There is a worthy ready at

http://www.wickedlocal.com/cambridge/news/x962216939/Cambridge-still-has...

Considering this is a very active city, shouldn't we always have a mayor? Does anyone else think we might need a system where the mayor is elected by the people? Wouldn't a mayor separate from the council and voted for by residents make for better accountability?

On March 24th 2010, after ten years of expressing pedestrian safety concerns at Fifth and Gore Streets, I finally saw the possibility of change. The City of Cambridge has introduced a plan to install a raised crossing at Fifth and Gore Streets. They introduced this as part of a larger plan to address deficiencies in our urban landscape.

Raised crossing are not something new. One of the first raised crossings in East Cambridge is located on Third Street. The raised crossing is at an intersection with no stop signs along the dominant travel lanes. Due to the steep grading experienced in the Third Street raised crossing design, some have asked if a crossing at Fifth and Gore would create noises experienced from speeders that bottom out their cars. Those concerns are certainly understandable, but do not apply when the appropriate guidelines for raised crossings are followed. read more...

Finagle a Bagel recently opened near Cambridgeside Galleria / Lechmere Train Station. This is a welcome addition to the neighborhood. Although I would rather something more independent, it does seem nice to have an alternative to Dunkin's (sorry, me not like). Certainly this will delight many public transporties during a freezing morning. It is located at the corner of First and Cambridge Street. You can wait to see the train arrive!

The MBTA will take control of the Lechmere T stop move across McGrath O'Brien Highway. Because of this, the land exchange agreed upon in the special permit is no longer of value. Councilor Toomey announced he wanted to change the special permit for the Northpoint development. I have not heard anything since.

I have sat at my computer and searched the news and blogs for anything new. I do see the construction continues to complete the Tango building. Does anyone have an update on this project?

Hello again. We must work with our city officials on the traffic issues in 02141. There does seem to be a disconnect, and I think we may need new ideas to get community development and the planning team on board with our concerns. For now I have some new video footage. I should have named the following posts 20 minutes on Gore Street, because you miss the first five minutes of my being stuck behind this truck. All of this video is from twenty consecutive minutes on the afternoon of July 25th, 2008. The video footage here is typical of what happens on Gore Street. I am sorry for the often shaky video. I was returning from work and only had my cellphone. Their is also a missing audio issue. The audio was cut by bliptv (where the video files are hosted), after they convert the file to flash. Maybe I will host them on youtube in the future.

Too bad the audio is cut out after the first 10 seconds by bliptv. You dont get to hear all the horn honking :( In this video the truck driver realizes he can't pull off a right turn, and makes a dare attempt go straight and contend with the power lines and low trees. The problem is people sometime lose their cable TV/Internet services. I am also concerned we could have an electrocution due to a downed power line. The truck clears the try after a large branch snaps back and almost hits the car behind it. The truck makes it's way to the next intersection, only to get stuck again.

I missed the first few minutes of this truck being stuck at the next intersection (Fifth and Sciarappa). I was talking to the mailman who was telling me about his own observations at these intersections. At one point duing this video shooting, I did see a Cambridge Cop drive by on a bike. It would be nice if these truck drivers would receive a violation. I always pay my parking tickets if I violate the time restriction outside a store. It would be nice if these well paid corporations would at least get their tickets. read more...