Driving a car down Mass Ave. in Cambridge really is, like being on a Douchbag Amusement Park Ride Options

[Charlemagne]

You'll thrill to slamming on brakes when the spacey/entitled pedestrian jaywalks out from a blind spot.

You'll scream out as the self-righteous biker expects you to fully acknowledge and respect their presence yet then haughtily runs a red light.

Dare to make last second maneuvers as the MBTA bus slides into your lane.

Gaze in wonder at the multi-colored biker suits.

[niffrotite]

You'll thrill to slamming on brakes when the spacey/entitled pedestrian jaywalks out from a blind spot.

You'll scream out as the self-righteous biker expects you to fully acknowledge and respect their presence yet then haughtily runs a red light.

Dare to make last second maneuvers as the MBTA bus slides into your lane.

Gaze in wonder at the multi-colored biker suits.

attempt to pick the right lane to be in as cars make lefts from the right lane and rights from the left lane neither using blinkers or any indication of the sudden maneuver.

Gawk at the self-righteous lady in the tack suit giving you the double bird in your rear view because you didn't slam on the brakes to let her cross when she tried to jump out from behind a bus.

Welcome to my daily commute!

[JodyThePig]

And catch a red light at every singe intersection so you can sit there and reflect upon how "traffic calming" policies are giving you the cancer that will kill you young.

[Charlemagne]

When driving, I treat crosswalks as Stop signs now. When there is a van or car parked in front of a crosswalk, there is no way to see who is entering the crosswalk. Also, at certain points in the evening (especially in the fall and winter) it is very difficult to see crosswalk lines (if there are no vertical signs).

I think the only problem with a pedestrian centered road is that some pedestrians feel it provides them with a pass on just sort of basic survival skills (such as looking to see if any cars are coming). In a weird way, if pedestrians had to yield to vehicles things would actually be safer because it would require that pedestrians look at the vehicles instead of barging out with their head in the clouds or on a cellphone.

Of course some people are handicap, elderly etc. so I completely understand why we yield to pedestrians. Still, some pedestrians have just lost all common sense because they feel all cars must yield to them.

Cambridge and Arlington are the worst offenders for the entititled pedestrian class.

[LocalWiseMan]

Remember, a green light in Cambridge means STOP! Bike rider at three o'clock!!

[DanPM]

-waiting for Vermin-

[mhaverty]

You'll thrill to slamming on brakes when the spacey/entitled pedestrian jaywalks out from a blind spot.

You'll scream out as the self-righteous biker expects you to fully acknowledge and respect their presence yet then haughtily runs a red light.

Dare to make last second maneuvers as the MBTA bus slides into your lane.

Gaze in wonder at the multi-colored biker suits.

My wife works in Tech square. I either take storrow or head over through Somerville via McGrath and Broadway to avoid this fucking perma-shitshow.

[mhaverty]

When driving, I treat crosswalks as Stop signs now. When there is a van or car parked in front of a crosswalk, there is no way to see who is entering the crosswalk. Also, at certain points in the evening (especially in the fall and winter) it is very difficult to see crosswalk lines (if there are no vertical signs).

I think the only problem with a pedestrian centered road is that some pedestrians feel it provides them with a pass on just sort of basic survival skills (such as looking to see if any cars are coming). In a weird way, if pedestrians had to yield to vehicles things would actually be safer because it would require that pedestrians look at the vehicles instead of barging out with their head in the clouds or on a cellphone.

Of course some people are handicap, elderly etc. so I completely understand why we yield to pedestrians. Still, some pedestrians have just lost all common sense because they feel all cars must yield to them.

Cambridge and Arlington are the worst offenders for the entititled pedestrian class.

Have you been following the Phase I of the Mass Ave. corridor project? They want to make it worse.

[Charlemagne]

Have you been following the Phase I of the Mass Ave. corridor project? They want to make it worse.

The worst of the worst in Arlington are these biker moms and dads who have the little carts in the back with their kids riding them. Do these things have to be licensed? I mean, these parents are subjecting their innocent children to the wims of heavy vehicles just for their own personal statement. What if this little cart came loose or if a car veered over into their lane and couldn't see this little kiddie cart.

I swear, Mass Ave. in Arlington is becoming more akin to Beijing. I fully expect to see rickshaws.

[Danny Vermin]

-waiting for Vermin-

I agree with every single thing said in this thread.

Problem is - had I started it saying the same things, all the Cantabridgian know-nothing buffoons would flock to it like moths to the flame, and start screaming at me things like "townie mook" and "meatballs and mustangs" and "how would you feel if you got doored on your fixed gear child's bike????".

I've gotta meet this Charlamage dood. He's good people.

[Charlemagne]

I agree with every single thing said in this thread.

Problem is - had I started it saying the same things, all the Cantabridgian know-nothing buffoons would flock to it like moths to the flame, and start screaming at me things like "townie mook" and "meatballs and mustangs" and "how would you feel if you got doored on your fixed gear child's bike????".

I've gotta meet this Charlamage dood. He's good people.

I think I get a pass because I sort of strattle the worlds of townie mookdom and snotty Cambridge/Arlington.

[Danny Vermin]

My wife works in Tech square. I either take storrow or head over through Somerville via McGrath and Broadway to avoid this fucking perma-shitshow.

this is really the only way to go during daylight hours.

[Shakyfoot]

The worst of the worst in Arlington are these biker moms and dads who have the little carts in the back with their kids riding them. Do these things have to be licensed? I mean, these parents are subjecting their innocent children to the wims of heavy vehicles just for their own personal statement. What if this little cart came loose or if a car veered over into their lane and couldn't see this little kiddie cart.

I swear, Mass Ave. in Arlington is becoming more akin to Beijing. I fully expect to see rickshaws.

I for the life of me don't understand this. It seems dangerous as hell, especially in city traffic. One hungover box truck diver spills his large regular in his lap and *squarsh*

The kid's gotta be sitting back there going "Seems like that stuff coming out of that tail pipe going straight into my face is making me sleepy."

[JuJuagogo]

I'm wondering if they need to make the crosswalk notifications in Spanish and English since no one seems to understand the universal sign of the hands up! I drive through Brookline and Kenmore Square every week, it amazes me how stupid pedestrians are.

Maybe even better - since they have the bird chirp for the blind, maybe a voice that says "cross and you die"

[Mark VI]

I'm wondering if they need to make the crosswalk notifications in Spanish and English

no.

the rest of the world doesn't do this. hell, even quebec stopped doing duel signs once you pass the border.

[JodyThePig]

Okay, is this thread about to make the customary turn from "entitled cyclists suck" to "people should not ride bicycles in the city"?

Because if it is I'd like to say Fuck You, Motorists, Take Your SUV and Move to a City Built for Cars.

[Truth be known]

Didn't a dude get sucked in and dragged by a bus in Central last year or something? That really sucks, but how the hell does this actually happen?

[Mark VI]

Didn't a dude get sucked in and dragged by a bus in Central last year or something? That really sucks, but how the hell does this actually happen?

the same way students get hit by the green line every year.

[MrCheese]

Cambridge and Arlington are the worst offenders for the entititled pedestrian class.

Add Davis Square to that list.

That shit don't flush in New York City by the way.

[tom from out of town]

Waaahhh, I drive a car in a congested city. why can't everyone get out of my way? I have places to go!

[JodyThePig]

I HAVE RIGHT-OF-WAY DOWN THIS FORMER COW PATH!!

[TEX]

First time I ever drove a car in my life, was from Kendall Square to Lower Allston via Mass. Ave on a rainy evening approximately 7:30pm a week after the students came back.

IT WAS AWESOME.

This was with the same driving instructor who took me on Storrow Drive like my 12th hour on the road.

[mhaverty]

Didn't a dude get sucked in and dragged by a bus in Central last year or something? That really sucks, but how the hell does this actually happen?

Worse. He stepped out in to the turning arch of an 18 wheeler and got rolled up in between the tires and then dragged/sanded by the tires for several hundred feet while people ran up in horror trying to get the driver's attention because he had no idea.

[kapow]

Is it wrong not to stop for entitled pedestrians and instead just buzz them? I suppose this'll bite me someday, so it's not worth the risk, but I like to add some excitement on their end of the amusement park.

[Danny Vermin]

Okay, is this thread about to make the customary turn from "entitled cyclists suck" to "people should not ride bicycles in the city"?

Because if it is I'd like to say Fuck You, Motorists, Take Your SUV and Move to a City Built for Cars.

I'd prefer it went down the path of "hey you people riding around the city on children's toys - grow the fuck up and join the rest of the adult world in trying NOT to fuck up everyone's commute so you can feign being environmentally conscious and healthy."

Bicyclists causing motorists to sit at lights idling longer because they screw up traffic patterns doesn't help the environment, and there's nothing healthy about sucking up exhaust fumes in Central Square on a bicycle.