diff --git a/rclcpp/include/rclcpp/detail/mutex_two_priorities.hpp b/rclcpp/include/rclcpp/detail/mutex_two_priorities.hpp
index 6c5f69e98f..98118b619f 100644
--- a/rclcpp/include/rclcpp/detail/mutex_two_priorities.hpp
+++ b/rclcpp/include/rclcpp/detail/mutex_two_priorities.hpp
@@ -15,6 +15,7 @@
 #ifndef RCLCPP__DETAIL__MUTEX_TWO_PRIORITIES_HPP_
 #define RCLCPP__DETAIL__MUTEX_TWO_PRIORITIES_HPP_
 
+#include <condition_variable>
 #include <mutex>
 
 namespace rclcpp
@@ -62,11 +63,11 @@ class MutexTwoPriorities
   get_low_priority_lockable();
 
 private:
-  // Implementation detail: the idea here is that only one low priority thread can be
-  // trying to take the data_ mutex while the others are excluded by the barrier_ mutex.
-  // All high priority threads are already waiting for the data_ mutex.
-  std::mutex barrier_;
-  std::mutex data_;
+  std::condition_variable hp_cv_;
+  std::condition_variable lp_cv_;
+  std::mutex cv_mutex_;
+  size_t hp_waiting_count_{0u};
+  bool data_taken_{false};
 };
 
 }  // namespace detail
diff --git a/rclcpp/src/rclcpp/detail/mutex_two_priorities.cpp b/rclcpp/src/rclcpp/detail/mutex_two_priorities.cpp
index e7c7a091e8..8deb864f5f 100644
--- a/rclcpp/src/rclcpp/detail/mutex_two_priorities.cpp
+++ b/rclcpp/src/rclcpp/detail/mutex_two_priorities.cpp
@@ -31,13 +31,31 @@ HighPriorityLockable::HighPriorityLockable(MutexTwoPriorities & parent)
 void
 HighPriorityLockable::lock()
 {
-  parent_.data_.lock();
+  std::unique_lock<std::mutex> guard{parent_.cv_mutex_};
+  if (parent_.data_taken_) {
+    ++parent_.hp_waiting_count_;
+    while (parent_.data_taken_) {
+      parent_.hp_cv_.wait(guard);
+    }
+    --parent_.hp_waiting_count_;
+  }
+  parent_.data_taken_ = true;
 }
 
 void
 HighPriorityLockable::unlock()
 {
-  parent_.data_.unlock();
+  bool notify_lp{false};
+  {
+    std::lock_guard<std::mutex> guard{parent_.cv_mutex_};
+    parent_.data_taken_ = false;
+    notify_lp = 0u == parent_.hp_waiting_count_;
+  }
+  if (notify_lp) {
+    parent_.lp_cv_.notify_one();
+  } else {
+    parent_.hp_cv_.notify_one();
+  }
 }
 
 LowPriorityLockable::LowPriorityLockable(MutexTwoPriorities & parent)
@@ -47,16 +65,27 @@ LowPriorityLockable::LowPriorityLockable(MutexTwoPriorities & parent)
 void
 LowPriorityLockable::lock()
 {
-  std::unique_lock<std::mutex> barrier_guard{parent_.barrier_};
-  parent_.data_.lock();
-  barrier_guard.release();
+  std::unique_lock<std::mutex> guard{parent_.cv_mutex_};
+  while (parent_.data_taken_ || parent_.hp_waiting_count_) {
+    parent_.lp_cv_.wait(guard);
+  }
+  parent_.data_taken_ = true;
 }
 
 void
 LowPriorityLockable::unlock()
 {
-  std::lock_guard<std::mutex> barrier_guard{parent_.barrier_, std::adopt_lock};
-  parent_.data_.unlock();
+  bool notify_lp{false};
+  {
+    std::lock_guard<std::mutex> guard{parent_.cv_mutex_};
+    parent_.data_taken_ = false;
+    notify_lp = 0u == parent_.hp_waiting_count_;
+  }
+  if (notify_lp) {
+    parent_.lp_cv_.notify_one();
+  } else {
+    parent_.hp_cv_.notify_one();
+  }
 }
 
 HighPriorityLockable