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Never park your car on South Huntington on a rainy day

Car hit three times on South Huntington

Mr. Eggcorn reports this car on South Huntington Avenue was hit at least three times today by other cars sliding on the trolley tracks, driven by people who don't realize why that's not a good idea, at least, not until it's too late.

Happens all the time when it rains.

And here's a citizen complaint about another South Huntington smashup today - city replies: Talk to the T.

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Comments

Does it? I've never heard about not doing that.

Also, how fast were these people driving in order to slip so badly on the trolley tracks that they collided with another car? The tracks are pretty skinny, so if you're slipping on them when you drive, move the car over a few inches so that the tires have traction on some asphalt.

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Cars get sideswiped all the time, regardless of the weather. Wet and/or icy conditions just make it more likely. Beware parkers.

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Lame excuse by the city to only yield better case closure stats!

Are the steel rails optimally below the asphalt surface level so car tires bear more weight on road than slippery steel? How about using concrete for the road which is less slippery than bituminous asphalt, especially wet?

One thing I don't miss from the elevated central artery was riding my motorcycle on curved sections with slippery steel expansion joints polished by heavy traffic. In wet weather I always avoided it. Street rails are yet worse for bicycles and their skinny tires that can get caught, leading to a death some years ago.

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...that you? If so, you're slipping seriously bud. That was a completely reasonable comment and it even references bicycle use on our city's roads without any froth at the mouth. You feeling ok? Should I send over some chicken soup?

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OK, let me try again.

Damn right its the MBTA's fault! Blame them for the stupid streetcars getting in the way of cars and slippery rails causing any and all accidents on roads having them! Get rid of the whole Green Line and use the track space for more travel lanes! BU students: no more free rides - hitchhike for gas, grass, or ass! People using GPS won't get stuck on tracks anymore either! If some commie, pinko, liberals whine about keeping streetcars, put the rails where the other commies are, bike lanes. Let those two share the road.

Better?

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If they just removed all curbside parking for the part of Huntington where the rails share space with cars, there'd be enough room to give the trolley a dedicated right of way, as well as space for a separated bike lane next to the curb. It would increase safety for everybody.

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...music to my ears....

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> BU students: no more free rides

Outbound on the B Train hasn't been free for 5 years or more.

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Buddy of mine snapped two fingers there in the snow a couple years ago. My ex lost her front teeth in the same spot, and I avoid the intersection whenever possible. I've heard of concussions, broken bones, and near misses with cars there the world over.

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Friend of mine lost two front teeth a couple of days before her wedding and another friend of mind had her side all bruised up from the hip to the shoulder. I do my best to avoid that area at all costs.

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On Friday, a woman was going north on S Huntington when a guy darted straight out from the Back of the Hill apartments. She slammed onto the brakes but slid down the wet tracks, and her front passenger side corner went into his front driver side corner. The force of the accident sent her right in front of the trolley I was on and we had to brake hard to avoid it (luckily were going uphill and at a relatively slow speed). Once the woman gathered herself, she backed up out of our way, jumped out of her car, got in the guy's face and tore him a new one. Whew! Man, she was really screaming at him! He deserved it, too, the jackass.

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That stretch of road is a nightmare in any sort of rain/snow situation. I drive on it to work, and I've lost control of my car 3 separate times when I've been forced to drive on the tracks, even at really low speeds. Something about the gauge of the track and the slight elevation of the tracks off the pavement causes cars to lose traction with their rear tires, so you slide laterally into oncoming traffic or into parked cars on the side of the road. I've been lucky enough not to have hit anything when I've skidded there, but I drive really, really carefully and (mostly) know what I'm doing, and it still does me no good.

Oddly, this is a new problem--it's only been slippery there since the MBTA ripped out the steel plates around the tracks ~3 years ago. They ripped them out and repaved right up to the tracks, because they had a few Green Line derails in a short span back in '09. The trains are safer now, but you really don't want to park your car on South Huntington when there's rain in the forecast. And, of course, the city tells you to talk to the MBTA, and the MBTA won't do anything about it because they just did track renovation there. Same as it ever was.

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So, it is the fault of the MBTA! When they repaved, they did not make the asphalt quite high enough so that car tires would be more on pavement than track. Either the engineer specified lower pavement or the contractor didn't do the work to spec. (but late to go after them).

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How do other cities with street-running trolleys handle this issue?

We could start by calling up Philly and San Francisco. And continue with any number of cities in Europe.

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