By adamg on Fri., 11/16/2018 - 11:15 am
NorthEndWaterfront.com reports. In 2016, the city reduced the default city speed limit from 30 to 25. You may recall that before the city did that, councilors approved a reduction to 20 but were stymied by state law. Councilors say that today, as then, the issue is safety - for pedestrians, bicyclists and drivers themselves.
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Comments
Don't speed. Just double park
By anon
Fri, 11/16/2018 - 2:49pm
Brookline's finest routinely ignore double parked cars or cars parked in bike lanes. Don't speed, and make sure you yield to walking people in front of Coolidge Corner Theater. Also, feed your meter and don't violate the 2 hour limits curbside.
But don't worry about live parking violations. You won't be ticketed.
wat?
By cinnamngrl
Fri, 11/16/2018 - 5:02pm
https://imgur.com/gallery/2nbwwzv
read the research and articles I linked, Gary C.
By cinnamngrl
Fri, 11/16/2018 - 3:09pm
Facts say you don't have to put them everywhere. There is a program that notifies drivers of a speed enforced districts and moves the cameras around randomly.
The truth is people are just selfish.
well, enforcing traffic is
By anon
Fri, 11/16/2018 - 1:59pm
well, enforcing traffic is one of the few parts of police work that actually brings money in. I'd support hiring more officers if their entire 8 hours was devoted to writing ticket after ticket, busting speeders (and double parking, and blocking the box, and illegally parking). however, excuse me for believing it's not just a case of manpower -- as I stood out in the street this morning, waiting for the bus, because there was a cop car parked squarely in the stop and blocking the driver from seeing me.
Can we stop linking enforcement to revenue
By roadman
Sat, 11/17/2018 - 11:05am
Because once you consider revenue, your enforcement is tainted. And speed limits should ALWAYS be based on an engineering study (google 85th percentile), and not what some random politicians arbitrarily decide is "best" fro everyone.
Want traffic to go slower, than rebuild the streets so they are forced to go slower. Then post a lower limit. But this proposal, just like the "make everything 25" idiocy they forced through the Legislature, will not work because, on most roads, it's TOO LOW to be practically enforced.
Good.
By Logan
Fri, 11/16/2018 - 11:38am
Maybe at 20 they will finally go 30...
speedbumps
By Roztonian
Fri, 11/16/2018 - 11:57am
We have been fighting with the city for years to lower / enforce the speeding on our street.
Nothing has been done.
If they would install a speed bump (which they will not do) the problem would be solved immediately.
speedbumps are useless
By anon
Sat, 11/17/2018 - 4:49pm
Accelerate hard right before hitting the bump. This lifts up the front end, and you'll glide right over it. Kind of like doing a wheelie on a motorbike.
This conversation
By Luke Warm
Fri, 11/16/2018 - 12:12pm
as historians will one day decide, is actually about the nascent topic of banning cars (as we know them) from Boston.
you're welcome!
I remember
By tmrozzie
Fri, 11/16/2018 - 1:36pm
a neighborhood meeting a few years back that included a city councilor and BPD liaison. When neighbors complained about people driving too fast and asking for more enforcement, their response was basically:
"You don't really want us to put a cruiser at these intersections, because most of the time they'll just end up ticketing one of you or a neighbor."
For the life of me I don't understand why they felt that was a bad thing. I don't give a rat's arse where someone lives when they're doing 40mph down a narrow residential street.
What if *you* get a ticket
By anon
Fri, 11/16/2018 - 9:35pm
What if *you* get a ticket for going 25 down a wide residential street?
Sane planning would help, too
By Perry D
Fri, 11/16/2018 - 1:43pm
I commute several times per week down the Jamaica Way and Riverway. It is an absolute nightmare. Just a few improvements off the top of my head:
And while I'm ranting, close Commonwealth Ave to vehicle traffic from Kenmore to Packard's Corner, especially Uber /Lyft vehicles. In fact, you could probably get away with keeping Comm Ave open as long as Uber / Lyft are blocked by some sort of force field. Pepsi trucks, too.
Great ideas all.
By Pfhlick
Sat, 11/17/2018 - 7:43am
Great ideas all.
Never understood why striping is allowed to fall into such a poor state. Is the paint that frigging expensive?? Drivers are much better behaved when driving is predictable for them - so we need lane markings going through not just up to intersections and we need them put down fresh when they get worn of by a winter's worth of salt and sand.
Pain Upkeep
By Donna Dee
Sat, 11/17/2018 - 11:13am
Agreed! Crosswalks are regularly allowed to disappear, making it even more dangerous to cross streets around here.
Use Commonsense - not that common
By Alex321
Fri, 11/16/2018 - 1:59pm
You can't avoid pedestrians jumping in the roads like they own it, like their parents never thought them how to cross a street or a bicyclist who's in and out of traffic with no care, this is not your quite neighborhood.... start paying some excise taxes, get a bike license plate, get a license to ride a bike and maybe even a training how to ride in traffic before putting them on the road, before criticizing the people that drive and pay stupid money for insurances etc. Start paying and then you'll can talk.....
bicyclist pay more than their share of taxes
By cinnamngrl
Fri, 11/16/2018 - 4:32pm
don't fall that dishonest argument.
https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2015/...
huh?
By Michael
Fri, 11/16/2018 - 4:36pm
paying taxes and getting licenses hasn't made drivers any better, so how would it work for bikes?
training how to ride in traffic
By zetag
Fri, 11/16/2018 - 5:13pm
Would that test be like the 15 minute version that you have to only take once in your life to get behind the wheel of multi-ton motor vehicle? And also, if you're paying "stupid money" for insurance it means that you're a bad driver.
Field of Vision
By NorthEnd3r
Mon, 11/19/2018 - 9:46am
Pedestrians only appear to "jump into the road" when someone is driving too quickly. At higher speeds your field of vision narrows, so a pedestrian who you would easily see at lower speeds is no longer visible. So when you're zipping down our streets, you only see the pedestrian at the last possible second even though they may have been crossing the street long before you noticed them.
Details: https://nacto.org/publication/urban-street-design-...
Starting to get ridiculous...
By anon
Fri, 11/16/2018 - 2:22pm
What's next 15, 10 citywide? There are places in the city where 20 MPH is warranted and places where it is much slower than necessary. People will not obey the limit where they know it is clearly ridiculous. This just leads to lack of respect for the law and encourages ignoring the speed limit in general. And as has been mentioned in other comments, no matter how low the limit is, it doesn't do any good if it is not enforced.
Exactly. The ONLY place I've
By anon
Sat, 11/17/2018 - 5:48pm
Exactly. The ONLY place I've seen speed enforcement in the city of Boston since the 25mph limit went into effect is on an outer stretch of Commonwealth Ave in Brighton, with few lights, light pedestrian traffic, and separate carriage lanes in each direction. In other words, one of the few stretches of road where a 25mph limit is probably too slow.
Enforce 25mph where it makes sense, on narrow residential streets and areas with heavy pedestrian/bike use.
Come to Roslindale
By adamg
Sat, 11/17/2018 - 7:44pm
There's been some enforcement on the "slow" part of Washington Street, near Nick's.
Signs also say cars must
By anon
Fri, 11/16/2018 - 2:33pm
Signs also say cars must yield to pedestrian when making a turn and that rarely happens... honestly, for only 5mph, it's not worth changing all of the signs in Boston.
â¤ï¸
By Homer Bedloe
Wed, 12/05/2018 - 11:52am
Not necessary to change “all the signs in Boston.†The 25mph and proposed 20mph speed limits are the City-wide default speeds. Meaning, unless otherwise marked, the speed is 25/20.
So 15 miles per hour quicker than..
By Friartuck
Fri, 11/16/2018 - 3:00pm
The Councilors themselve move?
I would like to see
By Anon
Fri, 11/16/2018 - 4:11pm
I would like to see enforcement of traffic laws for bikes too. They run lights and stop signs. Ride on sidewalks. Weave in and out of pedestrians. I fear bikes more than cars.
Are you afraid of inconvenience?
By cinnamngrl
Fri, 11/16/2018 - 4:15pm
or are you just trolling along?
Good point anon
By Ari O
Fri, 11/16/2018 - 5:39pm
Please cite MGL about the sidewalks.
(Yes, I know some specific sidewalks are disallowed for bikes.)
Cyclists Are Safer Drivers
By NorthEnd3r
Mon, 11/19/2018 - 9:47am
Cyclists are safer drivers than people who only drive. For that reason, British insurance companies offer them lower car insurance rates.
Details: https://www.forbes.com/sites/carltonreid/2018/10/0...
Personally, I always
By DuckingA
Fri, 11/16/2018 - 5:31pm
Personally, I always considered the lack of traffic enforcement as one of the pluses of living in this city. 20mph is laughably low for most streets, and no body will follow this speed limit. Boston streets are incredibly safe. This is an attempt at solving a problem that doesn't exist.
Boston streets are incredibly safe.
By Ari O
Fri, 11/16/2018 - 5:40pm
I'm going to do you a favor and not link all the bicyclists and pedestrians who have died in Boston this year but the Google can help
I just Glimpsed at the Google link.
By mplo
Fri, 11/16/2018 - 9:04pm
There are too goddamned casualties for comfort.
One cyclist death is too many
By anon
Sat, 11/17/2018 - 5:51pm
One cyclist death is too many, but many of these incidents are either a) freak accidents, b) involved some kind of large truck (as opposed to a passenger vehicle), or both.
They're about to tear up Inman Square in Cambridge because a freak accident happened there - a cyclist entered the roadway from a sidewalk and somebody opening a door couldn't see them approaching.
If anything, heavy truck use on city streets need to be more restricted. More streets closed off to all trucks (or trucks over a certain length/weight), or limited to off-peak hours.
You don't bike through Inman, do you?
By SwirlyGrrl
Sat, 11/17/2018 - 8:22pm
Actually, I don't even have to ask if you make a statement like that.
It isn't about a "freak accident" but the daily deluge of cyclists vying for space with motorists who think the bike lanes are free ME parking spaces, and don't respect the light cycles in a complex intersection.
I have been biking through Inman for ... TWENTY SIX YEARS. It isn't about a "freak accident", hon. It is about years of needing to do something to fix a mess.
Sounds like you spend very little time in the area or just moved there to me.
Really?!?
By mplo
Fri, 11/16/2018 - 9:05pm
So, you prefer anarchy on the streets and roads of Boston, where people can do whatever the hell they want, be they cars, bicyclists, motor cyclists, and/or pedestrians? I don't buy that.
What anarchy are you
By anon
Sat, 11/17/2018 - 9:43pm
What anarchy are you referring to? The streets look pretty safe and quiet to me. If there are any real problems, BPD deals with them swiftly.
4,500 Serious Crashes in 2017
By NorthEnd3r
Mon, 11/19/2018 - 9:50am
Boston alone experienced 4,500 serious crashes--those requiring EMS response--in 2017. That's over 12 crashes per day. While the streets "look pretty safe and quiet" to you, that's not the reality.
Source: https://whdh.com/news/vigil-held-in-honor-of-last-...
20 mph? Seriously?
By O-FISH-L
Fri, 11/16/2018 - 9:39pm
I agree with Pete Nice that every department has "Chapter 90" guys, Mass. General Law Chapter 90 and 89 covering most motor vehicle law but 20 mph is ridiculous.
A great Police Chief once told me that the focus should be on enforcing current law on problematic streets and intersections where most accidents happen. Not on a side street where a vocal citizen wants to watch traffic stops. Very few if any officers are going to write a "speeding" ticket for 21 mph.
BPD used to have one traffic car per station but once the ticket book (20) the job was done for the shift.
If they're serious, form a full time Traffic Bureau, 24/7. State Police have no staff, better odds of hitting the lottery. One on the desk, two on the road. Baker should hire 300-500 troopers immediately. Commissioner Gross should hire a traffic squad with men and women willing to write more than the 20 in the book (if necessary).
Also, take the insurance companies out of it unless they want to deny insurance for the worst of the worst. Cops don't want to be revenue collecters for Commerce, Geico etc.
Guess wha
By anon
Fri, 11/16/2018 - 9:44pm
There are many cities and states where 20mph is the default speed limit for a business district and/or school zone.
Which cities? Cite examples.
By anon
Sat, 11/17/2018 - 1:09am
Which cities? Cite examples. Also, do you actually drive?
I can name a state that has 15 and 20 mph defaults
By SwirlyGrrl
Sat, 11/17/2018 - 8:19pm
Can't vouch for anon, but I can direct you here: https://www.oregon.gov/ODOT/Engineering/Pages/Spee...
I learned to drive in OR and was taught that 20mph was the default in business districts and school zones. 15 for alleyways and narrow roads.
I believe it is pretty standard in school zones in nearly every state.
Most of Boston is not a
By anon
Mon, 11/19/2018 - 4:48pm
Most of Boston is not a business district or school zone.
There is no national standard for school zones. Could be 15, 20, 25, or a case-by-case basis. https://www.ite.org/pub/?id=e26610b5-2354-d714-51f...
Edinburgh
By NorthEnd3r
Mon, 11/19/2018 - 9:52am
Edinburgh, Scotland set 20mph speeds as the citywide default. Although you can hardly "lead" if you are always waiting for somewhere else to take the initiative.
This sign implies the speed
By anon
Mon, 11/19/2018 - 4:42pm
This sign implies the speed limit is 20 mph in the neighborhood, but not on the main road: https://goo.gl/maps/V8TNYoZPpNr
And you know what? Most people already go about 20 mph on similar neighborhood streets in Boston. A lower speed limit would only catch people on the major roads where 25 or 30 is fine.
I'd rather increase pedestrian safety by not building stuff like this: https://goo.gl/maps/KeHwbnDCVJv
Also, you don't need a car in Edinburgh. For example: https://www.lothianbuses.com/our-services/nightbus/
Makes sense
By Bill
Sat, 11/17/2018 - 1:02am
As I think you’re saying it’s easily done and would pay for itself. I walk every day on Centre Street in West Roxbury and Roslindale. There’s one traffic officer and when he’s there he bangs car after car for speeding, running lights, not stopping for pedestrians in crosswalks. But he can only be there so often. Even when he as a car pulled over people are speeding by. An officer could be there all day writing tickets until behavior changes. As long as there’s a 1% chance of f getting caught drivers blow through.
I wonder
By anon
Sat, 11/17/2018 - 1:01am
How many of these keyboard warriors actually drive. Judging by their comments the answer seems obvious
I wonder
By SwirlyGrrl
Sat, 11/17/2018 - 8:27pm
DId your mother bring you hotpockets or does she make you get your own?
See how this works. I can make shit up, too!
Something on the order of 80-90% of adults hold drivers licenses. That means that they drive or know how to drive.
Do the math. It isn't hard.
Holding a drivers license
By anon
Sat, 11/17/2018 - 9:36pm
Holding a drivers license doesn't mean you drive, especially in a major city where people forego their car entirely. People who forego their car usually develop an anti-car bias, or they forget what it's like to drive in this city everyday. They forget that the vast majority of people who drive here everyday are law-abiding citizens with clean driving records. They forget that the 5% of idiots you hear about driving too fast or crashing into things do not at all represent the behavior of most normal drivers
I drive, bike, and walk
By anon
Sun, 11/18/2018 - 2:18pm
Drivers are atrocious, and when I try NOT to drive like an asshole I get tailgaited, honked at, passed in non-passing zones or with someone cutting from behind me to run the red light on the wrong side.
Sorry, but cyclists are annoying to other cyclists even. Pedestrians are entitled and think a crosswalk makes them always right. BUT THEY DON'T KILL PEOPLE WITH HEAVY EQUIPMENT.
There is a huge difference between being stupid and annoying, and being stupid, annoying, and deadly.
You're getting honked at
By anon
Sun, 11/18/2018 - 7:43pm
You're getting honked at because you're not driving the speed. Not driving the speed limit as in going too slow. Yes, that's a thing and it happens constantly, especially on the highway (Priuses don't have a good reputation because of this)
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