In a little over a month, there have been three – yes three – car crashes in Southie in which a vehicle flips on its side. One happened on P Street late one night in early September. Later that month, another one at the intersection of L and 6th. This is the same intersection where Colin McGrath, a 2 year-old was killed on July 25th. Since then, the City of Boston has taken measure to slow traffic down on L Street including speed feedback signs and flex poles at every intersection restricting parking 20 feet from the corner. There have been several community meeting to discuss traffic safety and there have even been two Southie “Slow Down” Marches led by South Boston resident and safe streets advocate Katie Donovan who was hit by a car, along with her son, in the crosswalk at Broadway and Farragut Road this past summer.
On Wednesday, car overturned at E and Broadway. What the heck is going on?
Drivers need to pay attention and slow down. This is a neighborhood. Speed and driver distraction have been factors in all three of these crashes.
Back in August, City Councilor Flynn recommended a 12 Point Safe Streets Plan which included 4-way stop signs along L St and relevant locations throughout Southie. Maybe it’s time to put this plan in motion including all neighborhoods in South Boston.
Special thank you to Jeff Sullivan and Ryan McCaffrey for sharing these photos with us!
the problem with this is people driving today don’t even stop for the stop sign or wait for a red light to turn green they run it I don’t drive but I do know rules of the road don’t get me started on the rotary on old colony ave trying to cross street you’re taking your life in your own hands never mind all the cars not following the rules of a rotary on bus so many times almost hit right on a car that ran the rotary
the problem with this is people driving today don’t even stop for the stop sign or wait for a red light to turn green they run it I don’t drive but I do know rules of the road don’t get me started on the rotary on old colony ave trying to cross street you’re taking your life in your own hands never mind all the cars not following the rules of a rotary on bus so many times almost hit right smack into a car that ran the rotary
4way stop sign added on my street in West Roxbury 3 weeks ago after many long months of dealing with BTD to get it done . To date 60% don’t stop and the other 40% do what I call the westie rolling stop , nobody pays attention any more
When are the people in charge going to change the speed limit in SOUTHIE to 20 MPH..SOMEBODY IS GOING TO GET KILLED AGAIN!!..where’s the stop signs on L STREET? We all should really think about maki g the nu.bered streets ONE WAY..this will eliminate a lot of ( not all ) CUT THROUGH traffic ..and 24 hour STRICTLY ENFORCED RESIDENT PARKING..
Easy there Oldtimesouthie, the speed limit at 20mph isn’t going to slow anything down because you would need to have enough police enforcement and that just isn’t feasible. Stop signs on L Street are a good solution, but there is more of a traffic impact than just commuters when you do something to a thru-road. It may be a local street, but it is designed and intended to get from Broadway to Day quickly. Believe it or not, there are engineers that designed these streets with a purpose knowing the quantity of the traffic and effect it has on other roads.
Also, strictly enforced resident parking only work if there are enough visitor spots. As of right now, someone from out of town has about 200 total spots in all of Southie where they can park overnight, which for a neighborhood is ridiculous. A more serious solution would be to limit the amount of cars that can be registered to rental or single family homes in a city with a restriction on larger vehicles. F-350s don’t help parking in the city and take up the space of two compact cars. 8 cars to a triple decker is the problem.
Long time renter, these ” engineers ” designed L street long before the SEAPORT, and the build up of downtown. I have lived on L street fo over 40 years, the traffic has got unbearable in the last 10 years, # 2 PLEASE don’t tell me about 24/7 resident parking. Walk down the streets on weekdays ( after 10am) and on weekends see how many cars parked on the street WITHOUT resident parking stickers!! The north end strives and has 24/7 resident parking..why should i have to search for a parking spot starting friday when the streets are loaded with out of state cars who park FOR THE WEEKEND!!..i go to hull on weekends and NOBODY can park in their neighborhood, yet on summer weekends its impossible to park anywhere near “M” street beach ..VERY UNFAIR to the residents.
Do you think that making L street slower will solve traffic problems? It will just pour the traffic on to 1st street, Farragut, and turn Broadway into a parking lot. The cars aren’t going to disappear, in fact, they will only increase so pushing them off of L, will push them elsewhere in Southie. That’s not because I want the traffic in Southie, but Boston did a terrible job designing the highways to all intersect in the middle of downtown with one way in and one way out from the south. It’s the nature of the beast with a growing city. Also, I’m NOT against safety on L street by any means, but cars have to go somewhere.
As for the resident parking, anyone with a friend of family who needs to stay or wants to visit should have to pay to park? That doesn’t seem fair at all. Boston is now a major city (not just in name anymore, but in actual population and companies coming in). Look to other major cities, especially in the northeast/mid-atlantic and their parking solutions.
Comparing Southie to Hull (a suburb) doesn’t make any sense. Southie isn’t a quaint little neighborhood anymore that can separate itself from downtown. It’s part of the mix, the traffic, the population, the commerce. At this rate it sounds like you want to make Southie a gated community.
You are right. I live on I Street and have seen people parking with no city sticker and heading to the bus. I’d love to hear explanation why we can’t have stricter parking for residents.
I guess NOBODY in the North END, CHARLESTOWN, BACK BAY,and yes in SOUTHIE ( by barlows restaurant their is a street where GE is going 24/7 resident parking!) Has visitors..really?
If you come to ” VISIT” ( not park in SOUTHIE and take the “T” /BUS in town) their are of pleanty of parking garages on A street ect to park and take a UBER or get picked up by their friends and go to SOUTHIE to ” visit” their friends..
Traffic calming in South Boston requires a comprehensive plan.. not spot corrections..
Obviously the changes made on a 1/2 mile on L will not fix the rest of the street networks…
Mary , very true..lets try one way streets..it wotks on Athens, Bolton streets, ( they alternate the direction you can travel at the intersection of the lettered streets..NO PASS THRU TRAFFIC at all..!!
One way streets only embolden cars to go faster. Might seem like it will help on the surface and it may for cars to get where they are going more convenient but all it will do is make it even LESS safe for pedestrians. It’s also changing (dumbing down) the traffic pattern to suit people who don’t like to follow the rules. I’ll put that one under “Good intentions–Bad Solution”
So the cars FLY down G,H,I,K,M,N,O,P, streets ( all ONE WAY) and theo DON’T fly down 2nd ,3rd, 4th 5th 6th 7th ..REALLY get real..when i was young, many years ago, did you know thst the lettered streets were TWO WAY…!!
Yes, that’s EXACTLY what I’m saying. When THERE is another car coming in the OPPOSITE direction you are FORCED to slow down. That is a fact. YES, I have live here long enough to REMEMBER that.