Valentine is another steep descent down Waban Hill, which angles strongly EES, to lessen the angle of the descent, then at the last minute turns more sharply ESE By the time drivers, many of whom have picked up speed down this hill, are within eye-shot of the stop sign, they do not have time to react and to stop. And many do not. The problems here create a particular danger to walkers, runners, and bicyclists heading west on the Carriage Road, and even to those heading east.
Drivers think the “Stop Ahead” sign up the hill (on the image below, see the back of the sign on the utility pole up the hill) refers to the stop at Commonwealth Avenue, and indeed (as Jesse Corey pointed out to me), it does.
(This is an old photo, before a stop sign was approved by TC):
A larger stop sign was also placed on the light pole on the left, but this is not effective either. It is not aligned with the stop line and so it just causes additional confusion as to what - or where - it refers to.
The yellow bicyclist/pedestrian sign is way too far to the right to be visible to approaching drivers in their vehicles, as a warning sign. A better location for this sign would be further up the hill, closer to the road itself.
Additionally, there is no pedestrian crosswalk to get pedestrians walking along the sidewalk safely from one side of Valentine to another, or to alert drivers to pedestrians crossing. A pedestrian crosswalk with an RRFT would help greatly.