Always keep you eyes and mind open to try different routes. When I started commuting I had a stressful intersection, followed by a block that had cars parked on the street, and only one lane for traffic. It created a couple of blocks that made me really nervous. I had my closest call of getting hit broadside at speed in that intersection. I moved my route 1 block to cross that busy arterial 4 lane and much to my surprise, the first week, 3 of the 5 days I never had to get off the pedals! I've been hung up a couple of times but compared to going through that intersection every day, I'll take the wait. The "car eyes" / "bike eyes" comment was very appropriate.