We hear tow truck and see them fly down Fawcett street all hours of the night and morning so we invested in white noise machiens. They are stregically placed and keep the dog from barking too because he doesn't get woken up. As the weather gets warmer moticycle noise is to be expected.

One would consider a person shouting as loud as cars speeding on curves at 4AM, liable to something. Why accept a people in a car producing the same level of noise or hazardous act?

You don't have to accept it you can always move off the main road. I wish I could move to Maine but no such luck in life. My grandmother lived down the street from a Paper Mill and huge semi trucks shook the house in the early morning and woke you up if you slept in the front room but if you slept in the attic or back rooms it was relatively quiet until the birds started chirping. I like sound machines because I don't hear cars or birds and I hang one on the door so I don't hear people in the hall.

Are we to have cars and climate change? Or, slowly, do we ween ourselves?

Harvard holds Debates and today there was a great speaker at MIT. Possibly you would find the answers by joining a debate club. You can get the sound machines at Bed Bath and Beyond but they run $50. each. You could add permanent police detail but I'm sure they charge at least $35 an hour to the city therefore possibly raising your taxes. I'm relatively sure to attend a debate at Harvard or MIT is free.

Sleep well tonight and as the plan for Zero cars in Cambridge has failed already if you count the number of parking garage spaces for rent at the ever popular Luxury Apartments.

I live on a residential stretch of Fresh Pond Parkway and we are desperate for help from the City to encourage the State to address speeding, aggressive driving and prohibited heavy trucking. There is no police presence and therefore rampant violation of speed and trucking laws. Noise and vibration relief would seem like icing on the cake. No sane pedestrian would attempt to cross the street. Could we at least get a signal and a crosswalk and a traffic cop once in a while.

I agree with the crossing the street because the only semi-safe place is the light by the gas station near Ma Magoos. The light by Whole foods already has a memorial to past pedestrians who have been killed. As for police presence at 4:a.m. I am out at 4: am most days and there has not been one day that police were not passing me so their there at that hour. I have seen people fly by me and I do have a dash cam so I will make it a point to take a still and send it in if I get a clear license plate. It is possible that more speed limit signs near the T so drivers coming off Rt2 will see the speed limit before the bridge might help.

As this a state roadway and enforcement would have to be done by Mass State Police, it would be best to contact them directly with this request. They can be reached at (617) 727-6780, but we'll share this with Cambridge Police and see if they can reach out to MSP as well.

In reference to "Verified Official" comment above, the neighborhood has, without success, been asking the State Police for enforcement for at least seven years that I know of.
I am asking that Cambridge city government address the state government directly at a higher level since its is Cambridge citizens who are endangered by poor enforcement within an area of state traffic jurisdiction. The Governor's office is unlikely to listen to a private citizen. It is more likely to listen to Cambridge city government.

Thank you “DR”, and what is your full name please.

Yes, please “DR” let us know with whom we are communicating in city government and please do let us know what responses you get to your efforts.

Sounds like this is falling in the cracks between State Police and Cambridge. We also live on the street and see huge speed (50mph+) on it regularly, which is a concern for us.

We have been in direct communication with Lt. Craig McGary of the Massachusetts State Police about these speeding concerns. Enforcement on the Parkway is the responsibility of the State Police, but that doesn’t preclude the Cambridge Police from enforcing violations that occur on adjacent City of Cambridge streets.

Thank you “JW”. By when do you think the State Police will execute?

JW, I believe it is the Upper Basin Barracks (Brighton) #5 that covers Fresh Pond Parkway. The Commander is likely: Leutenant Martin Gaughan. Lt. McGary is Commander of the Boston Barracks, Station 4.

Still, by when do you think the State Police will setup enforcement of speeding and the exclusion of trucks and buses?

Again I would like to request that the City of Cambridge, likely through the City Manager office, address the State, likely the governor’s office, to help ensure the safety of Cambridge residents who live in the area controlled by the State.

These residents have for at least seven years that I know of communicated with DCR and the State Police, but still face a dangerous and unchanged situation on Fresh Pond Parkway. The comment above by Arthurstrang shows a knowledge of State Police areas of responsibility gained through years of trying to get their help with enforcement. Despite rare, sporadic police appearances, there has been no overall reduction in speeding and aggressive behavior.

For that reason I request that the City of Cambridge work with the Governor’s office to find ways to ensure that the City’s residents are protected in areas under State’s jurisdiction.

Again, yes, agree.

@Arthurstrang - While we can't speak for another agency, the way we handle such concerns is having traffic officers initially conduct surveillance over the course of multiple timeframes to directly gauge the concerns and then implement a short and long-term deployment plan to address the issues through enforcement and education. - Jeremy/CPD

JW (NAME?), Thank you, I look forward to “surveillance”. When you “handle’ the concern after “surveillance”, what response do you expect from a cooperating agency? I and many others have observed with radar speed devices, calibrated against the radar speed signs of the DCR. We find speeds over 40 MPH, sometimes impressively over. At the moment 2:06 PM, Friday 3 June 2019, speeds of the leading cars from the lights are just over 40 MPH, in this 25 MPH zone. Please consider truck/bus enforcement too. From Huron Avenue toward the river, the ban is 2.5 tons, 7 feet, and 12 passengers according to Massachusetts General Laws governing DCR Parkways. Arthur Strang 60 Fresh Pond Parkway 617-547-4158

It seems the simplest solution is to put speed bumps in the road. You can't go fast if the road doesn't allow you to go fast. Trying to change human behavior when the road can support considerably faster speeds is a lost cause. So make it so cars cannot safely go fast. It'll be harder to plow but that's the trade off. Just a thought.

Rocky, I understand your points.
The current iteration of speed bumps are the broader more gently sloped traffic tables one sees at many crosswalks around Cambridge. I believe the design of the old speed bumps caused other problems and have been replaced by the more thoughtfully designed traffic tables.
To address the speeding problem on the Parkway, the ideal place for traffic tables would be at the four cross walks at the intersection of Huron Ave and Fresh Pond Parkway.
This would have to be done by the State since this intersection falls within their jurisdiction.
We, the residents of Fresh Pond Parkway have discussed this with DCR, the relevant state agency, and were told no we don't do that on State roads.
It is for this and similar reasons that I reiterate: we need to get the attention of the Governor's office. These are, after all, agencies that fall under his direction.

Oops, sorry for typo Rocket.

>> were told no we don't do that on State roads.
*sigh*

I hear WIll Brownsberger is very interested in transportation issues
https://willbrownsberger.com/contact/

FYI, there was a speed trap here yesterday around 7pm.

These ongoing comments have been shared with our Traffic Unit and the State Police and the enforcement measures are a direct result of the submissions.

Update to the above thread from last August:
We who live in the neighborhood have not seen an increased police presence.
Neither have we seen a decrease in aggressive driving nor of speeding.
Heavy trucks' illegal use of the Parkway continues unaddressed.

Cambridge is in the process of selecting a new City Manager.
It is important that Cambridge residents make sure this issue is brought to the attention of the incoming City Manager whoever he or she might be.
The public safety of Cambridge residents is endangered by the State's neglect of law enforcement.