The TAB complied the information using police department accident reports.
Newton’s six most dangerous intersections
by Greg Reibman | Nov 25, 2015 | Newton | 10 comments
by Greg Reibman | Nov 25, 2015 | Newton | 10 comments
The TAB complied the information using police department accident reports.
September 13, 2023
Men's Crib September 13, 2023 5:20 am
@Greg, thanks for posting.
Note #3 and #6 are actually in Newtonville.
– Albemarle Road/Crafts Street
– Crafts Street /Linwood Avenue (which has a brand new traffic light)
Greg-
The intersection near the chamber office is a bad one:
Oak St/Highland Ave/Needham St
I agree Paul Green.
The good news is the city has received a state grant to reconfigure that intersection. The bad news is that the actual project has not been scheduled yet and likely won’t happen until 2017.
I think these numbers are interesting but do they accurately represent the issue? For example…where at 2014 Washington St (Newton Wellesley Hospital) did these accidents occur? Are they parking lot fender benders? Or the kind of “accident” you find when you come out and find someone tapped your bumper or hit your parked car? Are any of these locations seeing numbers higher than usual? Did the past winter storm issues have anything to do with these numbers?
Does time of day have any impact? Are any of these areas prone to sun glare issues? Are traffic signals present?
I’d be interested to know if any factors other than just sheer numbers were used to determine the top locations.
Thanks Alderman Johnson for being persistent all these years and finally getting that light at the Crafts/Linwood intersection.
“Most dangerous” depends on how you measure danger. If measured purely by the number of accidents, then this list is correct. Personally, I measure the most dangerous intersection by the likelihood of a serious or fatal accident. Using that criteria along with personal observation, the intersection of Washington and Walnut streets [after 11pm] has the most potential for a serious two-car accident. Most hours of the day or night it’s a very safe intersection. But at 11pm the fully functioning traffic light changes to 4-way flashing red. I’ve seen numerous vehicles on Washington Street blow right through the flashing red light without even slowing down. I assume some of these drivers are intoxicated, but there are other logistical reasons which make that section of Walnut Street particularly inappropriate for a flashing red light. I won’t bother to elaborate, other than to say that the City has been made aware of this issue and has chosen to continue playing Russian Roulette with motorists.
The two that Emily notes above are both prime access points for students going to Day Middle School. My kids ride through the Crafts and Albermarle intersection each day on their bikes. I’m told that the crossing guard who had been stationed there either isn’t present or tends to be in his/her car. I haven’t witnessed this first-hand, but it’s what I hear reported from both of my children.
It’s also interesting to hear them described as both Nonantum and Newtonville. My house is considered West Newton by the post office and I’m just a couple of blocks from the Crafts/ Albermarle intersection. Do the villages have clear, distinct lines? I’ve always thought of them as somewhat fuzzy.
@Chuck both those intersections are in 02460 which is Newtonville.
@Chuck Tanowitz – yes the village boundaries are indeed fuzzy. There’s the post office boundaries, the ward bondaries, area council boundaries, and just people’s general ideas.
@Jerry, thank you.
@Emily, one corner of that intersection, the Fessenden property, is listed as 02465, which is W. Newton. The city puts Albermarle Field in Newtonville, which I guess would go for Linwood as well. Though, some of the people a block away, where Linwood meets Crafts, would consider themselves Nonantum.
Personally I’ve always felt that people live in the village they think they live in, as much as they live in a village with a real border.
The voting wards are also interesting. People who live across the street from the Franklin School, which is a polling place, actually vote up the street at NECEC. None of these places are all that far away, I just always found in interesting.