albany Street website is now available, with the other two coming soon. All three projects’ installations will begin this year, though exact timelines will vary. Project information will be shared as designs and schedules are confirmed.

Above: Planned safety improvements at Mass Ave and Albany Street, Cambridge’s highest-ranked HCL, show how treatments from the Safety Treatment Toolkit can be applied to address specific safety needs.

Through this program, CDOT will also install Targeted Safety Improvements at select Higher Crash Locations. These are smaller-scale treatments from the Safety Treatment Toolkit that can be implemented without an extensive design process.

You can use the interactive HCL map to track the status of intersections and find project-specific information as it becomes available.

Stay Informed

Stay informed about upcoming Intersection Safety Program work by signing up for program-wide email updates. Rather than separate email lists for individual intersections, subscribers will receive updates about planned safety improvements at intersections across Cambridge.

To sign up, explore the interactive map, and learn more about upcoming intersection safety improvements, visit the Intersection Safety Program website.