By adamg on Tue., 8/18/2015 - 11:41 pm
Bicyclists will gather Thursday evening to place a white "ghost bike" where Anita Kurmann died last week in a collision with a flatbed truck at the intersection of Massachusetts Avenue and Beacon Street.
Kurmann, 38, was a Swiss doctor doing post-graduate work at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. She died at an intersection identified as the most dangerous one in the city for bicyclists.
The memorial begins at 6:30 p.m.
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Motorcycles
By ElizaLeila
Wed, 08/19/2015 - 11:47am
Have been given some spots - Menino made that happen on trendy Newbury St.
We park in the same spots as cars. The only downside I've run into (figuratively) is that I was taught to park the bike at a slight angle to the curb but a meter monster got me in the North End for not parking parallel. Fine, I'll take up more space if that's what you require.
Parking garages don't allow motorcycles when they could make good bank off of us slipping into those odd triangular spots without losing car spots. Maybe they should provide spaces for bicycles - but then cyclists would raise a stink about that.
You've heard me say this before: I don't ride a bicycle, so the only bone I have in this is making certain codes are known and followed, and including cyclists in any designs I'm working on, and being a good neighbor to the many cyclists in and around my world. I'll leave the advocating at City Hall to you.
lol - Twisted Knickers. You don't seem to be able to read my tone. But that would be a good cover band name!
I'll bet 10 to 1 that you're
By s
Wed, 08/19/2015 - 4:17pm
I'll bet 10 to 1 that you're from Cambridge and not Boston.
4'' handle bars, please. When there is a shooting do you recommend that the memorials use blinking LED candles instead of flames? Do you judge the size of teddy bears being laid for the little girls remains found on Deer Island?
And you've actually backed yourself into a position of cutting every bike off of sign post which absolutely no one in the world is advocating except maybe sawzall.
you'd lose
By ElizaLeila
Wed, 08/19/2015 - 6:45pm
N/t
Path of travel = 3'
By RickW
Wed, 08/19/2015 - 9:39am
That section refers to interior hallways and references wall mounted objects that would not be detected by the cane for a visually impaired person.
For sidewalks, the requirement is to maintain a minimum clear width of 3 feet. That sidewalk appears to be 15 feet wide.
Narrow the sidewalk for cyclists then
By Markk02474
Wed, 08/19/2015 - 10:02am
to solve the problem of the disappearing bike lane becoming a turn lane. Many parts of Boston have such wide sidewalks that they get filled up with commercial restaurant and other space when they could be instead used to save lives.
Narrow the roadway
By SwirlyGrrl
Wed, 08/19/2015 - 10:19am
1. You have no fucking idea what the intersection is like at the location you are talking about. (I navigated it several times a day for 5 years in college when there were no trucks, and for another three years when commuting in the '00s).
2. The intersection is at a point where people exceeding the speed limit on the bridge meet narrowing and city conditions. Narrowing the sidewalk would be stupid - the intersection needs to be redesigned such that drivers get a very clear signal to slow down much earlier or contain physical features that force traffic to slow well ahead of the intersection.
What?
By Brian Riccio
Wed, 08/19/2015 - 10:33am
Narrow the roadway? At the Mass Ave bridge? Seriously?
That intersection is fine the way it is.How many times a day do you see people speeding across the Mass Ave bridge? I'm on it sometimes several occasions in a day and pretty much every one who comes across knows they're about to hit city traffic when they get off the bridge.
The real assholes? The people who fly off Storrow and then take that illegal left turn onto Mass Ave like maniacs because they think they won't get caught. And given the number of times I see cops set up at Mass and Beacon to ticket those same scofflaws, can you provide me with statistics that show how many of those tickets written were for speeding on the Mass Ave bridge?
Try "all the effing time"
By SwirlyGrrl
Wed, 08/19/2015 - 11:25am
Whenever I'm down that way I see people flying across the bridge at 20+ mph over the limit. I'f I'm driving, I get passed at 20 mph+ over my speed. Stand down there and look at the skid marks as they approach the intersection.
At the very least, there need to be speed bumps at the alley way.
It also needs to be narrowed to remove the right turn lane. It isn't needed - traffic on Mass Ave will back up past the intersection long before Beacon will back up. Traffic needs to be forced to slow down before it even gets near Beacon.
Come again?
By whyaduck
Wed, 08/19/2015 - 2:41pm
Last year, I rode through that intersection (yes, on a bike - Hubway) almost every evening on my way to Back Bay Station. I did not witness people flying over the bridge at more that 20 miles more than the speed limit. Now, perhaps, it was the time of day that I was riding (5:45pm ish). But that rode was choked up with traffic; I was the fastest thing moving.
(Actually, I never road through - I got off the damn bike, right before the bike lane ended, and walked it across the intersection. Why? Because I like living).
Speed bumps, taking lanes away from car traffic, will not change the fact that some intersections in the city are dangerous due to a myriad of factors. Bike riders would be well served to become aware and respect the danger. Or they will keep getting killed.
What part of...
By lbb
Wed, 08/19/2015 - 12:29pm
What part of sideWALK do you not understand?
Where cyclists need to dismount?
By Markk02474
Wed, 08/19/2015 - 2:13pm
and WALK their bikes, just as on crossWALKs?
Seriously, cyclists are proposing raised bike tracks on roadways here and there. Well, wow, sidewalks are already raised and many are 10 feet, 20 feet, or wider in places. If narrower than ten feet wide, its not suitable for consideration. Also, if pedestrian traffic is so heavy in a place that it would become congested like Mass Ave. if a sidewalk were narrowed, don't narrow that sidewalk either.
If it's a bike track...
By lbb
Wed, 08/19/2015 - 2:41pm
...then it's not a sidewalk, whether it's raised or not raised, separated or not separated, or decorated with pink polka dots. I know it goes against your obsessive nature, but please stop being such a disingenuous dope. It's Wednesday.
What do you call that on Vassar Street
By Markk02474
Wed, 08/19/2015 - 3:22pm
in Cambridge at the MIT campus? Looks like a bike track. Do you call it a sidewalk despite all the signs saying its for cyclists?
[youtube=400x300]v-f4AWP0cU4[/youtube]
Note that this half of Vassar street more clearly shows how Cambridge views pedestrians as below cyclists in importance. On the other side of Mass Ave the cycle track is older and pedestrians were given most of the width. Cyclists have to actually slow down there.
You're wrong
By ElizaLeila
Wed, 08/19/2015 - 4:01pm
Markk - the side walk/track on both sides of Mass Ave takes care of both pedestrians and cyclists and separates them from cars.
More imagery on the landscape firm's site: http://www.crja.com/plazas/vassar.htm
And trust me - they know the appropriate codes and regulations for accessibility.
So you agree with me that lbb is wrong
By Markk02474
Wed, 08/19/2015 - 4:36pm
in claiming that cycle tracks and pedestrian sidewalk space don't coexist?
The video shows the transition from bike lane to cycle track at about 45 seconds in, so its possible that dangerous places like Mass Ave. where bike lanes disappear could be made more safe by having the lane go to a bike track on part of the sidewalk space.
Heaven forfend!
By Bob Leponge
Wed, 08/19/2015 - 2:47pm
Heaven forfend that a precious square inch of our city be wasted on people sitting to enjoy a meal or a drink, when instead it could be used to facilitate the smooth, orderly, and efficient flow of motor vehicle traffic.
Dining vs. lives
By Markk02474
Wed, 08/19/2015 - 3:13pm
I'm suggesting that public land set aside for transportation be used for transportation, even for cyclists! Commercial restaurants who want to give patrons a sense of the outdoors can install big windows that open and pay rent on their own dining space for customers. Should we give away public sidewalk space for free or cheap any more than street parking space?
But, hey, where sidewalk isn't needed as intended for transportation and appropriate rents are collected, outdoor dining is a good use.
Careful
By ElizaLeila
Wed, 08/19/2015 - 4:02pm
Sometimes portions of that sidewalk are within the property line of the building.
and vice versa!
By Markk02474
Wed, 08/19/2015 - 4:38pm
Corners/edges of buildings on city property.
where?
By ElizaLeila
Wed, 08/19/2015 - 6:51pm
And who did they pay off to get their building permit?
478 Mass Ave Arlington
By Markk02474
Wed, 08/19/2015 - 7:21pm
Its an old building (1901) and the northwest corner is several inches over on the Mass Ave right of way. I learned that looking at the plans for the bike path crossing project, which oddly has not started yet.
That section
By ElizaLeila
Wed, 08/19/2015 - 11:18am
Is also linked to the exterior - from the main page from the public safety page.
How are you going to control which 3' someone is walking down? Do blind people and those in wheelchairs now have lanes they must adhere to?
Hey, look, guys!
By erik g
Wed, 08/19/2015 - 10:14am
Hey, look, guys... Markk is advocating for pedestrian safety! It is truly a joyous day, when one of UHub's most notorious car-loving curmudgeons reverses course and proves that--
What's that you say? It was a transparent attempt at concern-trolling, at the expense of bike-riders everywhere, and his principal motivation was derailing the conversation? Well color me flabbergasted.
I always advocate for safety
By Markk02474
Wed, 08/19/2015 - 2:41pm
Don't know where you have been. Pedestrians wearing conspicuous clothing instead of all black at night is safer. Looking both ways is safer. Putting away your phone is safer. Being protected in a car instead of unprotected on a bicycle is safer. Wearing a bike helmet is safer. Waiting at red lights is safer. Having a headlight on your bike at night is safer.
That was an intersection made more dangerous by putting bike lanes poorly on Mass Ave such that they terminated into a right turn lane and get shared with bus stops. Some bike advocates will say the solution is a take the lane strategy. Putting bike lanes on Mass Ave. lulled riders into not doing that and that's what killed one here while injuring others. The bike lanes were a mistake. NYC has taken away bike lanes in exactly this situation where they have proven dangerous. Better to have parking again than kill more people.
Like hell you do
By lbb
Wed, 08/19/2015 - 2:44pm
You don't "advocate for safety". You advocate for motor vehicles. Every time there's a conflict between motor vehicles and any other users of public spaces, your response is to lay some new constraint on the other users and call it a "safety" measure. I'm sure we'd all be perfectly safe if we just stayed in our houses, too, but it's called public space for a reason.
"It is not yours. You may use it. You may share it. If you will not share it, you may not use it."
If there was a smaller item...
By The Beer Guy
Wed, 08/19/2015 - 10:36am
I would urge you to shove it up your ass.
As a motorcycle rider
By dmcboston
Wed, 08/19/2015 - 8:29am
for many years, I can tell you the best advice I was given, right in the beginning was, "Consider yourself invisible."
1. Consider yourself invisible.
2. Everyone else is totally unpredictable.
Another, for motorcycles (nice shiny throttle for rocket acceleration), leave yourself a means of escape. Maybe.
You can call them accidents, collisions, Acts of God, manslaughter, whatever. Being in the right doesn't do you a lot of good when the responders are throwing a blue tarp over you and making cell phone calls.
A more aggressive version
By ElizaLeila
Wed, 08/19/2015 - 8:55am
We joke amongst ourselves that they ARE out to get us.
People in other cars say the
By anon
Wed, 08/19/2015 - 10:00am
People in other cars say the same thing. It's not like bucket seats, padded dashboards, seatbelts, airbags, antilock brakes, side impact curtains, steel safety cages, crumple zones, bumpers, and everything else were added to cars because they look cooler than tail-fins. Other drivers are unpredictable, there are blind spots, and accidents do happen, a lot.
True but I think misplaced, perhaps
By lbb
Wed, 08/19/2015 - 9:41am
This thread is about a memorial, not about bicycle and traffic safety -- a very worthy subject, but maybe best discussed elsewhere. The focus here is appropriately on remembering someone who was killed.
I would add a # 3 after "unpredictable"
By issacg
Wed, 08/19/2015 - 9:45am
3. presume that everyone around you is both distracted and an imbecile.
I apply these rules not only while cycling, but also while driving. It has worked out so far [knocks on wood].
I hope that the memorial brings at least some solace and closure for the many who knew and admired the victim.
Heck, you should assume that even if you're...
By UHub fan
Wed, 08/19/2015 - 4:25pm
...in another car!
Why do you want to hang this
By jo
Wed, 08/19/2015 - 9:23am
Why do you want to hang this driver so bad? Wasn't he cleared of all charges?
Because he killed someone and
By Steeve
Wed, 08/19/2015 - 9:57am
Because he killed someone and drove away from the scene of the crime.
What charges were those?
By lbb
Wed, 08/19/2015 - 12:31pm
I missed that part -- exactly what was he/she charged with? AFAIK the driver hasn't even been publicly identified, am I wrong about that?
Boston should have a broader
By Klaus
Wed, 08/19/2015 - 10:19am
Boston should have a broader conversation about out of town and out of state CDL drivers who get themselves into trouble driving big rigs into the city. We see this over and over again with trucks stuck on side streets, Storrowings, and various other very preventable and tragic incidents, like the death of Dr. Kurmann. At the very minimum the fines should increase so there is some monetary incentive to ensure that CDL drivers in the city are well-trained in urban traffic patterns. I didn't see the bridge/pedestrian/cyclist,etc should not be a valid excuse. Drivers of these big trucks need to be held accountable monetarily for the police time and traffic delays caused by their lack of skills in urban driving. Maybe then trucking companies will be more careful about hiring drivers who can safely and competently navigate our roads and urban environment.
We tried for decades to discourage
By Markk02474
Wed, 08/19/2015 - 2:40pm
out of towners with horrible signage from attempting to enter greater Boston. We made the roads as twisty and illogical as possible. We cherished rotaries. We took away slip lanes and places where trucks could turn around and recover from mistaken or missed turns. We ignored efforts by the FHA to improve and standardize signs.
Then came the disruptive technology - GPS. Out of town drivers are now emboldened to enter Boston without even realizing the perils they face.
Klaus,
By whyaduck
Wed, 08/19/2015 - 2:56pm
I understand your concern. But you are making assumptions galore in your post. For example, why do you think that truck drivers are not well-trained to drive in urban traffic?
And, as I have said, again and again and again and again, trucks and buses have blind spots where they can't see you, a bike, a car, anything. So, I know it might be difficult to believe, but the "excuse", I did not see him or her, could be a valid one (again, depending on the investigation). What frosts my ice-cubes are folks who automatically want to take the truck driver of this sad incident and hang him from a tree in the Common (acting as judge and jury). I am sure that he is not jumping for joy that he killed a young woman - ya think?
And drivers are held accountable if the investigation finds that they were at fault.
I did not intend to say that
By Klaus
Wed, 08/19/2015 - 7:09pm
I did not intend to say that all truck drivers or even this truck driver in particular are unfamiliar with driving in urban traffic. How can I be commenting on the truck driver involved? We don't even know who he is.
That said, I was speaking to the general laws involving CDL drivers on our urban streets. It is apparent to me that time and time again of truck drivers who are unfamiliar with their route get into trouble in Boston traffic. These incidents block major intersections and Storrow Drive on a regular basis taking up police hours and delaying drivers at a very large costs to the public (missed work, gas, clean up etc). In my opinion, the inconvenience caused to Boston residents isn't commensurate with the fines levied. For example, the fee for Storrowing your truck is only $200. If the fines were higher then it would be an economic imperative for the drivers hired by transportation companies to be knowledgeable of our roads and to drive very defensively. Professional drivers should be held to very high standards. When they make a mistake, even inadvertently, the cost can be very high.
Darren Wilson
By Neighbor2
Wed, 08/19/2015 - 3:35pm
Everyone wanted to hang Officer Darren Wilson in the days after Ferguson, too.
Then there was an investigation and grand jury, and he was not indicted.
And THEN the feds investigated, and I believe they also cleared him.
Moral: Things aren't always as they seem at first, and breaking out the pitchforks may be a bit premature.
PS- Has anyone seen any results of an investigation yet? Is there anything beyond pure conjecture regarding how this went down?
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