City Councilor Matt O’Malley wants Boston to be a friendlier place, and he thinks the city’s parking spaces are a good place to start. He recently asked the City Council to start an awareness campaign against aggressive parkers who double park along busy roads filled with businesses, commandeer two parking spaces instead of one, and block bike lanes, endangering the safety of the city’s growing number of cyclists. It’s a worthwhile initiative that the council should take seriously.
Boston has long been known for its hard-to-navigate streets and unfriendly drivers. As one travel guide puts it, “Boston streets are not safe” — not because of crime, but because of the “actual driving.” Most importantly, it’s a matter of public safety.
Comments
Sounds OK, but too many signs clamoring for attention dilutes ALL attention, resulting in a big blur of messages.
If the Boston Transportation Department has policies regarding signs, placement, etc., then I doubt that residents know much about them. Perhaps they should make their work better known. And if they don't have such policies in place (following best practices and established standards, of course), then they should put them into practice and tell residents about them.
Oh, and if the BTD erects a stop sign, they should also be sure to paint a stop line on the street, too. This is critical in West Roxbury, where in recent years new stop signs seemed to pop up every 5 minutes at minor intersections. Without stop lines, those new stops signs are too easy to miss. BTW, what's up with the set of FOUR stop signs as you drive up Redlands Rd. and stop at Schirmer Rd.?
"Gentle reminders"???!! Did this guy just drop in from another planet? The only thing Boston drivers understand is a ticket.