说明

Serious Safety Issue - Risk of Small Child Injury or Death:

This intersection - at Maple Ave. & Marie Ave. - has a tot playground. Cars - irregularly but often, and at any time of day or evening - barrel down Maple Ave. from Cambridge Street, treating Maple Ave. as a speedway and probable vent of road rage accumulated while navigating Inman Sq or elsewhere along Cambridge Street.

This is ordinarily a very quiet and relaxed neighborhood, and families and caretakers with little tots access this park throughout the daytime, and evening in the summer, on every day of the week. Every single time I hear one of the aforementioned speeding cars, hitting peak acceleration just about at the tot park, my heart lurches into my throat bc I am waiting to hear the ghastly sounds of a child or family member being hit & killed.

Maple Ave was ripped up Summer 2018 for repeated reports of a natural gas smell, and the road surface repair since has been - at best - piecemeal. I am hoping the City will be doing a proper repave of the street, but while they're at it it would make imminent sense to add a raised intersection here at Maple & Marie. The increase in safety will be vast and the potential for tragedy will be significantly reduced.

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I first reported this problem last summer and was told I would have to get signatures from the neighborhood showing overall support for such a feature. I have little-to-no time for such a thing as I work full time, and most of my neighbors do as well. However, having lived here since 2006, and, not only raising my own child here but watching (now) two generations of other little kids growing up here, I have no doubt such a feature would put many family's minds to rest.

Please find out if there's a better way to get this done than my taking half a day to ring doorbells and another half to canvas the playground.

Do we have to wait for a tragedy for a simple & intelligent repair to be implemented?

Thank you.