Look both ways
By davidvandamage - Fri, 02/29/2008 - 12:32pm.
I saw a woman get hit by a car that refused to stop for people in the crosswalk on Wednesday night. The woman was talking on her cell phone (not paying attention to much else). I admit that I hate stopping for people in crosswalks in Boston, because once you let one person cross, 50 other people appear out of nowhere and you end up having to wait forever for those bastards to cross the street.
Someone got hit by a car trying to cross the street this morning at the exact same spot. They closed down the street today, so I can only imagine that they got messed up pretty bad this time, or the person that got hit this time was white.
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Must be a full moon
When I got to Mass Av station this morning, there were police lines set up across the southbound side of Mass Av, I asked the guy who sells newspapers what happened and he told me that a woman was hit in the crosswalk. He said that she was alert, but that she had head and leg injuries and was taken away in an ambulance. Then I read this.
Needs a better-marked crosswalk
That Orange Line station needs a much more visible crosswalk, maybe even a raised one. Parked cars nearby make it hard for peds and drivers to see each other.
Underpass
The Mass. Ave. orange line station already has an underpass beneath the street. Many folks are in too much of a hurry to spend an extra 15 seconds walking below the street instead of darting out across a busy street.
In my years commuting through that station I actually found that nearly 60% of the time using the underpass was faster than crossing the street. (during rush hour when Mass Ave is a crazy zone)
Underpass not a substitute for crosswalk
The T underpass is a nice amenity, but it is not a substitute for a crosswalk, any more than it would be at Back Bay (Dartmouth Street) or Park Street or South Station.
Not everyone who crosses the street there is using the subway; many are just walking along the Southwest Corridor linear park, or getting on or off the #1 or CT1 bus. There's no good reason for these folks to have to climb up and down stairs to get across the street.
Underpass not exactly safe
That underpass is dark and reeks of urine.
What's worse: The stink of
What's worse: The stink of urine or the stink of urine and excrement because you evacuated your bowels after having died from being struck by a car?
Not everyone can do stairs
n/m
Look both ways?
Try slow the @#$# down and select routes to avoid streets with lots of crosswalks. Allow enough time for trips in traffic. Etc.
So she was on her cel phone while walking - not a good idea, I'll admit but what if she were blind or deaf? Would you STILL be finding excuses for the total lamer who couldn't be bothered to actually control that piece of heavy equipment he or she was in charge of? I'm totally sick of cops and other citizens finding ways to excuse totally stupid driving and rules infractions because being behind the wheel is some sort of "magic" charm against responsibility.
I really wish MA would force people to learn the rules before they took the wheel, and keep forcing them to prove they deserved the honor every five years when they renew. Spend that wait time in the registry showing what you know. Driving is a privilege.
Maybe
Certainly folks driving could pay more attention to pedestrians (as well as other traffic), but there is a percentage of foot bound people who are just plain dumb and walk off a cross walk into traffic because they have the right of way.
As somone who lived in Boston for a long time, I've always made sure the coast is clear whenever I've attempted to cross. It may be the law for a car to stop, but it still requires some common sense on the pedestians part. Just because there is a law, it doesn't mean a car will stop nor can you can step off whenever you want and expect it to be safe. You need to rationalize the distance to see if they have enough time to slow down, otherwise wait! Too many dumb people (on both sides of this issue) doing too many dumb things makes this a much worse place to live.
Enforcement would help
In the week I've been in Portland, Oregon, I've seen only one car fail to stop for a crosswalk.
That's because that one car got a ticket for their haste.
Pedestrians wait for lights, though, and use the crosswalks. That's because you get a ticket if you don't. It is called "jaywalking".
Pedestrians get lazy and drivers get an attitude of superiority because there is no meaningful enforcement of the traffic laws. If you know you might get a $300 ticket for driving through a crossing light, or you might get a $50 ticket for jaywalking, you think twice.
Ticketing 'jaywalkers' is stupid
Boston has the right attitude on this one -- pedestrians rule. The city was built around the pedestrian, not the car, so the cars should work around the walkers, not the other way around.
People complain a lot about the traffic system or non-system here, but it basically works well. Massachusetts has the lowest fatality rate in the US. (Someone else can find the source of that stat and link it; I'm too lazy right now.)
Death not only outcome
Lowest fatality rate, perhaps, but one of the highest injury rates.
Just because you move some people from the "dead" to the "quadraplegic" column doesn't make your roads any safer.
Really??
So the big dig was done to alleviate the foot traffic we have in the city? ;-)
Maybe your point was valid back before there were cars, but that hasn't been the case for a long, long time. Pedestrians need to understand that while they may have the right of way legally speaking, they are not going to win if they collide with a car or truck. Common sense needs to make a comeback here in the worst way.
I will offer that Portland
I will offer that Portland is a completely different paradigm. I could not see MA highway onramps with stop signs (as opposed to yield) or 1-car-only traffic lights.
The sad part is, almost
The sad part is, almost every time I've been nearly hit by a car (Which, as someone who commutes on foot daily, is frighteningly often), I've been in a crosswalk with the little "It's okay, go ahead and walk!" man lit.
I try and do my part to be a good pedestrian, and it's frustrating when the people surrounded by tons of metal don't seem to care.
Going car-free is the way
I’m a daily commute-by-foot person as well. I walk about a mile to and from Coolidge Corner and Kenmore Square, and I must say that the renovations they did on Beacon Street this year completely took away the small amount of pedestrian friendliness the street once had. They took the timers off of all the pedestrian lights, and on top of that, the new traffic prioritization system is not timed with the pedestrian lights, so it’s often very unpredictable as to when the lights will cycle through (notice how the solid stop hand comes up even when the light do not change).
Pedestrians, bikers, and cars need to use common sense when traveling, but I’m tired of hearing drivers whine about how aggressive pedestrians are, when the drivers themselves are by far the most aggressive people on the street. I willingly gave up my car over a year ago just to live a car-free lifestyle, and I honestly wish the city would give people more of an incentive to do this, even if it means making life more difficult for cars (e.g. more pedestrian prioritization, bus/trolley prioritization, higher parking rates, and CONGESTION CHARGING). It would reduce carbon emissions, make roads safer, make us less fat, and even possibly establish more of a sense of community.
Right of way
Pedestrians have the right of way at a crosswalk EXCEPT when there's a "Don't Walk" signal, even if the concurrent traffic signal is green. Just wondering how many of the discussed situations here fall under that category.
Pedestrians do have the
Pedestrians do have the right of way at "Don't Walk" lights if there is a reasonable gap in traffic. The driver forfeits their right of way if they are breaking any law (speeding, lack of signal, etc.). Also keep in mind that there are many older intersections in this city which do not have pedestrian lights, in which case the pedestrian has the right of way during the concurrent green light (drivers making turns must yield). There is a light just like this outside of my building, and unfortunately most drivers do not seem to know this rule.
Also not all lights work
The very busy intersections at Mass/Huntington and Comm/Chestnut Hill for instance have had pedestrian lights inopperable for months on end. The button on the Symphony Hall corner hasn't worked for quite a while, though the one across Mass Ave does work. I waited three cycles crossing Chestnut Hill Ave over the summer before I had to dart out into traffic to get across the street. Only other options would have been to wait another 3 cycles hoping the lights worked on the other parts of the intersection.
pedestrian ROW
at "Don't Walk" signs? For real? I jaywalk as much as the next person does, but it would be nice to know as a pedestrian and as a driver that walkers HAVE the right of way after a "reasonable gap in traffic"...mind citing your source?
USDOT
It was in an article I read a while back in the USDOT about sustainability - I'm unable to find a direct link. It's ultimately up to municipalities to determine the legality of it, but on a federal it's in place more for litigation reasons. It essentially protects someone crossing the street with good judgment from drivers who are speeding or otherwise breaking the law.
I did a quick search at cityofboston.gov and couldn't find anything except basic "rules," but I've never heard of anyone being cited for disobeying a crosswalk sign.
Oh yeah... I wouldn't
Oh yeah... I wouldn't suggest playing chicken with the green line either.
cell phone walking
I am glad you mentioned this. I worry when I see people walking across the street without looking. I see oblivious hordes cross every morning by the BU Bridge (though obliviousness does seem to decrease as fall recedes and the out-of-towners acclimatize themselves to the predictable unpredictability of Boston traffic).
Unless you are wearing full body armor, you're not going to win pedestrian vs. car. And drivers have cell phones too. You just can't take for granted that you've been seen by the driver.
I find when I walk to work wearing my iPod that I am much less aware of the traffic around me, have to remind myself to look before I step.
It seems miraculous that we haven't heard of more pedestrian fatalities in the last couple of years.
I was almost hit the other
I was almost hit the other morning by a truck turning left on Newbury Street while I had the walk light. The person right shotgun stuck her head out to yell at me and when I made a face at her, she had the driver slow the car down, opened the door, and almost came charging at me.
At 8 in the morning.
I agree that pedestrians need to keep an eye out for cars, but I was (for once) walking with the light, in the crosswalk and had the right of way.
Same happened to me with a
Same happened to me with a delievery truck turning right onto Mass Ave from Commonwealth one day last summer.
I was almost throught the cross walk on the closest side of the street and he came barreling through the right hand turn and screetched his horn at me, while I had the right of way.
What does her race have to
What does her race have to do with it? Did I miss something?
harder to see against the background?
No idea, otherwise...
beats me
I was wondering the same thing. It was kind of snuck in as an afterthought.
It's people like this who help to prepetuate racism and inflame racial tensions.
I mean, yeah, sadly, racism still persists.
And, while stupid snide remarks and passive agressive hatred might make you feel better, they aren't going to fix anything.
Silly
I think the person who posted that was trying to say that emergency personel only respond appropriately to people that are not of color, which is just as much a stupid and racist statement to make, if you ask me. Ignorance is not endemic to just one race, it affects all people regardless of color. How about instead of using race as a crutch or cop out, you step up and offer somthing to society?
Ami missing something?
Where is race mentioned?
last part of the last sentence of the original post
Whoops, I see..
I thought it was a reply to a response..
I don't see what the big
I don't see what the big deal is waiting for pedestrians to cross. How long are you going to have to really wait? 30 seconds? A minute? Are you in that much of a hurry? When I'm a pedestrian I'd want drivers to give me the same courtesy.
I'd wager that drivers on cell phones cause more accidents than pedestrians on cell phones anyway.
Put a few cops at major intersections. Have them actually enforce the law by writing tickets to every person that fails to yield.
Oh, poor baby
Its so tragic that obeying the law is inconvenient for you. I'm really sorry not killing me is such a hassle. How awful that you need to wait a few seconds to obey the law. No, better to make the pedestrians to wait a few minutes for someone stupid enough to respect their right of way. You are clearly too important to obey the law.
I always watch very close when I cross the street but I've still gotten hit by a car and had some near misses that would have killed me. Because too many drivers in this city treat right of way as a suggestion and are interminably grumpy when ever they are forced to obey it. Talking on the phone in a crosswalk probably isn't smart, but blowing past a pedestrian waiting at a crosswalk is illegal. Even if you're in a hurry.
I always step out in front of traffic
As a pedestrian, I will always take my right to step out in front of you. Unless you're driving hell's bells down the road, you _can_ stop and _have_ to stop.
There isn't an uncontrolled crosswalk in this city that is on a road with a speed limit over 25-30 mph. If you can't control your vehicle for someone in a marked crosswalk ahead of you (I don't care if they're on their phone or flipping somersaults), then you don't deserve your license. You're also not allowed by law to pass a car stopped at a crosswalk when there are more than one lane. At concurrent traffic intersections, the pedestrians have the right of way over the turning cars.
I was crossing one day when a box truck coming from well behind me in the same direction started laying on his horn before he'd even started to turn! He barrelled down on my in the middle of the two lanes and came to a full stop laying on the horn. I turned to him and pointed at the WALK sign and told him to read it. He told me he would kill me if I didn't get out of his way. Well, that's about all I could stand so I told him to go blow himself and he got out of the truck. He told me to get the hell out of the road (oddly, he was the one now blocking traffic) and kicked snow at me. I told him he was a big man for kicking snow and he should do what he said or get bent. He barked that he was having a bad enough day already and stomped back towards his truck. I said, "Yeah, like you have a monopoly on bad days!" and went on my way while he put his truck into gear finally.
All that over the fact that he couldn't be bothered to let me pass as he should by law. What a douche. I don't care what you're doing, you stop for pedestrians because *you* are the one who has the large machine which doubles as a killing device if used improperly. What would you do if you were in a community and a kid chased a ball into the street from around a car where there's no crosswalk to even hint at people being around?
It's a densely populated city. There are people. They cross roads. Get used to it and be prepared to control your car.
I usually swat the car, myself
If I can reach them, they're within 10 feet, and that violates 89 MGL sec. 11.
I, too, have had drivers get out and yell at me. I don't usually yell back, though; that never seems to be productive.
I do have to wonder why people are so willing to violate a traffic law, put my life in jeopardy, and then threaten to hurt me -- all while stopping long enough for me to (a) get a picture of their face and (b) note their license plate, which can be used to identify them.
Usually, wondering that out loud will end the incident.
Only time I swatted...
Was when the car hit me. Which probably doesn't count as a swatting. To be fair, though, that was up in Malden when I crossed the street and a driver wasn't looking at the road and kept rolling though the cross walk. Noticed me in time to not kill me, thankfully. I should have gotten him arrested but I felt fine and needed to get to work, though it left me more shaken than I initially realized and caused some soreness that lingered for the rest of the day.
I've never had a driver get out of their car, but anyone who tries to scare me into giving up my right of way gets a very slow walk across the street for their troubles. I've gotten beeped at and yelled at for just walking, but never someone who exited their vehicle.
Brave Accellerator Pushers
I've had my share of run-ins, both on bike and on foot. Despite being female and short, I find it amusing how quickly these "I'm going to threaten you because I can't get it up otherwise" jerks start to back up and get in their cars and peel out to get away when I don't get scared, start looking cold and psycho, and stand my ground. (stands, legs akimbo, hands on hips, "Hit me? You don't really want to do that, do you ...?" in a "go ahead - make my day" sort of way.)
Somehow, they act like they must imagine things ... things like "maybe she's got a gun if she isn't scared of my bullying threats" or "boy, how do I explain getting my ass kicked by this and going to jail for my trouble ...". Talk is so cheap. If they were real mature, adult humans they wouldn't think it so necessary to boost their self esteem by bullying people from the safety of a massive metal turd. Cowards, all.
I agree that the rules of
I agree that the rules of the road should be obeyed, but seriously, sometimes there is just too much momentum the way some pedestrians jump out into the street. I drive and walk this city and it's dangerous on both ends, because this conversation isn't really even talking about the intersections and streets without crosswalk for which all of this also applies.
Half This Problem Could Be Solved...
...if only there were some way to make sure that only intelligent, competent, aware people were allowed to operate cars and trucks on our Commonwealth's streets. You can't do anything about idiots walking like idiots, but perhaps something could be done to keep those idiots from being put in control of a ton of speeding metal.
Some sort of "driver's license", if you will.
Crackerjack Box Theory
One in three contains a Massachusetts Driver's License! Perform the parallel parking ritual after the ten easy question ceremony and you automatically win!
Crosswalks
"you end up having to wait forever for those bastards to cross the street."
Fuck you and you should only be run down by a car!
Fuck you!
Them bastards!
"you end up having to wait forever for those bastards to cross the street."
Since I really doubt that you were born with wheels instead of legs, at least once a day you will be one of those "bastards" crossing the street.
I also doubt that you've never crossed a street while chatting on your phone.
Grow up.
Which crosswalk?
Which crosswalk?
Um, no way
One of the most exciting nights of my life was the one when I was mugged right outside that T stop at Mass. Ave. The night when a guy touched a gun to my head and said to my friend, "Gimme all your money or I'm gonna shoot your bitch." Right by the spot where you'd go under.
No way on earth would I ever walk into that tunnel on purpose. I'll take my chances with the traffic.
one pedestrian's opinion
The drivers I can't stand are the ones who decide that their need to make a right turn trumps a red light, "NO TURN ON RED" sign and walk sign all at the same time. The city could make a lot of money ticketing people at the intersection of Washington and Monastery in Brighton.
I blame Bush. We need to
I blame Bush. We need to raise taxes, grow ponytails, start community-to-community forums and help JPFROMJP with his website. Also voting for Barack Hussein Obama will help with the crosswalk problem. Time for change.