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Maybe it would be best to just avoid South Huntington Avenue in the rain
By adamg on Wed, 11/27/2013 - 12:07pm
A.P. Blake came upon yet another crash in the rain on the street, at the Back of the Hill trolley stop, shortly after 11:30 a.m.
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Comments
Accident
I think it was worse than my hastily taken video clip reveals. Looked like airbags were fully deployed and entire front section crumpled in. There was a blow to the passenger's side rear corner, though I'm not sure how that got there. The driver was not there, and may have been taken by ambulance. Also might be damage to the building's masonry, but I'll check another time unless someone has more info.
Coming up from Huntington, I
Coming up from Huntington, I saw the cop and thought he was just posted there to discourage people from speeding through. As I passed him, nope, another one bites the dust. Do note this vehicle is on the opposite side of the road from where it should be traveling.
We need a new term
Above a certain rate of occurrence, it can't exactly be considered an accident any more, can it?
Unintended collision
Unintended collision
Perhaps an infrastructural
Perhaps an infrastructural inevitability?
It's time to close the
It's time to close the trolley lanes to motorcar traffic. Yeah, people will bitch and moan for a while, and then adapt.
Why?
I mean, I'd love that, but it wouldn't do any favors for traffic management (including trolleys, pedestrians, bikes) at the corner of Huntington & S Huntington.
The problem lies almost exclusively with South Huntington, but not on "normal" Huntington. IIRC, Huntington tracks were rebuilt in 2006, but S Huntington was not included. I know that right before the trolleys enter the Heath St Loop there is a switch with gaping holes of missing asphalt and muddy puddles, so clearly that section hasn't even seen so much as patch work in a while. I will say that speeding is a huge factor alot of times, but that is not the sole problem.
Accidents and trolley noise are just two of the lovely amenities
Wonder how well business is going for little boutique hotel, En Vision. Does anyone else wonder why this was the neighborhood they chose to showcase JP?
Those tracks have been there
Those tracks have been there forever, and people coped with them. The people that travel on them regularly should be aware by now that a slower speed is needed in the rain .But maybe they should be reminded , put up a few lighted signs asking for caution in the rain, and maybe the T should send out a sander to put down some sand when it rains. Other than that , you can't really fix dumb . If you see steel and it is wet, it is going to be slippery, isn't there some sort of chemical equation to explain that? Something of this order , but not this one, you don't want to touch this, CaC2 + 2H2O → Ca(OH)2 + C2H2 !
South Huntington problems
Clearly, there are a lot of traffic dangers endemic to New England.
They stem from the same problem: lack of respect for highway safety, both in the managers and the enforcers.
It is silly to gripe about the tracks on South Huntington. Those tracks serve a valid purpose and make a lot more sense than traffic control devices which demonstrate lack of knowledge about how to drive or cops who clearly who clearly do not know how to drive themselves.
Excellent examples:
Pedestrian lights which drivers are told to ignore, i.e. "DO NOT WALK" pedestrian lights combined with "yield to pedestrians on turns signs." The duty to jay walkers is to refrain from hitting them, not to treat the lawless with obeisance.
Electronic signs over four lane superhighways saying that blocking passing lanes is ok unless you are in the far left lane. The law is to keep right unless you are passing. PERIOD.
The problems stem from a lack of a requirement to know how to drive in the regulators.
Then drive down the street and observe cops who are too stupid to use turn signals and cops who are too stupid to maintain a safe following distance.
Get the people who do not know how to drive out of responsibility for management or enforcement, whether they be cops or sign writers.
What is the right speed for rain?
I drive here everyday to get home. What is the right speed in rain I've always wondered, since around 5, no one is going above 15mph anyway? The city speed limit is 30, are people speeding down this street at 40 in the rain?