by eila in Accessibility, Development and Zoning, Environment and Open Space, Neighborhoods and Squares, Pedestrians, Public Health & Safety, Transportation
Posted on September 6, 2009 at 10:45 pm
Last Modified on September 13, 2009 at 10:22 pm
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My long-lived friends keep telling me stories about pedestrian accidents in Davis Square. Fractured a jaw. Twisted knees. Fractured elbow, shoulder, wrists. Slipped and broke an ankle, on crutches for 5 months, still don’t feel safe walking. Couldn’t even drive for 5 months. Davis Square bricks.
Yep, reported it, tried to. Told the Aldermen. Told them again. They never listen. They just talk bullshit , babytalk. Joe shows up once a year. Takes a picture. They all act like they’ll get right on it. Say they’ll see what they can do. Can’t they do anything? We know they don’t care-
But come election season…
So, here comes election season. Here’s documentation-not the worst of the worst, just a 5 block sampling. Pedestrians are not falling in Davis Square because they’re clumsy, weak, blind, preoccupied. These sidewalks, curb cuts and crosswalks were simply not built to code. The contractors got paid just fine, and we’re still dealing with their sloppy work.
According to Federal and State building code, architectural access code, and road safety regulations:
- the rise/run of the curbcut should not exceed 1:12, or 8.3%.
- The cross-slopes of all sidewalks and pedestrian paths, including the curbcuts, should not exceed 2%.
- The pedestrian routes should be consistently level, smooth, and slip-resistant.
- Crosswalks should always come with curbcuts at both ends.
Here we are going into the Square from the Grove Street bus stop, 15.6% rise:
Grove/Highland 15.6% rise
We cross to the designated pedestrian intersection, maybe laugh at the “Somerville Saving Lives” sign, 15.2%:
Saving Lives with a 15.2% rise? Not.
Proceeding up Grove to Elm, warping, crazy cross-slopes, hazards:
From Kenney Park side, same deal:
Highland/Kenney Park ahead on right- don't run!
Here, we’re at the Elm/Grove intersection, 12.1%:
Elm/Grove. 12.1% rise
Turn right, and you’re on Elm. The Goodwill Store is across the street. This side of Elm in front of Christo’s, it’s a 13.9% slope:
Elm near Christo's 13.9% rise slope
Don’t cross that crosswalk if you’re a wheelchair user, bad vision, using a walker, carrying a precious one. Take care and watch the ground if you’ve got an armload of stuff. It’s a real fliptrip, here at Elm and Bowers:
Elm at Bowers- curbcut in crosswalk: 21.9%!
Going in the direction of Cutter Square?:
Bowers and Elm towards Porter Square 12.3% rise
Here’s the crosswalk, where my friend fractured her shoulder, 10.5% rise slope, heaving bricks, not flush, level or smooth:
Davis Square Crosswalk with a 10.5% rise and tripping hazards underfoot
Here’s the crosswalk where another friend sprained her ankle:
Crosswalk Chester on Elm 12.4%, warped, cross-slope very excessive
Other side of Chester and Elm crosswalk at Diva:
Diva/Chester curbcut 13.3%
Crosswalk to the Burren begins with a 9.9% rise slope and a 3.7% cross-slope. Across the street is an 11.6% slope rise to the sidewalk.
9.9% rise, cross-slope 3.7%. Opposite curbcut has a rise of 11.6%
And here’s the crossing to the busstop. Don’t ever run to that bus. You might get killed, just trying to be on time.
Davis Square Crosswalk to Busstops, 11.6% rise
These streets ain’t made for walkin’. Who cares?
[Flickr url: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/21908925@N03/3884307015/" title="Davis Square, Somerville, MA , on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2641/3884307015_3c25389c85_o.jpg" width="1080" height="810" alt="Davis Square, Somerville, MA " /></a>]
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Part of this problem is that pedestrians feel they can cross where they like – instead of crossing at a crosswalk. I see it daily when I drop my son off at daycare. Pedestrians, you have the right of way in a crosswalk only! And please look when you cross streets!
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I’m glad you’re documenting this stuff. Looking at your photographs, the issue seems to be one of maintenance rather than sloppy installation. You can see where brick has settled unevenly, or at a different rate than the granite curbstone. The kind of injury you are describing sounds like someone tripping on an uneven surface. It looks like we need to have the DPW out there repairing and resetting the brick more routinely. The slope of the curb cuts is more an issue for a wheelchair than a pedestrian, isn’t it? In fact pedestrians with balance problems have more trouble with a slope than with a stepped curb. I doubt any pedestrian could readily distinguish between a 1:12 slope and a 1:8 slope.
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Absolutely,JR! Many folks wish this material would be outlawed in all new street construction, because the continual, costly maintenance required makes this an impractical investment.
However, the (wrong) way these curbcuts (and also sidewalks) were built is a significant – and avoidable-issue. We see this issue repeated again and again throughout the City- on residential streets as well as the commercial districts (I’ll be presenting a survey of many recent sidewalk reconstructions in about a month- the proportion of wrongly built curbs and other streetscape amenities is over 50%, irregardless of the materials used).
The regulations are crystal clear regarding minimum slope allowances, widths, curbcut placement, etc. These slopes are so consistently excessive that people with mobility issues are greatly fatigued by the effort. Also, folks using walkers are just as adversely impacted by steep run and cross-slopes as wheelchair users. Here’s a photo of a couple visiting Davis Square, they were very happy about the documentation! We can see how carefully they must pick their way along the street:
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2641/3884307015_3c25389c85_o.jpg
This second photo is of a woman who just had to rest at the top of the curbcut after making the trek across that crosswalk. She stood there for about a minute before she could move on. I hope folks show understanding and patience when people need to rest in the middle of the path:
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3500/3884321299_9b58325535_b.jpg
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The sidewalk cyclists are also hazardous to pedestrian safety in Davis Square–as well as in the other squares.
There’s a local ordinance that prohibits sidewalk cycling in the squares, but it’s not enforced.
That the City cares about pedestrian safety is a lot of public relations puffery. If you’re elderly, disabled or sight-impaired, you walk in the squares at your own peril. Have a Nice Day, says City Hall.
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I don’t get it! A lot of these changes were made fairly recently. Who was responsible for these botched “improvements?” If the specifications for accessible sidewalk slopes are so exact, are they hard to follow?
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Hmm, I thought all this section was built back when the Red Line came to Davis Square.
I assumed that these particular sidewalk amenities were performed by contractors paid through the Federal Highway Administration’s Urban Systems Program back in the 70′s. Can anyone fill in the knowledge base here?
And, wouldn’t it be great if we could call them back and have a re-do?!
Anyone feel like sharing memories of what it was like being a resident in Davis Square at that time?
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And if I’m not mistaken, several of these are subject to pending MAAB complaints. One way or another, the City will fix them…just wish that it was on a proactive basis rather than reactive.
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If we’re talking about Davis Square as a pedestrian environment, what about the light between the island in the middle of the Square and the side of Elm Street toward Cambridge? That light never gives the pedestrian a walk light unless they press a button, and the button is broken about 360 days a year. You learn not to bother trying and instead just step into traffic, hoping the next car is local and understands that the light is meaningless and this is the only way a pedestrian can cross.
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Comment 8 raises a question about pedestrian lights and from a pedestrian advocacy standpoint, the first thing the city should do is program an automatic walk signal into every light cycle and install accessible pedestrian signals. The ultimate goal, especially since peds far outnumber cars, is to eliminate the traffic signals and put in raised intersections or at least raised cross walks.
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My 18-year-old son was attacked by a man in his 40s today in Davis Square today. My son came out of Starbucks with two hot chocolates in his hands, and the man ran across the street yelling incoherently, ran right up to my son and pushed the hot chocolates in his face and body, burning his eyes and neck and soaking his clothes. Thanksfully, another man stepped in to help and threatened to call the police and the psycho ran away.
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Was he one of the vagrant bunch that hangs around
the College Ave. T station? They sleep off binges in the waiting room there, smoke, panhandle, curse loudly at one another, and get into fights. Been doing it for the past two years. They rule the roost.
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UPDATE, December 10, 2010:
At the recent December 9, 2010 meeting, the Board of Aldermen approved an order for Somerville’s DPW commissioner to identify and repair all damaged bricks in Davis Square before the winter- to avoid pedestrian accidents. The Committee on Public Health and Public Safety also discussed the City’s use and maintenance of brick pavers on city sidewalks and crosswalks during a Public Health & Safety Committee Meeting on December 6, 2010.
(We’ve been here before: On June 10, 2010: “36. Order By Ald. Gewirtz
That the Commissioner of Public Works Provide an Update on the Status of Brick Repairs in Davis Square and Perform a Thorough Review of the Square to Make
Sure There Are No Broken or Protruding Bricks Causing a Public Safety Hazard.”)
Read Katie Lannigan’s great report, on Somerville Patch:
City Discusses Use And Maintenance of Brick Paving, at
http://somerville.patch.com/articles/city-discusses-use-and-maintenance-of-brick-paving
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UPDATE: Here comes an opportunity to SpeakOut about these issues!:
On October 17, 2011, the State Architectural Access Board will be hearing testimony, including the city’s response, to 4 Somerville complaints regarding pedestrian rights of ways violations. Two of the locations involve recently repaired Davis Square sidewalks and two involve recently reconstructed streets that are still not up to code. Because the repairs in Davis Square were merely aesthetic and did not improve the use-ability of the pedestrian access routes, this triggers MA 2006 Building code/Architectural Access standards (521 CMR).
Please come to testify about how these pedestrian issues affect your Davis Square experience!
WHEN: 2 -4 pm October 17, 2011
WHERE: One Ashburton Place, 21st Floor, Conference Room 1, Boston, MA
WHAT: Department of Public Safety Architectural Access Board informal Hearing on 4 Somerville complaints regarding pedestrian rights of ways violations.
DETAILS: The hearing is conducted in accordance with the procedures set forth in M.G.L. c. 30A, and 801 CMR 1.02, the Informal/Fair Hearings Rules. Please turn off all cell phones and pagers prior to entering the conference room.
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