sad event

[georgy.livejournal.com]

in case you were wondering why no fewer than four news copters were hovering over winter hill/east somerville this afternoon, click here. some jerk driver ran over a teenager at assembly square and killed him.

Comments

[simply-juniper.livejournal.com]

Walking ON the sidewalk and they were struck? I hate the drivers around here. Thanks for sharing, maybe people will be more aware now.

[georgy.livejournal.com]

There are reports that there was a drag race going on, and also that the driver in question possibly swerved into the victim purposely. Channel 7 said he was facing murder charges. Bastard.

[simply-juniper.livejournal.com]

Bastard is too mild a word.

[rdcf.livejournal.com]

I hate the drivers around here.

Me too. I'm convinced I'm going to meet my death in the Powderhouse Square Rotary. I walk through there twice a day, I always press the button, I always wait for the lights to turn red and sure enough at least two cars will run the red lights. It's unbelievable. It's like no one who drives in that rotary has ever heard of a red light.

[simply-juniper.livejournal.com]

I think what you meant to say was it's like no one around here has heard of a red light. Period. ;)

BTW, I always stop there for pedestrians.

[rdcf.livejournal.com]

No kidding :-)

I think the thing that drives me the craziest about Boston drivers is they know they are bad drivers and rather than being ashamed, they boast and are proud of it! It boggles the mind.

[simply-juniper.livejournal.com]

Human nature. Why improve? We don't need to improve! We'll just embrace that we suck!

I personally despise the lack of patience. The light turned green half a second ago, is it necessary to beep at me?

[hammercock.livejournal.com]

I'm not a native, but moved up this way 10 years ago. I very much regret that I become more of a Boston driver every year. This place just does it to you. You're constantly surrounded by Massholes and having to watch out for stupid pedestrians who think it's a great idea to run into oncoming traffic any time they feel like it, the roads suck, the signage is terrible, and you eventually learn that the only way to actually get to your destination is to start adapting to the local bad driving. I'm not especially proud of it. *sigh*

[lillibet.livejournal.com]

Not to justify it, but I find the lights in Powderhouse Circle somehow difficult to see. I don't know if they're at weird angles, or I just ignore them because they're always red (usually flashing), or I'm not looking up because I'm focused on the traffic and pedestrians at ground level, or what. After having realized at least twice that I must have run the red entering the circle, because the one at the far side is red, I've learned to be very careful and really look for the solid red.

It is, without a doubt, a very poorly designed rotary, for both cars and pedestrians. I think the thing to do would be to build an underground walkway (I've seen these in similar situations in England) that would lead from the corners into a core at the center, but having the circle under that kind of major construction would also suck.

[temvald.livejournal.com]

Well, hold on. The design of Powderhouse Square takes a lot of the blame for that one. It's the only rotary I can think of off the top of my head that has pedestrian lights on it. And there's a reason--if you're driving, and come up to a busy rotary, then you have to spend all of your concentration watching the oncoming traffic waiting for a break so you can go into the rotary. And since it's practically unheard of to have pedestrian lights at the rotary, as soon as a break comes, you're probably going to take it first, and wonder why it is that all of the traffic has stopped second. Plus, of course, the fact that since you're looking to your left the whole time, and the lights are straight ahead, you're likely not to be able to see the light change at all. Bad, bad road design.

That's not to excuse drivers around here in general. Just pointing out that there are some places where that actually seem to encourage bad driving. Heck, you could probably devote an entire LJ community to just them.

[rdcf.livejournal.com]

wonder why it is that all of the traffic has stopped second

I'll agree it's poorly designed, but if all the other traffic has stopped that doesn't excuse the one or two idiots who don't stop just because they are taking advantage of a break in the traffic. I mean if the majority of the traffic is stopping then that means the majority of drivers see the lights and stop.

Let's not forget what we're talking about here, when it comes to vehicle versus pedestrian, the vehicle is always going to win. I'm not exaggerating when I say that crossing that rotary is the scariest part of my day.

And of course those pedestrians who just walk out in front of cars because they have the "right of way" is a whole 'nother discussion. :-)

[prunesnprisms.livejournal.com]

Yah, the only circle I've ever seen this poorly designed and difficult to navigate is Dupont Circle in DC which has not only traffic lights but also lanes. Ugh.

[lillibet.livejournal.com]

The thing I find interesting about this story is that the victim is described as a teenager and the driver isn't, even though he was 18.

I would be very interested to see some statistics on pedestrian deaths in the Boston area, versus other metropolitan areas in the country and the world.

[hauntmeister.livejournal.com]

Maybe it's because legally, an 18-year-old is an adult, and protocol says the driver should be described as "a man." If the victim was 17 or 16, he's still just a "teenager".

[scribblescrawl.livejournal.com]

All of these comments are enough to convince me that NOT bringing my car when I move to the area in the fall is a very good idea.

[enochs-fable.livejournal.com]

Depends on where you end up living. Having a car if you can afford it can certainly make things easier.

But I haven't driven in years and am glad my sweetie is a native.

[scribblescrawl.livejournal.com]

I'll be living between the Davis and Porter T stations, and near a bus line, so I should have lots of options for transportation. Plus I'll only be there a year for grad school. For that short amount of time, a car in Boston seems to be more hassle ane expense than it's worth.

[http://users.livejournal.com/_meej_/]

In that case, it definitely is more trouble than it'll be worth, and that's coming from someone who's occasionally glad to be "with vehicle". You're going to be walking distance from a major social center (Davis), two different Red Line stops, a supermarket (big plus, even if it is one of the more expensive in the area), and so on. Good luck on the move, and welcome in advance to the area!

[scribblescrawl.livejournal.com]

Thank you! I'm really looking forward to it.

[ert.livejournal.com]

Indeed. Bringing a car there will just get you a bunch of parking tickets. Just get zipcar if you need it.

Welcome in advance!

[enochs-fable.livejournal.com]

Oh, in that case, yeah, don't bother. If you were way out in Green Line slow hell, I'd have a different answer.

[booniesgrl.livejournal.com]

have they released the name of the boy that was kill, my bro is 14 n grew up in everett n is curious!

[herr-burren.livejournal.com]

If you are a pedestrian you hate drivers, and if you are a driver you hate pedestrians. In either case you want the right of way. It's a double standard we all live with.

Of course, the above event has nothing to do with this observation.