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City to try to crack down on Massholes - both behind the wheel and the handlebars
By adamg on Fri, 04/16/2010 - 9:37am
Boston Biker reports a new city effort to keep bicyclists from dying that will feature BPD officers going after Masshole motorists and encouraging bicyclists to wear helmets:
Officers will more proactively seek out and fine for safety violations committed by those on a bicycle and those operating a motor vehicle. This effort will include the strict enforcement of Massachusetts laws dedicated to bicycle and pedestrian safety.
The city will hold a bicycle anti-death summit on Wednesday, April 21 at 5:30 p.m. at BU's Morse Auditorium to let bicyclists and "high-ranking" officials discuss ways to curb bicycle collisions. Also, the city will be setting up some sort of database to actually track bike/car collisions.
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Comments
Paging Mr. J. Walker ...
This is a good start. Start cracking down on the f-ing woollyback wanderers, too, please! Toronto, Seattle, Portland, Vancouver, Montreal ... all manage to do this. Time for Boston to grow up!
I swear: someday, I'm going to train a sheepdog to herd pedestrians - move their tails through the crosswalks on the lights and nip their legs until they stay on the damn curb!
And I swear, some day I will
And I swear, some day I will throw out a spike strip into a crosswalk as the light turns red, just to puncture the tires of the Massholes who feel it's their right to run red lights.
I hope the BPD swings by the intersection next to the O'Neill building. Plenty of opportunities there to instruct wayward drivers.
And I will thank you for getting out of my brain!!!
Seriously... where's the fire!? Lord knows there's nowhere in boston awesome enough where they have to be there RIGHT.NOW.OR.I'M.GONNA.JUST.DIE!!!!
Cattle Run
http://www.life-vuk.hr/ograda_eng.gif
I actually remember about 10 years ago or so there were people at the corners of State and Congress handing out pamphlets on the dangers of jaywalking. That is a pretty horrible intersection and despite the constant police presence due to one of our cities lovely, permanent construction sites I don't believe I've ever seen a jaywalking ticket given out (yes they exist!).
One Hundred Cents
Yeah, they do. They carry a possible fine of $1 American. I'm sure Boston cops look forward to writing those up.
Woollyback Wanderer?
Is that what the Sand People from Star Wars rode on? the things they rode in single file to hide their numbers?
Sheep!
Well, let's see, Boston pedestrians wander aimlessly without external inputs from, say, don't walk signs or crosswalks. They also tend to belong to one of two species that wear wool on their backs year round.
I was amazed when I was in
I was amazed when I was in Toronto last year, Red Sox Road Trip, that even at 3 AM when nary a car is in sight people stand on the corner and WAIT for the walk signal. Not a single person, even drunken idiots, was jaywalking.
.
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Do something about it then!
Do something about it then! Online bitching about how much you despise Massholes, Bostonians, Massachusetts and Boston isn't going to solve a damn thing. If you know of systems that have worked in other cities, which you claim you do, then contact the appropriate officials who may be able to execute them instead of constantly posting about it to readers of universalhub! I for one would love it if pedestrians, cyclists and drivers shared the road in a manner that was safer and less frustrating for everyone involved.
Is the mayor..
Gonna balk at those scary Southie residents? The worst offenders in the city?
I've seen blind three point turns in traffic, several main roads consistently have illegal double parked vehicles, and people are always blowing through stop signs and cross walks on the side streets. Meanwhile 12 cruisers sit in front of the D6 and you're lucky to see one officer patrolling a week.
OK, what is your problem with Southie drivers?
Seriously, you've been bashing Southie drivers in these comments for at least two days now, so what's the beef? Did you have a bad run in with a Southie driver? Ticketed too many times on Broadway? I'm a Boston driver born and bred (although I take the T more often these days), so Lord knows I wear my Mass driver label with pride. But let's not kid ourselves, there are bad drivers all over this city; you can see all the behaviors you describe above and then some in every other neighborhood (try the South End or Back Bay on a Friday night during a Sox game with restaurant valets taking up every available parking space). And come on, many of the drivers in Southie aren't even from Southie (there's the whole "people cut through Southie to get to Dorchester and the Expressway" argument). So fess up, will ya?
I'm with Jack
I often have difficulty crossing Tremont street because of the drivers. I've even been honked at and had people accelerate at me while I was using a marked crosswalk. There's a lot of poor behavior in this city by pedestrians, bicyclists and drivers.
not kidding myself.
But I do live in southie, and both commute to work by walking every morning and run errands in my car when I need to.
My personal experience living in several areas of the city has proven to me that Southie Drivers are the worst. IMO of course, and I can't say if it's long time residents or transplants, but it's what I've seen.
The one way side street corner I live on has had 5 accidents alone in the last 15 months, right outside my bedroom window, from people who don't bother with the stop sign and got T boned my people coming down the hill. They think since it crosses a lettered side street not named D or L they don't have to slow down.
Who hasn't observed the double parking at the Dunks on W Broadway, or next to the Junction; screwing up traffic by blocking lanes right in front of stop lights. Not to mention all down E Broadway any time from the nine to five, or West where it meats East.
And don't get me started about having to be careful in crosswalks, since almost everybody does the rolling stop from the side streets into the main fairways, rolling right through them without checking to see if anyone's on the curb or behind the cars parked right to the crosswalk. I've seen people almost get hit on several occasions from a car who only intended to stop 1/2 into Broadway if they were forced to by another. E street and E Broadway is notorious for this.
I love this neighborhood, but the traffic around it and the entitlement felt by drivers around here is dangerous. Compounded by the fact that these people know the area, as apposed to clueless drivers in other parts of the city that are forced to slow down to navigate.
IMO of course, but I had to drive and walk a lot less defensibly in other neighborhoods main roads.
As a year round bike
As a year round bike commuter, I actually support ticketing cyclists. I think that part of establishing a respectable cycling culture is insisting that bicyclist obey the laws. However, I also support not only cracking down on existing vehicle regulations, but increased burden of responsibility on drivers if they hit a pedestrian or bicyclist. Mass Bike is beginning what will probably be a multi-year process of trying to establish a Vulnerable users law, which I hope will establish a new standard of care when you drive a multi-ton vehicle in a city environment.
As a year round bike
As a year round bike commuter, I actually support ticketing cyclists. I think that part of establishing a respectable cycling culture is insisting that bicyclist obey the laws. However, I also support not only cracking down on existing vehicle regulations, but increased burden of responsibility on drivers if they hit a pedestrian or bicyclist. Mass Bike is beginning what will probably be a multi-year process of trying to establish a Vulnerable users law, which I hope will establish a new standard of care when you drive a multi-ton vehicle in a city environment.
Totally agree
Smart enforcement towards cyclists and motorists can go a long way to improving safety and encouraging responsible behavior by both groups. Glad to hear that MassBike is offering some additional bicyclist education classes in Boston as well. While there are many bicyclists who know when they are doing something dangerous, many would benefit from learning how to operate safely and legally on our busy city streets. I think we are indeed making progress, and the Mayor's Safety Forum is a good next step.
Thirded.
Cyclists should bear part of this burden - I think many already do follow the rules simply for the sake of protecting themselves. I would not balk at being responsible in this way, as long as motorists are actually taken to task more often for the crimes they commit.
No way!
Do city officials read UHub comments??
That's just spooky timing right there, right?
I recall that
many years ago, here in Boston, there used to be signs all over the place that said "No JayWalking". That's not the case anymore.
Not what you think
It was a warning to keep Leno out of town with his hokey man-on-the-street bit.
The signs might go back up now that he's
retakenstolen the Tonight Show back from Conan (I'm with Team CoCo!).They hurt my feelings.
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I see only one problem with this plan....
Where will Menino/Signori hide all the new ticket revenue? (wah wah wahhhhhhh) I wonder if increased enforcement will continue when the
Globe and Herald'spublic's attention has moved on to something else.I've always been puzzled by
I've always been puzzled by things like this, couldn't we close the budget gaps on failure to shovel snow tickets alone? Double parking would be fish in a barrel outside any city liquor store.