State representatives Cheryl Coakley-Rivera and Sean Curran recently took a look at the intersection of Parker Street and Wilbraham Road, along with members of the Sixteen Acres Civic Association, according to today’s Republican article by Azell Murphy Cavaan. Coakley-Rivera’s claim is that the intersection is dangerous; Curran wants an accident report; Pride president Robert Bolduc says there is no problem.
It’s no surprise that with the Greenleaf Community Center about to get a rehab, the new Fresh Acres store bringing in lots of traffic, and let’s not forget the new bank next to the relatively new Pride station on the corner, there’s a lot of renewed business and civic interest at that intersection. To learn more about developments on the Greenleaf Community Center, check out the civic association’s November 21 meeting (PDF) at the Church in the Acres, 1383 Wilbraham Road, at 7:00 pm. Patrick Sullivan and Rita Coppola will be there to speak on the matter.
I can’t say the same interest holds true for the intersection of Dickinson and Oakland Streets, where drivers become irate when the crossing guard puts life and limb at risk to prevent people from plowing right over children making their way to school. The crossing guard herself lives not far from the intersection of Commonwealth and Belmont Avenues, where a 19-year-old was recently hit—twice, by traffic going both directions—while using a crosswalk on Belmont one dark, rainy early evening. The guard’s daughter was driving along just one car away from the accident, and witnessed it. There is little faith that drivers are using caution. The guard says she needs body armor, and that the intersection needs a "red light" camera. Today she told me that she thinks eight out of ten cars run the red light.
Making matters worse for walkers, CBS3’s report about weekend crime is headlined, "Rash of Robberies in Springfield Target[s] Pedestrians."
