Now that the weather is nice and people are anticipating some kind of re-opening of society, there has been a noticeable increase in the number of cars and trucks on Newton’s streets, just as foot and bicycle traffic are likewise on the rise. But it seems that people got used to driving with much emptier roads, because drivers’ rates of speed and inattentiveness to pedestrians and bikers are very evident.
I’m hoping that our Chief of Police will instruct his folks to be especially vigilant during the coming weeks in enforcing the traffic laws. I’d hate to see an uptick in traffic fatalities just when our rate of Covid-19 deaths is trending down.
@Paul: amen!
After seven weeks of pedestrian and cycling bliss, my family is once again noticing the same dangers that you are, with drivers regularly speeding toward toward us in high-visibility, residential-area crosswalks and forcing us to jump back onto the curb with our 3-year-old.
As I see how few motorists ever even flinch for us when we’re crossing in front of them, I’m becoming increasingly convinced that in addition to the epidemic of distracted driving, the vast majority of drivers suffer from impairments that greatly restrict their reflexive reactions – whether this be acute myopia, angle closure, or neurocognitive impairment affecting processing speed. This endangers everyone around them and more stringent RMV screening processes need to be put in place.
I should note that in terms of visibility, I actually have much better luck in crosswalks at night, thanks to a 1,000-lumen rechargeable flashlight from REI which I shine on my feet (and in a few dire cases when I’ve felt that my life has been at risk, directly into the faces of drivers, which has consistently stopped them in their tracks – even those peeling off 128 onto Highland Ave. at 50+ mph). I can also vouch for a great new helmet from Lumos that’s perfect for cycling at night.
In my experience, being a pedestrian and cyclist in Newton is actually far safer than in Needham, where a series of select boards have done virtually nothing to improve safety since I was in kindergarten, aside from the construction of an isolated, impractical, and inaccessible bike path in the middle of nowhere and approving a dozen worse-than-nothing “rectangular rapid flashing beacons” after being shamed into doing so by the tragic deaths of two high school girls in 2018. In Needham we’re also blessed with a “Traffic Management Advisory Committee” on which a majority of members evidently view pedestrians and cyclists with disdain, and whose most vocal member regularly takes to Facebook to chastise pedestrians (e.g. “stop walking on the side of the street!” and “stop pushing the crosswalk button if you’re not going to wait your turn!”). Also, our police department conveys the impression that traffic enforcement is a waste of their admittedly limited resources – yet another argument in favor of automated traffic enforcement.
Amazing helmet, Michael, complete with turn signals!
While traffic is down across the country, crash rates and even absolute crash numbers are up in MA and elsewhere. Speeds are also up in many locations.
No matter what happens medically in the next year or so, our personal world is going to continue to revolve around our home, neighborhood, and city. It is imperative we make them safe and as enjoyable as we can.
https://mass.streetsblog.org/2020/05/04/massdot-data-show-less-traffic-but-higher-odds-of-dying-on-streets/
https://nyc.streetsblog.org/2020/05/04/by-the-way-nypd-the-speeding-epidemic-is-certainly-not-over/
https://usa.streetsblog.org/2020/04/09/covid-19-cuts-car-crashes-but-what-about-crash-rates/
Very curious, what are the costs associated with creating ‘temporary ‘ bike lanes that could be removed over time? There are no ’emergency’ orders that could fast track?
Surely, now is the perfect time to install them and monitor their usage. Ie if there is low usage under current conditions, those locations could never be justified once things normalized
You had me going with the first paragraph, but I see what you did there, Bugek! Similarly, I’d like to propose that any street or intersection which under the current low-traffic conditions still experiences an accident causing personal injury or property damage of greater than $5,000 be closed to motor vehicle traffic permanently and absolutely forever with prejudice full stop.
Over and Over again, I observe bicyclists plowing through red lights and stop signs and not staying within marked bike lines. Newton Police need to stop and issue citations to bicyclists and motorists who do not adhere to public safety and disobey
traffic laws.
Seeing a little bike vs car vs bike vs car back and forth does my heart good. It’s maybe a leading indicator that we’re beginning to mentally prepare for a post-Covid world. As soon as we start fighting over leaf blowers I’ll know the worst is over 🙂
Can you believe those leafblowers!!!! Not a chance they are below the lawful 65 decibels (i.e, the sound of laughter.) (They are especially noticeable when there is no other ambient noise beyond the birds.)
Peter Karg, under Mass state law, bicyclists are not required to remain in bicycle lanes. Bicycle lanes are restricted lanes like a carpool lane, not a requirement.
I would like to see higher compliance with stop signs and traffic signals by bicyclists as well. (Not to mention drivers!) I would like to see Newton increase compliance by all road users through a combination of enforcement and engineering. Many signals in Newton are antiquated and actually discourage compliance. For example, pedestrians and bicyclists may proceed against the signal in the belief that doing so is safer than complying. We should better align practice with safety and perception of safety, then enforce.
At the same time, bike sales, particularly ebikes, have exploded nationwide. The NYTimes reports that the US is facing actual bike shortages:
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/18/nyregion/bike-shortage-coronavirus.html
This is a big deal. A big opportunity for Newton.
I have experienced the same. It seems that drivers newly back on the streets have forgotten that they must stop at crosswalks. Sometimes i think they are aiming directly at me.
I’m going to get one of those flashlights, Michael. And now my son is getting the Lumos helmet since he cycles at night. Do you get a commission?;)
Blow-up kayaks, which my son just bought and used today, have also been selling out most everywhere. One way to get outdoors away from everyone – and breathe fresh air.
@Marti, no helmet commission to me alas, although based on the design I wonder if they the manufacturer might have to pay royalties to Daft Punk. The version I bought includes LED animations of multicolor fireworks, a radar scan, and programmable scrolling text – I was planning to enter messages of harmony, e.g. “I ❤ motorists,” but I decided that would just serve to make me a bigger target, so I settled on less humanistic messages, e.g. “DJIA ↑ 1.5%, S&P 500 ↑ 1.7%.” So far so good, though thankfully on Black Monday I was riding the Green Line and not cycling. Anyway, fair winds and following seas to your son – an inflatable kayak must save him from the big hassle of hauling a hardshell. We miss our kayak rentals on Nahanton Street.
Luckily kayaks will be available to rent at Nahanton June 1 if nothing changes.
Of course having your own is better for now. No one else touches it.
Helmet – lol