Life and Death
On December 4th, Dan Dill walked out his door with his puppy, Blue, to go for a walk. Dan looked both ways on a busy street that runs between his house and the Mystic Lakes and stepped off the curb. A person driving a car crashed into Dan and Blue, severely injuring them. Dan was in a coma. On January 11th, Dan died from his injuries. (Blue is expected to recover, I am happy to report.)
On February 4th, Arthur Webber was crossing the street in another crosswalk, on the other side of Medford. A pickup truck hit Arthur and killed him. Both men were in their 70s.
Mystic Valley Parkway, where Dan was killed, is a State controlled road in West Medford, owned by the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR). The rotary at Salem Street where Arthur was killed is a State controlled road, owned by the Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT). As such, the City of Medford does not enforce traffic laws on those roads and does not and cannot make changes to the patterns or roadway architecture. It is somebody else’s job.
Yesterday, at a City Council meeting, I introduced a condolence resolution for Dan Dill. Usually, condolences are offered to the families of people who were very influential in the City because of their political or community work. Dan was an influential person in his world (a professor of chemistry at Boston University for 50 years and a beautiful photographer), but the reason this condolence resolution was offered was because Dan’s neighbors were pushing DCR to make safety changes to the road they control that runs through their neighborhood.
I am hopeful that changes will be made in the spring construction season. Our State Representatives and Mayor discussed the location where Dan was killed yesterday, right before the City Council meeting, with the Commissioner of DCR and they told me improvements are coming. But as cars become faster, heavier, and safer for the people inside, they are getting more dangerous to pedestrians. As an elected official of the City of Medford, I feel it is my responsibility to speak for the residents who have been banging the drum for this cause for years, saying our roads are too dangerous, asking what will it take? Does someone have to die?
It isn’t someone else’s job. It’s mine. It’s all of ours.
There will be more meetings on this topic going forward. Our next step is to hold a Committee of the Whole with the Medford Bicycle Commission and Walk Medford, two groups who advocate for the safety of people who travel our streets not in cars. I am hopeful that the Medford Police Department and the State Police, who have a barracks in Medford, will also join us to discuss enforcement, and what we can do to improve that area as well.
I will say, though, and I apologize in advance if it seems like I’m harping on this or if I seem shrill: people in Medford will get upset about a lot of hypothetical things - things that haven’t happened and most likely won’t happen. People will often be afraid of things they think I and my colleagues are advocating for, which are not dangerous and have even been shown to increase safety and community well-being. Something I hear mentioned a lot, for example, is zoning changes to allow for unmitigated by-right homeless shelters and methadone clinics (both would be a community good and I’ll write about why another time). We DO NOT currently have rampant medication assisted treatment centers or shelters for unhoused people.
What we DO have is cars killing our elderly neighbors.
Right now, we have a crisis. This is life and death.
Where was the crowd of angry residents in the chambers last night?
People are actually dying before our eyes. That makes me angry.
If it makes you angry, too, send me an email and tell me why. I’ll tell you when the Committee of the Whole is and you can come make your voice heard. elazzaro@medford-ma.gov
