Traffic Safety in Inman Square

      Traffic safety is a growing issue in Cambridge, in general. Sure, we are not the busiest or most congested city around. Plenty of neighborhoods are relatively safe and quiet. Many locals are choosing alternative modes of transportation, such as bicycling, although this brings up its own dangers as well as benefits.
      However, one of the main disconnects in the city is that a lot of people who have been moving to the city, studying or working here, or are merely passing through, do not give a fig for the local residents, families, children, handicapped or elderly who have to make their way across dangerous intersections everyday, to wait for the school-bus, get groceries for their family, etc. It is a great advantage of our city, that it is entirely possible to get around town without owning a car. Despite issues, such as fare hikes, recent failure to acknowledge students' concern over affordable transport, and frequent delays and closures, the city has a fairly reliable and effective means of public transportation, and the layout of the city itself makes it relatively easy (and enjoyable) to walk from A to B in Cambridge. Indeed, one can even imagine if it would be possible for the city to exist without passenger vehicle traffic at all.
      Inman Square is particularly bad when it comes to both driver accountability and a general concern for residents. The three-block-triangle that is Inman has become a popular destination for young people to come to eat and drink. But drunk, young professionals are not always inclined to respect local residents. This is true of general noise and foot traffic, which can be a nuisance. But the incidence of dangerous, unconcerned drivers buzzing through the square is a more serious issue.
      In particular, the intersection of Prospect and Cambridge Street is a daily hazard for pedestrians to cross. The problem is not really blamable on any one party, but stems from such heavy traffic between Somerville and Boston that is essentially using Prospect St as an extension of the highway. Vehicles turning left onto Prospect towards Central Square almost never wait for pedestrians to walk through the crosswalk before zooming through. In the rare case that they do yield, oncoming vehicles from the other direction have no patience for them, increasing the pressure to cut that turn right away or risk missing the chance.
      Prospect and Hampshire is possibly even worse, with not only the intersection itself, but the Hess station presenting traffic flowing haphazardly in all directions, with little regard for safety of pedestrians or other vehicles. Bikers are often just as bad, assuming that they have the right-of-way and overconfident in their ability to whip corners around pedestrians. Buses making wide turns do not help the situation much.
      Over on the other side, where Hampshire crosses Cambridge, the walk light gives pedestrians the illusion that it is safe to cross from 1369, but in fact cars may still be making their way from Cambridge, and if they actually are considerate enough to yield to pedestrians in the crosswalk, rather than zooming by, they end up blocking traffic coming the other way. I think this could be partly alleviated by changing the timer on the lights, adding a several second delay to the walk signal to give time to vehicles that technically still have the right of way, but which are endangering the safety of pedestrians in the crosswalk. Pedestrians themselves need to be more aware; in this area especially they seem to take it for granted that just because they have the walk light, no cars are going to be coming. I have even seen mothers with infants strapped to their bodies walking from Vellucci Plaza across to the island without even looking to see that a car was already in the process of cutting a turn, and then yelling at the (admittedly careless and aggressive) driver that they had the right of way. True, but that won't save your life.
      The thing that drivers fail to recognize, especially with children, or the handicapped or elderly, is that even if it seems sure that they will safely pass behind, or in front of a pedestrian, there is no way to predict with certainty the trajectory of a pedestrian on foot. Children fall, or run backwards suddenly and without warning; people drop things, or slip on the ice. Some people are plain idiots and stop in the middle of the crosswalk. We must all work together to find a solution to traffic safety in the city. Regulations alone are not enough; we need awareness, but also enforcement. If drivers were held accountable for failing to stop at a stop sign, or yielding to pedestrians, they would be more hesitant to do so in the future, even if it didn't really make them more considerate of others, just avoiding fines. Police do in fact camp out, waiting for cars to speed through the red light on Prospect and Hampshire, because so many do and think they will get away with it. And much of the time they do. It will be difficult to find these solutions, but the city needs to put this on their agenda in order to make Cambridge a safer and more stress-free place to live.

@dGabeEvau