A woman died Tuesday after being hit by a truck, just before 7:00 a.m., in Harvard Square.
In the subsequent 12 hours, I experienced three separate pedestrian traffic incidents in that vicinity:
At around 7:30 a.m., a rider on an electric scooter crossed Mass. Ave. near Everett Street against the light and nearly was hit by a large oncoming truck.
At 6:30 p.m., I was in a group waiting to cross Mass. Ave. at Shepard Street. When the walk sign flashed, a bicyclist sped through the red traffic light and hit a young woman in that group at full speed, knocking her to the ground. Had she not sprung up and pursued him, he would have continued on.
At the next cycle of lights at the same intersection, we stepped off the curb when the walk sign flashed. An extra-wide pickup truck sped through the red light and nearly hit one of us, before we jumped back. The truck continued on without stopping.
Incidents such as these are occurring daily, some with tragic outcomes. Multiple interventions are called for, including traffic-calming infrastructure changes, public-safety campaigns, increased enforcement of violations by operators of all vehicles, and alternate truck routes that keep large vehicles out of the highest pedestrian-use areas.
Ann Epstein
Cambridge