Man who was hit by a bus at Forest Hills dies; friends and neighbors demand city, state make intersection, rest of area around the T station safer

Glenn Inghram died from injuries suffered under the wheels of an MBTA bus turning left onto Washington Street from the lower busway at Forest Hills at Tower Street this past Saturday - just a short walk from his home around the corner on the Arborway.

In a petition to MassDOT, the MBTA and the Boston Transportation Department, his friends and neighbors say enough - that stretch of Hyde Park Avenue/Washington Street has become the pedestrian death zone they had long feared, one that took the life of the local gardener.

They are demanding officials do something in the short term to reduce the odds of another pedestrian dying there - such as re-doing the lights to give pedestrians sole access to the intersection when pedestrian-crossing lights come on and pruning or removing the bushes at the intersection that now hinder sight lines. Similar steps should also be taken at the pedestrian crossings at Washington and the Arborway, they add.

And they want long-term fixes that would include that stretch of road in major planned changes along Hyde Park Avenue - that now stop at Ukraine Way - aimed at making the avenue safer for people not surrounded by tons of steel.

For the last several years, traffic has worsened in and around Forest Hills Station, particularly on its eastern flank on Hyde Park Avenue / Washington Street between Ukraine Way and the Arborway. Cars speed through hoping to catch green lights, and weave dangerously between lanes with aims of the same. There is scarce room for pedestrians or cyclists to move safely in this area, and what little sidewalk space does exist is often occupied by people experiencing homelessness or suffering from substance abuse disorder, forcing people to walk on the street. Intermittently, cars and motorcycles now park on the sidewalk. There is no visible traffic enforcement around Forest Hills, and speeding and red light running has become rampant. Whatever circumstances surround the tragedy on October 12, it is clear to us that Forest Hills has become dangerously neglected. ...

The tragic incident on October 12 serves as a stark reminder that the safety of our community cannot wait. Every day that passes without action puts more lives at risk. We implore you to treat this situation with the urgency it demands. The residents of Forest Hills, Woodbourne, and Jamaica Plain deserve a safe, walkable neighborhood where they can go about their daily lives without fear. We call on you to implement these short-term improvements immediately and to expedite the comprehensive redesign of the area with a focus on the safety of the pedestrians, cyclists, commuters, and drivers who use this area daily. We urge you to act expeditiously, before another tragedy strikes.