I had a narrow escape yesterday; but today I was almost knocked over.
I often cross the street at the traffic light at Concord Avenue and Blanchard Road in northwest Cambridge on the Belmont line. That is because I live on Griswold Street, a tiny cul-de-sac that runs between Blanchard Road and Sancta Maria Hospital.
A couple of days ago, I was almost run over by a by a black car while crossing Concord Avenue from the golf course to the entry for Griswold Street. I had the benefit of the walk light. The car came out of Griswold Street and turned left down Concord. It missed my left hip by inches and made me jump in surprise and fear. Jumping is not something this cane-wielding octogenarian often does.
Today was worse. Again, crossing in the same place with the benefit of the walk sign, a white car roared out of Griswold and turned left down Concord. It speeded straight at me. Thankfully, another car on Concord waiting for the light leaned on their horn and alerted the errant driver. The car stopped with my left hip within inches of the car’s hood medallion.
What a pair of shocks! Next time I will cross on the Belmont side of Blanchard. I hope that drivers, of whom I am one, coming out of Griswold will look carefully for pedestrians on the crosswalk.
Martin G. Evans, Griswold Street
A stronger
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This is yet more evidence that we need to improve the safety infrastructure of our streets.
Intersection infrastructure must be of top importance in all street planning. And it is not a one-size fits all problem. The intersection at Concord/Blanchard/Griswold is a complicated one with the entrance and exit from Griswold hard to see and see from and not obvious to those unfamiliar with driving or biking there. It is but one of the complex intersections that the City needs to improve.
As the fatal accidents of June 2024 showed us, any new “safety” infrastructure installed that does not fully include the intersections is tragically vulnerable. Without intersection improvement we will never get even close to the goals of Vision Zero. We must do this!