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DCR starts work to make deadly stretch of Memorial Drive safer, maybe a couple weeks too late

By adamg on Sun, 10/06/2024 - 12:38pm

Cambridge Day reports work that includes widening the pedestrian/bicycle path and reducing the speed limit on Memorial Drive outbound from the BU Bridge starts Monday.

Neighborhoods: 
Cambridge
Topics: 
Driving
Free tagging: 
pedestrians
Bicycling
Memorial Drive


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Comments

By Angry Dan on Sun, 10/06/2024 - 1:27pm.

It truly sucks that it often costs somebody's life to push badly needed safety improvements across the finish line.

Edit: We also STILL need to know who killed John Corcoran!

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By Lee on Sun, 10/06/2024 - 2:43pm.

… instead of a Mercedes, we would likely know.

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By SwirlyGrrl on Sun, 10/06/2024 - 6:31pm.

Could be a fun time connecting the public record statie's payroll data base and/or a list of state officials with scraped ad or Mercedes service data indicating likely owners of Mercedes SUVs in Eastern MA.

By Anon on Sun, 10/06/2024 - 2:28pm.

I’m glad they are finally doing something here, but wish they would do it right, with concrete barriers to protect cyclists and pedestrians. And no, flexible plastic posts which in the Boston area get described as making a bike lane “protected” do not protect a car from drifting out driving into people, they just fall over. They protect drivers cars from getting scratched or dented when they drive into the bike lane but that’s it. The amount of destroyed flex posts all over the area is a testament to their total uselessness in protecting people from drivers.

By peter on Sun, 10/06/2024 - 3:12pm.

Has anyone ever been pulled over or seen someone pulled over for speeding on DCR roads? Jamacaiway, storrow, mem drive, etc all have relatively low limits that are just ignored. I've tried doing the limit occasionally and it is not comfortable with everyone else screaming past.

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By g on Sun, 10/06/2024 - 4:30pm.

I rarely see local PD on DCR roads except for emergency situations. Who is responsible for enforcement on DCR roads and could local PD step up without inciting a turf war.

Not just in Boston but throughout MA.

By BostonDog on Sun, 10/06/2024 - 8:26pm.

Either can issue traffic citations but they leave the river and other major state roads to the MSP.

Traffic enforcement is almost shockingly minimal across MA compared with other states. Cambridge does occasionally pull people over but it's normally a preplanned focus of one intersection rather than cops out on patrol for it.

A few of the smaller towns are pretty strict (Petersham comes to mind) but it's not the norm.

Traffic cameras won't solve these problems 100% but they are effective at lowering speeds overall and don't require police involvement.