Emily Sweeney at the Globe reports that the incident occurred near Parker and Hagen Streets on January 3rd shortly before 6:15pm. Details are not yet available.
Globe: Woman struck by driver, suffers ‘potentially life-threatening’ injuries
by Adam Peller | Jan 4, 2023 | Newton | 11 comments
We need more traffic calming measures. A Canadian living in the Netherlands made this interesting short video about the difference between Dutch vs. Canadian/American reactions to cars running into people or buildings.
https://youtu.be/Ra_0DgnJ1uQ
That’s a very interesting video Meredith. Thanks you for posting it.
An interesting (to me) detail is that all the redesigned roads, aside from their increased safety, just generally looked a lot more pleasant all around.
This could happen to any of us. Driving around Newton is an adventure. Tonight at the lights at Woodward and Chestnut, a car traveling south on Chestnut BLEW through his red light – not slowing down, while Woodward had a full green light. Luckily no one was in the intersection. I was about to enter it but could see he wasn’t slowing down at all. I see this behavior all the time around Newton. People just sailing through the lights. I don’t know if he was on the phone, or just oblivious.
I also see people walking wearing black jackets and black pants, and then cross the street on Washington Street (not in a crosswalk). In the dark it is very hard to see someone darting all in black.
But if we all slow down and observe the rules of the road, we could reduce accidents.
I rarely see police pulling over cars for traffic stops. We need a stepped up enforcement presence.
Going 60 in a 35mph zone? You get a ticket. Failing to yield to pedestrians in a crosswalk? Ticket. By the way, these are daily occurrences in Newton that I witness first hand. Every single day.
The extra police needed for this would pay for themselves, and then some. And if Newton earns a reputation as a town that’s a pain to drive through due to all the police….well, that’s great!
Have you met Humphrey, Noel,
Bowman and the head in the clouds gang of the City Council?
They have stripped the police of the staffing and traffic unit that does exactly that…write tickets. The police are told not to write tickets, so they aren’t brought in front of the city council for questioning.
We can pretty much drive however we like and not get a ticket in this city.
Enforcement in Newton certainly is lacking and has been for as long as I can remember. A few things I’ve learned about enforcement from years of pedestrian advocacy:
1. NPD does not collect revenue from tickets. Proceeds go into the general fund. (well, except parking tickets, which are handled differently) So writing tickets is a net-loss for the PD, not a money-maker as people would think.
2. Furthermore, traffic tickets are disputed. The officer is required to show up and sit in court, at taxpayer expense, and the magistrate often tosses out tickets, so it’s really a losing game.
3. Ped advocates are pretty clear that enforcement alone won’t do it. It takes 5E’s or maybe even 6 by now… Enginering among them.
What could be a game changer is automated enforcement. Speed cameras. Red light cameras. And no, those cameras on traffic signals are designed only to detect traffic and can’t be used for that purpose. It’s not allowed in Mass, but it’s already happening in many other states. The NPD has gone on the record in the past in support of cameras. Of course, this gets into the civil liberty discussion, but on the other hand it promotes fair enforcement and takes away any accusations of false traffic stops. Food for thought.
We don’t know anything about what caused the crash yet. Could have been speed, inattentiveness, a combination or neither. Hopefully there will be updates to the story and something can be learned. And let’s stop calling these crashes accidents. They are preventable and predictable, not just ‘whoops’ moments. #crashnotaccident
I assume the woman was trying to cross Parker Street. Here the solution is simple: flashing crosswalk lights, as have been recently installed in many locations across the city. Hopefully this one is on DPW’s to do list.
The RRFB request was denied in the past due to the various metrics (village center proximity, etc) but it’ll probably get another look. They aren’t magic, though. Someone got hit a few weeks back at the new RRFB on Cypress Street about a mile up the road.
@Adam – I’m not surprised.
The flashing crosswalks near my home have been a big help crossing a busy street during rush hour.
But – you still have drivers who see the lights, see you, and swerve to avoid you and keep going. For these folks, we need police enforcement, simple and plain.
Adam, that’s interesting. To me it seems like being far from a village center is actually more dangerous, because cars go faster and don’t expect pedestrians. Also, this is a very busy school route so I’m surprised they didn’t think it was necessary.
The video I posted a link to above emphasizes modifying the built environment to discourage speed and make collisions less likely to occur regardless of enforcement. It’s very important that the roads in village centers and residential areas be built for slow rather than speed.