Cambridge Police, Traffic & Parking;
Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority;
Citizens of the City of Cambridge,
Good
Morning. I have written before on the issue of traffic safety in Cambridge, and
specifically in Inman Square. Despite the heavy Police presence in the area,
numerous traffic violations continue to occur which greatly endanger the lives
of our community and most often these acts go unpunished.
Yesterday, October
20, right about 4:16pm, a city bus driving route 83 took the often-dangerous
turn from Hampshire onto Prospect with
multiple pedestrians walking in the crosswalk going in both directions.
This is not uncommon. Our bus drivers are far
too impatient to make the light, at this intersection and also in Central
Square, and fail to sufficiently consider the safety and well-being of the
community. On this occasion, however, Bus #0717 narrowly avoided hitting a
woman in the crosswalk while making the turn. She was already in the crosswalk before the bus made the turn, as, again,
was at least one other pedestrian, going the other way, and this woman came
within an inch of being slammed into
by the full force of this giant vehicle, or so it appeared from fifteen feet
away as I approached the same crosswalk with my children.
And I
honestly didn’t know what to do about it. This driver should absolutely have their license revoked;
we do not want this person driving a bus or commercial vehicle anywhere. They must be dismissed by the
MBTA. And they should face some sort of legal penalty. But who do I call? What
evidence do I have, other than my own testimony? The woman herself seemed happy
enough to be alive and unharmed, and while the incident clearly upset her, I do
not know whether she is going to report it. Should I have dialed the CPD? And
asked to be transferred to Traffic? Should I report the incident to the MBTA,
or will they, with no corroborating evidence, choose to protect their own?
Should I reach out to progressive members of the City Council and local
newspapers, or are they only concerned with the safety of bicyclists these
days?
Seriously:
What should I have done, as a concerned citizen? I call the CPD when I feel it
is necessary to report something important: they always ask for my name and
phone number. Why? Is there a record on me so they can say, “Hey, this guy
cries, ‘Wolf!’ every time someone disturbs the peace or breaks some law that
nobody cares to enforce anyhow, so why should we listen to him now, just
because it affects public safety?” I do not wish to sound cynical; I just want
to know how we, as members of the community, can work together with law
enforcement and other branches of the city government to create a better
Cambridge (or Somerville, or wherever you live.) And of course, we need to instill in our
entire community the fact that we need
the police, to protect us and enforce the laws that are meant to keep us safe; at
the same time, we need to feel a sense of personal responsibility and vestment
in our neighborhoods, and do our part to help. This is difficult when we have
so many short-term residents, people who did not grow up here, who are not
going to raise their children here, or even if they do, not send them to
Cambridge Public Schools, etc., but this is the city we have and we all need to
work together and share that responsibility.
This was no
isolated incident. I only highlight it because of its egregiousness and because
I happen to have the bus # and exact time and, maybe someone can look into
this. Perhaps the bus itself has a camera that may have captured this. I don’t
know. I do know about a half an hour earlier, at the same intersection, some
woman was trying to run a red light in her car but was blocked by another
vehicle and proceeded to honk her horn at
him! Why are you honking when you have a
red light?
Please, let’s
do something about this. I know the police cannot be everywhere, all the time.
I strongly believe, however, that traffic safety should be at the top of
priorities for law enforcement in the City of Cambridge. I don’t think I am
alone in holding these sentiments.
