Description
with decreased flow rate of cars because of Coronavirus, the drivers that *are* driving on Western Ave - one of the only wide, straight, well-paved streets with a separated bike lane in town - are going much too fast, some easily more than 40mph. In addition to the obvious safety issue, this is a quality if life issue as well, because drivers breaking the law and driving 40 is much louder than them driving 20.
here are some suggestions:
- actually enforce the laws that are in the books and pull over drivers who drive over the speed limit (this is great for the city too! think of all the traffic fines!)
- pour pebbles over the road to make driving 40 mph a less attractive option
- reduce the street to just three lanes for cars (i.e.: two for storing private property in the road and one for driving) so as to widen the sidewalk z reduce the street to just three lanes for cars (i.e.: two for storing private property in the road and one for driving) so as to widen the sidewalk especially on the south side of the street.
- reduce the street to just three lanes for cars (i.e.: two for storing private property in the road and one for driving) so as to open a contraflow bike lane going from the river to Central Sq in the closed lane because people already bike the wrong way in the bike path
- take the garbage bins that often get dumped in the bike lane and push them into the street to reduce it's width and make Western appear more winding like the rest of the streets in town.
- put signs and streetlights in the middle of the lane just like they are usually placed in the middle of sidewalks. instead of hindering people who push strollers or use wheelchairs, let them get in the way of lawless drivers
- actually enforce the laws that are in the books and pull over drivers who drive over the speed limit (this is great for the city too! think of all the traffic fines!)
13 Comments
City of Cambridge (Verified Official)
Pedestrian100 (Registered User)
Valerie Ann Bonds (Registered User)
Pedestrian100 (Registered User)
It’s not a matter of being busy with other important things. The city council passed an order, and hundreds of residents have asked for street closures and making more room for people on bikes and needing to social distance. City administration is ignoring this directive. Yes the city is responding in other ways as it should, as are all cities around the world. Cambridge is joining other cities’ responses of buying food from businesses for the food insecure, housing their homeless, etc. But where several cities are *also* closing streets and making them friendly to people outside of cars, our city manager and administrators have deliberately chosen to not close streets to provide safe passage for pedestrians and bicyclists.
With respect, what would we do with license plate numbers? And to what effect? There are twitter feeds full of recordings of aggressive drivers. You can’t submit them to police after the fact.
Pedestrian100 (Registered User)
Closed Police - JW (Communications) (Verified Official)
Reopened Mary (Registered User)
I want to add that this situation is terrible for the elderly, for people with arthritis, or with compromised balance. Thanks to groups of younger people walking (unsafely and obliviously) in groups, and especially joggers (usually maskless, with their 27' wakes of aerosolized breath!) coming up behind me, I often have to leap out of the way into the street, and the traffic is moving so much faster than usual that I'm sometimes trapped and can only stand there not-breathing.
Like many people you might not see as infirm, I'm immunocompromised, so this hampers my ability to get exercise, or go pick up curbside grocery orders. There are good suggestions above: the general idea is that, especially in an old town like Cambridge, sidewalk widening by making clear space in the street for walkers to avoid joggers (and jaw-droppingly thoughtless young people) is key. Cars don't come first.
Gidklio (Registered User)
Time for another one of these, then. Sad,on a street that *already* has a separated bike lane to have to carve out *another* lane because the city thinks "spot enforcement" works.
https://cambridge.wickedlocal.com/news/20180501/rally-pushes-city-to-build-safer-porter-square-for-cyclists-pedestrians
Mary (Registered User)
Police - JW (Communications) (Verified Official)
Police - JW (Communications) (Verified Official)
Pedestrian100 (Registered User)
Closed Traffic - BMcK (Streets) (Verified Official)
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