I nominate Flanagan Square.
Post your nominee in the comment section of this post and I’ll create a poll with the nominees tomorrow.
Which intersection in Gloucester do you think perplexes the most drivers?
My View of Life on the Dock
Good Morning Gloucester 
I’d nominate Sayward and Bass Ave. Folks from out of town are often confused about what to do there.
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i agree!
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Flanagan Square!
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Is Flanagan Sq. where the Joan of Arc statue is, then I third that motion (and if it’s not, then I nominate that area). There needs to be a yield or stop sign put up at Washington and Middle Sts. to remind folks that you have to yield to folks already in a rotary…if it is in fact considered a rotary at all…see, I’m confused, too. I do know that I often almost get hit by someone when I’m rounding Joan coming up from Middle St.
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Flanagan Square is where Flanagan’s gas station is1. Joanie on the Pony is in Legion Square (?). And that’s a very confusing intereection
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That’s exactly the problem there. Nobody knows if it’s an intersection or a rotary!
If it’s an intersection, the people driving north on Washington (away from St Peter’s Sq) would get the right of way.
If it’s a rotary, people heading east on Middle Street (or anyone heading around the statue) would get the right of way.
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The rotary.. any rotary.. pick one.
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Washington and Centennial- can be a long wait to get out of Centennial either direction
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out -of -towners need a minimum 2 day learning curve for the whole city ! With no traffic lights and odd intersections its all ritualistic sort of give and take , tribal , mystical .
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St. Peter’s Square …It’s got everything for you to be distracted …So much going on with advertising signs, pedestrians jay walking, all kinds of entrances into the slow flow of traffic and a lovely view of the harbour. I am really amazed by all the confusion every day I pass. You can really spot a tourist when they give you the right of way coming out or into the Fort. That’s really a nice gesture on their part that us locals should learn. I like Kathy Slifer’s comment ” tribal”. That’s the feel of this intersection.
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You forgot to mention the entrance to the St Peter’s parking lot right there too!
My vote will be for this one. Unless I can vote for this same intersection specifically during Fiesta. I saw at least 2 or 3 serious accidents there before it was even the weekend.
As a pedestrian, heaven forbid you ever end up on the right-hand sidewalk of Western Ave approaching this intersection. The sidewalk disappears as you come around the free-for-all entrance to the gas station, and then you’re usually greeted by a gigantic red tow truck (or two) parked across the slanted sidewalk as soon it reappears. The trucks gently guide you into angle street just as frenzied drivers approach the confusing mess traffic heading in and out of the fort and the parking lot. What a mess.
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I’m an out-of-towner who has been coming up here for 50 years … and it took me about 25 years to learn how to drive in Gloucester and now it takes two days to adapt from FL or MD each time I get to town.
The best way of learning, by the way, is to drive in Gloucester the way you walk on the sidewalk. Right-of-Way is a third priority below Courtesy and Position, which alternate between 1st and 2nd priority depending on the intersection, time-of-day, how long you’ve spent waiting at that particular intersection, how long you’ve been trying to get across town, etc.
The hardest thing to get used to was the driver in front of you stopping in the middle of a wide open road to let someone back out of their driveway – thereby being discourteous to you – the person behind – while being nice to the driveway guy. Go Figure!
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That is a hard decision to pick just one!! I guess I’d have to go with Flanagan Square but the others are all certainly viable alternatives. I know I do all I can to avoid Sayward Street – Bass Ave. from 3:30 to 6:00 in the afternoon!
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dunno what you call it but that right then left outside of St. Peter’s square to wrap around Tally’s.
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when they see a person crossing 128 at the circle . Sure there is a crosswalk and lights , but so surprising and unexpected and how on earth do the folks 3 cars behind you know why you are stopping , they cant see any of whats happening ! i worry …
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Washington and Main st. If I am trying to take any sort of turn there I feel that police will come out of nowhere to instantly arrest me. And I will have nothing to say :- ).
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As a frequent visitor who often has her most amazing and wonderful grandchildren in the car with her, I vote for Flanagan’s. Scares the daylights out of me. Maybe Kathy S can give me a quick 2-day lesson!
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Maplewood and Railroad Avenue
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I agree Maplewood and Railroad ave.
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I third Maplewood and Railroad. You have cars coming in multiple directions, and not everyone believes in taking turns; or leaving open the turn from Pleasant onto Railroad.
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No contest maplewood and railroad
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I agree with Donna on this one!
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Agreed!
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People, People, People, The Intersection of Railroad Avenue, Maplewood Avenue and Prospect Street !!!
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I have to agree with you Susan. There is no rhyme or reason to that intersection. I can deal with Flanagans, Legion Square (although I never knew it was supposed to be a rotary) and St. Peter’s Square. In my experience driving around Gloucester, most drivers are extremely considerate and allow other drivers in and out, so I don’t find any of it as bad as East Boston where it is total lawlessness and anarchy.
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It really is! Not only do we live about a football field from the intersection, the shop is just on the other side of it. Trying to explain it to our customers is tough, and even locals just bash on through with no regard for others. The lack of a STOP SIGN coming from Maplewood doesn’t help at all. Oh, and my favorite is when it gets locked up in an infinite loop of trapped cars. Good times.
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no no no- it’s where Railroad and Maplewood converge at Prospect- always a free for all
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this is slightly “off topic” but lots of people miss the turn off for route 95 north going to Maine in Peabody…so they are on their way to Portsmouth NH, Maine or NH White Mountains and they ride up 128 and end up in Gloucester. They often drive through the rotaries and sets of lights and end up at businesses on East Main Street like Coveted Yarn, Smokin Joe’s, and Espresso wondering where they are and when they get told they are no where near Maine, they freak!! When you have to try and explain to them how to get back to route 95 they double freak out…. I have often thought there should be a sign at the rotary saying: If you are looking for NH or Maine you took the wrong turn off 18 miles ago….
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That’s hilarious! I’ve had friends do the opposite – they call from Portsmouth and get very sad when I tell them they’re about an hour away.
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Got to say there’s been three times this year coming inbound on Essex Ave. where it meets Western Ave. when I’ve had to go around a line of three or four cars who all just sat there waiting for a road to magically appear across the water. That said, I second Legion Sq. Which is by design a rotary, but folks pouring up from St. Peters Sq. don’t think so.
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Which intersection in Gloucester do you think perplexes the most drivers?
Almost every one of ’em… I’m just a simple boy from the midwest. I have no clue about the circles and intersections with multiple roads coming in from every direction with no marking about who should yeild to whom….. So, when in Gloucester, I just act like a local and stuff my car into the fray.
You know yer doin it right when a local flips you off.
(\_/)
(=’,’=)
(*)_(*)
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shut off your stupid smartphone, pretend you’re driving a horse, and wave and smile at your neighbors. slow down – the only place we’re all going is dead. don’t rush it…
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Call it St. Peter’s Sq., call it Tally’s Corner — it’s a mess. There’s an intersection more or less like it in Maynard that results equally in visitors ending up where they never intended to go. I see the “Birdseye Hotel” traffic consultants call for improvements at that corner. Whether the hotel goes forward or not, the city should take heed of these suggestions.
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My vote goes to Maplewood, Railroad, and Prospect!
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The intersection of Maplewood, Prospect, and Railroad is the most perplexing to me, having only moved to Gloucester this year. But I think the most perplexing traffic-related issue in Gloucester is the odd fact that no pedestrian ever utilizes the sidewalks. Why this is, I cannot understand, but it continually bothers me.
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Some of the sidewalks are brutal, and very few are ADA compliant (I didn’t really notice how bad until I had kids and pushed a stroller). Poor guys in the wheelchairs, they just have to motor on down the road…
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Maplewood, Railroad, and Prospect, hands down!
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Certainly one of the most dangerous intersections besides St Peter’s Sq (saw a bicyclist get hit there last week) is Essex Avenue and Sumner Street in West Gloucester (quite a few people have been killed there). MOST Perplexing has to be Bass Ave and Sayward St (I know the Mayor changed the name of Sayward St but I can’t cotton to the new name yet much less remember it, since Mr Sayward was very integral to the history of Gloucester and an educational supporter, I am not so sure it was a good idea to change the name of that street….)… Also Thatcher Rd., Bass Ave, and Atlantic Ave. by Good Harbor is very perplexing for people. Prospect St and Maplewood Ave seems to have a rhythm, people take their turns and the cars move along so it doesn’t bother me like the bottlenecks in East Gloucester. Coming out of Rocky Neck onto East Main St is a nightmare sometimes…. The signs at Eastern Point Rd are perplexing to visitors who have every right to go out to see the Lighthouse. The Lighthouse viewing is on Federal Property and people can not be stopped from going out to view it although occasional guards and signs try to discourage it. It is the same in Annisquam for Annisquam Light. The small 2 beaches right next to it are Federal Property and people have a right to View the Lighthouse. The Beach associations try to enforce strict rules around visitors in Annisquam but the Lighthouse Beach Asso and Cambridge Beach Asso do not own the two beaches closest to the Lighthouse.
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St. Peter’s Sq./Tally’s Corner (on a motorcycle)
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Flanagan Square. Everyone thinks they have the right of way.
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Flanagan Square. Everyone thinks they have the right of way.
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Sit at the Blvd some weekend day when the bridge goes up and look at what happens at the bottom of Middle St. People trying to get in the left lane to get in that arrow lane on the Blvd. Others trying to drive down the wrong way to x over to go up by the Tavern. Horns beeping, people getting out of their cars to ask people to move ahead; It’s a circus!!!
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1) Maplewood Ave./Railroad Ave./Prospect Ave. intersection — a real cluster!@#$ ! — How about a signal, signage,
2) Bass Ave.,/Sayward/ Brightside Ave. (coming out of East Gloucester) — yikes!
3) Rogers/Eastern Ave. — how about a Left Turn Only lane?
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I used to live on Prospect Square, so I have to agree with the intersection of Maplewood, Railroad and Prospect — what a mess! >:-(
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