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Citizen complaint of the day: When does the police crackdown on bad West Roxbury drivers begin?

About 24 hours after E-5 Capt. Darrin Greeley announced he was organizing a crackdown on people who speed through Centre Street intersections without stopping for pedestrians in crosswalks, a concerned citizen filed a 311 complaint about the conditions outside E-5:

12 cars went past me while I was in the crosswalk right outside of the police station. Please ask them to start doing some work and writing tickets.

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Comments

This seems typical. There was a duty officer at an intersection where I live for weeks. He just watched as cars ran the red light. All the frigging time.

People say someone's gotta die for change to happen. Time and time again, the city does not do anything meaningful to reduce traffic deaths. (see also the South Boston pedestrians being killed and then a week's worth of traffic enforcement).

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Someone *did* die in February but new E-5 (WRox) captain Darren Greeley believes it’s not enough reason for change, as WRox statistically has had fewer pedestrian casualties compared the rest of the city.

Apparently, we need more fatalities before even BPD will change their mind.

WRSA got BPD (and BTD, led now by Walsh’s interim commissioner Rooney) to rub the group’s back by standing up and making some pledges to enforce road laws — knowing full well the group was already happy with the way things were. Captain Greeley himself is from West Roxbury.

So now BPD has indeed gone back to the way things were — not even enforcing the rule of law in front of their own station.

And pedestrians continue to be scared of crossing Centre St.

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"Why aren't thEY Ticketing bikers froM Dorchester and JP who ride through red Lights on CENTre St when I'm Trying to get the Corrib?"

Stephen Morris, probably.

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Dude, you seriously need to seek some help. Stephen Morris is a great guy (sorry, human) who does a ton for the Parkway Community.

You are a crybaby who evidently has nothing but hate for people from the parkway, business owners, white people, car owners, etc.

Congrats on being so woke, but your rants and personal attacks are just tired - and sad at this point.

You should try to get some fresh air, go for a walk, and take care of you. Life it too short to hate everyone.

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Okay sock puppet

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Maybe go hug your SUV and you'll feel better?

Nothing in my post about white people but you do you.

One other note - I've personally been more mindful to observe the speed limit when driving on Centre St and get tail gated every damn time now, usually by cars which then pass me as soon as feasible. It's a .7 mile stretch of road - not that hard to just drive slow for a little bit people.

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I looked for anything “crackdown” looking on my walk down Centre today. Didn’t see anything. Did see cars blow past people in crosswalks.
After the tragedy in Feb we had a presence for a while. Unsurprisingly drivers slow down when a cruiser is present. But that’s not sustainable, the presence went away and it went back to normal.

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You must have missed the highly-visible construction trucks that have been out almost every night for the past two weeks at multiple intersections - digging up old crosswalks and prepping for new ones.

Have you not seen any of that or are you just forwarding the narrative?

Literally like 20 construction trucks along centre last night alone.

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Didn’t miss that. My comment is about the promised enforcement crackdown, and that is entirely clear.
Improving the crosswalks is good but doesn’t move the dial. People can blow through shiny crosswalks with a flashing light nearby the same as drab crosswalks. Everyone knows where they are and ignores them.

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Road engineering could fix it. Someone should hold a public meeting to explain that. Oh wait...

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I noticed that there were no double-parked cars yesterday at about 4:30 for the whole length of Centre St., and there were actually empty spots on the block across from West. I suspect they were enforcing the 2-hour parking and maybe even stopping double-parkers.

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The fact that people are allowed to constantly double park right by the police station, blocking that stretch of the right lane, demonstrates that there is not a need for four traffic lanes there in the first place.

Clearing out the double-parked vehicles just facilitates MORE high-speed passing, which is the REAL problem that Marty Walsh, BTD Commissioner Gregory Rooney, and E-5 Capt. Darrin Greeley are now actively trying to avoid fixing.

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That's an interesting way to look at it. I have to give that logic some more thought.

Meanwhile, I'll be very happy if they prevent double-parking and enforce other traffic laws on Centre St. That way, I can just drive down the road, and stay in the right lane if I want to, and leave the left lane for all the people taking left turns.

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I agree that we don't need four lanes, but double parking definitely contributes to people driving dangerously on Centre as they weave from lane to lane, trying to avoid both left-turning cars in the left lane and double parkers in the right. This contributes to the general chaos and people speeding as they try to make up 'lost' time.

A road diet (turn one of those lanes into a bus lane, goddammit!) would do a lot, but god forbid anything ever change in West Roxbury.

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Once this security theater ends and results in zero change for road safety, what next?

We know some residents and businesses vocally opposed the road diet and enforcement is only giving out warnings, so I guess we'll have to look towards traffic light/speed cameras, ya know since the data driven road diet was screamed down.

Looking forward to another temper tantrum from those clowns.

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West Roxbury is an ideal size and shape for people to visit shops on bicycles. But Centre St is so dangerous — and some whipped-up residents so virulently hateful of cyclists — that most who could ride don’t even try, like myself.

Those same residents simultaneously complain how their kids can no longer ride bicycles safely on local streets. How ironic that they haven’t connected the dots ....

I would certainly visit businesses more often if I felt it were comfortable to walk and bike in town. But no: apparently businesses are fine with the existing, aging customer base.

So we have to wait a generation before things change — for *everyone’s* benefit. How tragic is that?!

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It’s just a matter of time before these crazy and entitled West Roxbury drivers kill another pedestrian in a crosswalk. These drivers are fine with pedestrians dying as long as they don’t lose any parking spots. They said as much at this weeks meeting. And the useless cops admitted they won’t ticket these criminal drivers.

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Is sad how in your mind, opposing a city plan for major transportation changes equates with being a "crazy entitled driver".

Dude, you need some help.

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opposing a city plan to prevent pedestrian deaths by mildly inconveniencing a few drivers equates with being a "crazy entitled driver"

Fixed that for you.

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But I just saw that it looks like the city is preparing to paint the Centre St crosswalks at both the Corey St and Park St intersections adjacent to the Hastings intersection (which is already painted).

According to NIMBY math that should be a 200% INCREASE IN SAFETY, thanks to Steve Morris and friends at the West Roxbury Speedway Association!

In related news, while walking to work yesterday, I saw a lady get stranded in the middle of Centre St while halfway across the Hastings intersection crosswalk because the beautiful paint stripes and signs we got back in June were inexplicably FAILING to impede inbound traffic. I am hoping Steve Morris and the other experts at the West Roxbury Speedway Association can adjust the crosswalks and signs for us so they will start to work properly.

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Holly cow, as I was casually reading this comment, I felt like the name Steve Morris of West Roxbury sounded familiar, and it just flashed in my little brain!

I am 99% sure that it's the same Steve Morris who owns of one of the worst, if not THE worst problem properties in Fields Corner (Dorchester). For that troubled part of the neighborhood, this is no small feat. That’s the kind of property that every cop in the district knows because that’s where people regularly get arrested on drug and gun charges, the trash is often spilling all over the place, snow doesn’t get shoveled etc. I actually walked past it this evening and unsurprisingly it was the one property on that street where the trash barrels were left on the sidewalk three days after pick up. On warm days, that's the kind of gang-banger hangout that make people cross the street to walk on the other side. The heavy steel bars at the windows are also a nice touch.

According to a longtime neighbor, he is a trust fund baby who inherited that property from a relative a while ago and quickly managed to turn it into the scourge of the neighborhood.

Its (very partial) record is easily searchable by entering the 73 Charles St address in this page's search box:
https://data.boston.gov/dataset/public-works-violations/resource/90ed381...

Story connected to that address that made it to the news (the police is there often, but the outcome rarely gets published).

https://bpdnews.com/news/2018/1/20/keeping-boston-safe-officers-recover-...

You’ve got to admire this dude’s dedication in making our streets unsafe all over the City in any way that he can. I'd suggest creating an award after him; "The Steve Morris Unsafe Street Award".

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.. cross the street correctly in WR. You call for an Uber, then have the driver do a u-turn and get out on the other side of the street.

The crosswalks are for decorative purposes only.

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It's not really that hard. If you're wearing an orange safety vest and blowing an air horn, it's not that difficult to cross the street if there are no cars coming anyway.

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I have some disappointing news but there will be no crackdown beyond maybe a couple random days here and there, and someone else is going to get struck and killed. It will be a child at some point and people opposing this will have blood on their hands and have to live with that knowledge. All because a bunch of nuts want to rant and rave about a secret UN agenda and bicycles.

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WRox residents are complaining now how the Feds are sneaking money through to pay for road diets.

You’d think the fact that (well-done) road diets empirically make roads safer while not appreciably changing traffic flow dynamics would be a reason to pat “The Feds” on the back, for once.

But no: WRox prefers a conspiracy theory instead. People have even bought into the theory that Soros is pushing public transportation because he wants to invest in it.

I mean, Jesus H Christ, right?

These are living breathing highly well-compensated human beings living in one of the toniest neighborhoods of Boston. But you couldn’t find a more parochial set of sheep anywhere.

Proponents of serious infrastructure transformations are looking to benefit ALL residents. Opponents are looking to only benefit themselves.

Only one of those two can see the difference, apparently.

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The sad part is that they won't do anything. I've had police cars not stop for me in Holy Name crosswalk on multiple occasions. They do as everyone else and fly off that rotary. When I contacted the captain (this was years back) all I received was "they shouldn't have done that." Wow, yes, you're right - they shouldn't have. I'm so glad I had been trying to work with you and the city on this.

The only way drivers are going to stop acting entitled is hitting it where it hurts...the wallet.

I suggest everyone 311 the shit out of every infraction you see and also send it to the captain.

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311 complaints are a start. Should also call and write Marty and the city council.

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As long as whatever plan they come up with isn't the same as Cambridge St. near the hospitals/spaulding.
Dividing lines for easier parking and to make things safer for bikes is great - but now things are so narrow the ambulances and firetrucks have a really hard time getting through in emergencies!

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I’ve not heard a complaint any time I’ve visited doctors in that area.

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West Roxbury is like Sudbury compared to Hyde Park, there is little to no apparent enforcement of traffic laws or decorum. Straight on red, left on red, lane violations, U-turns across 2 or even 4 lanes, constantly blocked intersections, double and triple parking, flying through stop signs,you name it. It's all the daily norm in E18. Uber, Lyft, Amazon, and similar services along with the school buses are some of the worst offenders and they get bolder and bolder because there are no consequences. I remember taxis were heavily monitored back in the day, why can't the same approach be taken with these nuts? You take your in your hands when you step off the curb.

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We keep trying to compromise, but this is a fight between two fundamentally different views of the world. When you're in a car, you want to go fast and have fewer obstacles. When you're not in a car, cars going fast is health hazard. Compromise just makes drivers angry, without fully removing the hazards for non-drivers, and as we've seen, people tend to identify as one or the other, even if in reality they spend time as both. We, as a community, need to pick a side and commit to it. People on the other side will be angry, but they really already are.

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