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

[JodyThePig]

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.

Hideous.

Also hideous: The woman who got doored by a parked car and knocked from her bike to the ground, where a bus promptly ran over her head.

[Truth be known]

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.

Oh yeah. That sucks.

[DanPM]

now we're cookin

[Truth be known]

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.

Classic.

[mhaverty]

now we're cookin

Ellios!

[T-Bone]

I fail to see how Cambridge differs from the rest of the city in terms of what a traffic shitshow it is.

[mhaverty]

Classic.

If the NB was a mag or newspaper this is the kind of shit that would move copy and sell ad print.

[JodyThePig]

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."

Well it's nice to see you have such a pragmatic, value-neutral perspective there, Danny.

Do you find that the cyclists fuck up your commute more when you take the ferry or when you take the train?

[Danny Vermin]

Hideous.

Also hideous: The woman who got doored by wasn't paying attention to where she was going and was riding too close to parked cars and a person who couldn't see her zipping along like a rat against a wall knocked from her bike to the ground, where a bus promptly ran over her head.

fixed.

[Truth be known]

Well it's nice to see you have such a pragmatic, value-neutral perspective there, Danny.

Do you find that the cyclists fuck up your commute more when you take the ferry or when you take the train?

Yeah! And what about those migratory fish that have to go out of their way when the snooty Commuter boat rips through the Boston Harbor. WTF!

[Danny Vermin]

Well it's nice to see you have such a pragmatic, value-neutral perspective there, Danny.

Do you find that the cyclists fuck up your commute more when you take the ferry or when you take the train?

the ferry.

There's a small group of douchebags who take the Hingham Ferry who ride their bikes to the boat dock and drag the bikes onto the boat, running over people's feet, bumping into them with front tires and handlebars, and taking up space on the boat that should otherwise be used for PASSENGERS and not Mighty Morphin Power Ranger Big Wheels.

[tom from out of town]

fuckin' bikes!

[sputnik]

I fail to see how Cambridge differs from the rest of the city in terms of what a traffic shitshow it is.

[mhaverty]

I fail to see how Cambridge differs from the rest of the city in terms of what a traffic shitshow it is.

It's all a matter of degrees. I'm on the road for work and have been for 15 years. My wife and I have been together for 7 years and she has lived in Davis, near Teal, and worked in Central SQ, and down in Tech Square. We live in Arlington now near the Camb/Slumerville axis..... so I consider myself an expert on this shit.

I told my wife it is a matter of time before we see something akin to the truck incident ourselves. Every few weeks/months we watch helplessly as near fatals develop right before our eyes. It isn't so much "get out of my way asshole as much as it's people racing about in a self-absorbed zombie trance that is the issue. Pedestrians are just clueless. Bikers seem to thrive on it thinking they have complete control or can make the jump over the elevator shaft every time.

This post has been edited by mhaverty: Nov 19 2009, 11:10 AM

[niffrotite]

Hideous.

Also hideous: The woman who got doored by a parked car and knocked from her bike to the ground, where a bus promptly ran over her head.

I've seen this happen to me in my head a thousand times while riding my bike. I've come within inches of getting totally clipped by the side of a bus which would've thrown me into a parked car and bounced back off and under the real wheels of the thing. I've also come within inches of getting doored while a bus was careening by me a foot to my left. No matter how much you're paying attention there's only so much you can do. I practically wore the grips off of my handlebars gripping them so tightly in fear, and I thought I was pretty used to it after doing it for 5 years straight every day but then you have a bunch of close calls and see your friends in casts and it changes your perspective entirely.

I don't ride my bike all that much anymore.

[tom from out of town]

I've seen this happen to me in my head a thousand times while riding my bike. I've come within inches of getting totally clipped by the side of a bus which would've thrown me into a parked car and bounced back off and under the real wheels of the thing. I've also come within inches of getting doored while a bus was careening by me a foot to my left. No matter how much you're paying attention there's only so much you can do. I practically wore the grips off of my handlebars gripping them so tightly in fear, and I thought I was pretty used to it after doing it for 5 years straight every day but then you have a bunch of close calls and see your friends in casts and it changes your perspective entirely.

I don't ride my bike all that much anymore.

[T-Bone]

It's all a matter of degrees. I'm on the road for work and have been for 15 years. My wife and I have been together for 7 years and she has lived in Davis, near Teal, and worked in Central SQ, and down in Tech Square. We live in Arlington now near the Camb/Slumerville axis..... so I consider myself an expert on this shit.

I told my wife it is a matter of time before we see something akin to the truck incident ourselves. Every few weeks/months we watch helplessly as near fatals develop right before our eyes. It isn't so much "get out of my way asshole as much as it's people racing about in a self-absorbed zombie trance that is the issue. Pedestrians are just clueless. Bikers seem to thrive on it thinking they have complete control or can make the jump over the elevator shaft every time.

Well, I'm not going to argue with that. My point is that, having lived in both Boston and Cambridge, I see this happening everywhere. It's not like there's some invisible barrier on the Charles that prevents the idiot pedestrians and cyclists from crossing to one neighborhood from the other. Have you driven through the Back Bay recently? Kenmore? Downtown? Fucking anywhere in greater Boston?

And really, the same goes for the drivers. Everyone involved in transporting themselves from point A to point B all suck.

[TEX]

I've become very spoiled with my 11 minute walk to and from work these last two years.

I take public transportation maybe 3-4 times a month.

[Yesterday]

Oh yeah. That sucks.

I drove past the scene just after it happened and, well, this is the only thing in my 32 years that I ever have recurring nightmares about. Absolutely, gut wrenchingly horrifying. Plus, the poor man was alive still for a few minutes. If anyone had seen anything remotely like that in their lives, they would never ever not think to look where they are walking, biking, or driving in Central Square.

[niffrotite]

No doubt there are plenty of other places where traffic congestion is really bad but I find Mass Ave to be the worst offender throughout the entire city. It's not that it's necessarily MORE congested, it's that it's more FRUSTRATING than anywhere else. You could have a nice open stretch right in front of you, you think it's gonna be smooth sailing, but no, within 2 seconds one of the following is guaranteed to happen:

- sudden un-timed red light (after you've only made it 10 feet from the last red light you sat at)
- giant delivery truck pulling a U-turn stopping traffic on both sides of the street completely
- entitled pedestrian walking right out in front of you
- biker flies up in front of you
- car darts out from right side and makes left right in front of you unexpectedly
- car sticks its nose out far enough to completely stop traffic butt not actually pulling out so everyone sits there for 10 minutes not moving

the list goes on...

[mhaverty]

Well, I'm not going to argue with that. My point is that, having lived in both Boston and Cambridge, I see this happening everywhere. It's not like there's some invisible barrier on the Charles that prevents the idiot pedestrians and cyclists from crossing to one neighborhood from the other. Have you driven through the Back Bay recently? Kenmore? Downtown? Fucking anywhere in greater Boston?

And really, the same goes for the drivers. Everyone involved in transporting themselves from point A to point B all suck.

Its across the board everywhere no doubt and pretty. But in Cambridge it is a whole other level.

I drive in the Back Bay all the time and Kenmore. I have to get to the bar I work at from all angles of the City depending on where my last stop is for work.

[DanPM]

I might buy a jet ski just to fuck up Vermin's ferry commute.

[Truth be known]

I drove past the scene just after it happened and, well, this is the only thing in my 32 years that I ever have recurring nightmares about. Absolutely, gut wrenchingly horrifying. Plus, the poor man was alive still for a few minutes. If anyone had seen anything remotely like that in their lives, they would never ever not think to look where they are walking, biking, or driving in Central Square.

Ugh.

People, please just PAY ATTENTION when standing and crossing in Central. Relax on the iPhones and shit, no?!?!?!

[Danny Vermin]

I might buy a jet ski just to fuck up Vermin's ferry commute.

I've seen this happen, no lie.

In the summertime, there's a few jackasses out in the harbor tooling around on waverunners and shit who don't get that there's a lot of traffic in the harbor with commuter boats, cruise ships, water taxis, and tankers/tugboats. One of these days I'm going to see one get squished by a tug and celebrate.

[Twelve Twenty]

I might buy a jet ski just to fuck up Vermin's ferry commute.