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Y'know, sometimes there's actually a reason the city marks certain spots as 'No Parking'
By adamg on Fri, 11/15/2019 - 9:50pm
Look at that Massholemobile squished in on the right there.
A roving UHub photographer paused to pay homage to the Masshole who parked in a small no-parking area in front of the Square Root in Roslindale Square this evening, making it almost impossible for bus drivers to make the turn onto Cornth Street and so gridlocking the Square.
Ed note: No, the bus isn't equipped with some weird antenna - it's stuck in front of a mobile mounted on a small island at the intersection.
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Comments
Haters Preemptively Fall Back...
So I am just going to come out and say it...
Given:
Route 30 is descended from a West Roxbury & Roslindale Street Railway Company electric line established in 1897...
The Dedham & West Roxbury Street Railway* operated steam dummies via Washington Street betwixt Egleston Square {School Street Carbarn/Stables} and Taft's Corner {contemporary name of Rozzy Square} during 1865 and 1866...
Motor bus service had been operated by the El, MTA and MBTA from circa 1939 until June 1971 along Durnell Avenue...
Seems to me that public transportation ought to have priority access to Corinth Street, no? Public transit, to be fair, had that much of a precedent in Roslindale...
My ideas:
No auto parking except for emergency vehicles and commercial vehicles making active deliveries on Corinth Street, the full public way as officially defined by The City of Boston.
Reactivate MBTA Route 36-2 {read as: "Route 36, second variation"} Forest Hills-Roslindale Square via Washington Street. Operate during AM and PM peak to keep the trunk clear and better accommodate local riding during periods of highest ridership.
Install and activate transit signal priority for all traffic lights governing vehicle movements throughout the entire square.
*The Town of West Roxbury granted locations within the public highways for streetcar tracks to the D&W. Shortly thereafter the property was leased to the Metropolitan Railroad Company. Thus, the Metropolitan operated the actual day-to-day service. Franchise, property and rights ultimately purchased outright by the latter. West Roxbury ultimately outlawed steam dummies; this resulted in a new pattern of service. Henceforth, the Metropolitan ran service from Forest Hills Square to Downtown Boston with horsecars.
P. S.
Tangentially related... would any UHub regulars be interested in a narrative history of transportation in Roslindale, Mattapan, West Roxbury and Hyde Park? I have a bunch of notes I have been compiling in my spare time...
I would be.
I would be.
Durnell at Washington was
Durnell at Washington was Dedham line bus , Walworth blended with Durnell at Belgrade was Charles River line,not sure any bus ran Durnell as a route. Fun fact, Home Market used to be on inbound side of Belgrade at corner , owned by Harry Comtopasis , father of Michael ,former headmaster of BLS.
The Roslindale Historical
The Roslindale Historical Society is interested. Could you please email [email protected] to discuss.
Tow and fine that asshole.
Birch Street is becoming pedestrian only next year. If drivers continue their criminal behavior then turn all of Roslindale village into a pedestrian only paradise. I was there last weekend and I wouldn’t miss the asshole drivers and their honking horns. Teach these brats a lesson.
Lovely way to kill the Square
Think that one over. The reason Rozzie Square is such a bottleneck is that all the drivers from West Roxbury and half of Roslindale have no other way to drive to the other side. If you banned cars, you’d kill the Square (no, not everybody is going to take the bus to the grocery store or the good restaurants). And where, exactly, would you route the drivers who need to get to the other side of the Square?
They’ll take the bus.
When we no longer cater to the motor chauvinists. Ban cars and busses will run smoother and faster and thus attract more riders which will increase the frequency of service. It’s will make things safer for pedestrians and cyclists as well. Roslindale Square will thrive as a carfree zone.
No, they won’t
So, you think every driver, every Village Market shopper, every Delfino’s customer, is going to take the bus? Sorry, they will shop in Dedham, eat in JP, drive down Centre St to the Arborway, and generally forget that Roslindale Square exists. Unless you live along Belgrade Ave or Washington St bus routes, you have to figure out a transfer, maybe twice, and a visit to the Square would not be worth it for most people. Don’t get me wrong, I like and use public transportation all the time (if you look elsewhere in this discussion you’ll see I was on a bus when this very event happened). But not to buy groceries, and not when I’m joining friends for dinner. This isn’t Manhattan, it’s not even the South End. Until we get $6/gallon gas and $10,000 license plates - which is policy in a lot of countries - people will drive to the grocery store.
Looks like the car is occupied.
I would generally prefer waiting cars to pull to these areas than hover in the lane which is what happens most of the time with Uber/lyft
I get that the car shouldn’t have been there, but the moving vehicle was the bus. The driver should have beeped or something to make the car move if he wasn’t going to make the turn. The onus is on the moving vehicle.
That’s ridiculous. The onus
That’s ridiculous. The onus is on the one muppet in the car to not park illegally and inconvenience others. I think a basic principal is that drivers should follow the law. They shouldn’t park illegally.
Those are alarm lights
I don't think this is an “active park”, I think the bus hit the car and the lights are flashing. Wouldn’t the orange lights be off otherwise?
what?
of course it isn't. by that logic, one could park in the middle of a lane of traffic and it would be the responsibility of everyone else to "eh, give 'em a chance" and allow them to move at their own pace.
no, it's illegal for a reason which means that this:
should also never happen. neither is correct, neither is legal, neither is OK.
you want to be an uber driver? fine, learn how to accommodate your vehicle appropriately. you want to drive in the city? fine, learn to walk a few hundred feet to make sure your car is legally parked. the onus is on the vehicle owner at all times, period.
I was there when it happened.
I was there when it happened. The car wasn't occupied initially. The bus driver of the bus behind the one in the photo went and found the car's owner.
I was there
I was on a bus on Belgrade Ave that got caught up in this. There was nobody in the car. The bus driver could have honked for 20 minutes straight and it wouldn’t have changed a thing.
If I was on one of the stuck busses ...
... I think I would have been sorely tempted to ask the bus driver to let me off for a second so I could key that car.
Better yet
Get the beefiest folk on the bus to physically move the car out of the way - like turn it on its side so the bus will fit.
(/lurid fantasy)
The onus was on the asshole driver.
No excuses.
Genuinely surprised
That the bus driver even stopped and didnt just continue on and rip the front end off that car, which IMO would be completely justified and appropriate.
If nothing else, it'd be a lesson that driver wouldnt forget anytime soon
but no, the bus has to wait for some Rozzie dingbat picking up their free range, organic olive platter who believes rules dont apply to them
If only we had some sort of
If only we had some sort of agency responsible for enforcing traffic laws.
They're on a union break
.
LOL!
Well said.
The Mobile
Let's not forget the name of the mobile called out in the editor's note. The mobile is called "Traffic", which is a fitting name for that intersection.
The mobile
Easily the ugliest piece of public art in all of Boston
Used to be no problem
Buses coming from both directions were able to make that turn with no issues, regardless of autos parked too close to the corners. The redesign of the intersection that added those islands reduced the width of the roadway substantially. So much for "road diets."
Traffic issues
Yes, the driver of the car was at fault, and it resulted in cars not being able to drive on Corinth Street for @ 15-20 minutes. I was one of the first people who could not pass for @20 minutes.
However, I think the island is too massive for the corner, and the crosswalks could have been designed differently and still ensure pedestrian safety.
Sometimes, I wonder how emergency vehicles can operate efficiently during an emergency due to a massive increase in congestion, the narrowing of roads, and the placement of polls to eliminate parking.
That's not correct in any way
That's not correct in any way. That intersection was not redesigned. Some parking spots were removed to make turning easier, in part because buses were getting stuck on that corner. So your revisionist history is inaccurate. The problem is drivers continue to park in the spots clearly marked No Parking because they don't care.
Curious...
...how was this resolved?
Was BTD called to tow the illegally parked car?
No tow
I got off the bus and walked to the bus stop in front of the community center building. By the time I got there (5 minutes), the buses were rolling again. I saw no tow truck, so I’m assuming that the moron driver got back to his car and drove off, ready to do it again next time.
Blocking a train
I recently was witness to a similar example of stupidity.
As a Boston College train crossed Comm. Ave trying to get into the Lake Street yard, it stopped because someone had parked on the street illegally near Crazy Dough's Pizza and was blocking the train from entering the yard. They weren't on the tracks themselves, but close enough to them to prevent the train from entering.
We all sat there, both cars and train, for 2 signal cycles until the person emerged from one of the businesses, got in their car, and drove off, completely oblivious to what they caused (or at least acted like it).
There's even those parking blocking 'sticks' there
to prevent this. Where those moved?
Been there
I’ve been on that bus half a dozen times in the last year when it’s gotten stuck in that same situation for 4-5 minutes.
Masholemobile
typo in caption.
M.A.S.H.? Nah.
Keep up the reporting on Massholes, as I enjoy public shaming (of others).