Of Streets and Sidewalks

Of Streets and Sidewalks // 7 December 2023

Given that I was run over by a car while walking on a sidewalk in a bucolic town south of Boston, I am especially aware of my surroundings. I walk cautiously. I drive cautiously; in fact, I have become my father who my brother and I always thought was the world’s most cautious driver.

My observations are not mine alone. They are shared by many other contemporaries and all others who worry about safety in Boston, as well as in most any developed community.

I believe I state the following facts correctly, but there remains many unanswered questions.

A motorcycle must be registered. The driver must carry insurance and in Massachusetts must wear a helmet.?

A human powered bicycle is not registered, nor does it carry insurance in part because of the limited ability of a person on a bicycle to hurt anyone else [there are exceptions to that rule of course; one accident permanently impaired one of the leading citizens of our city some time ago]. Perhaps bikes used for commerce should be treated differently than those used for pleasure.

In between, however, there are lots of questions.? Should an e-bike, a vehicle powered by something other than a human being, be registered and be insured? Should an e-bike be permitted to drive on a sidewalk? What about a motorized scooter? Should that be registered and insured? Most of us could certainly see someone being injured if assaulted while on a sidewalk by either of those vehicles. Who decides who can drive where? Should a motorized vehicle be able to occupy a bike lane?

Should those making food deliveries be allowed to double park, or triple park as is the case on Boylston Street across from Copley Square?

Then of course there are the so-called dirt bikes which to the best of my knowledge are neither registered nor insured. Should all such vehicles be registered and insured and the driver licensed??

Then we come to the usually unspoken topics. ?Should those delivering packages, all of which are done via vehicles which are registered and insured, be able to park on sidewalks, thus resulting in significant damage and needed repairs?

Should Uber drivers driving vehicles which are registered in other states and may not be insured to the levels required in Massachusetts, be allowed to drive on our streets? All licensed cabs are registered in Massachusetts.

Should we limit when deliveries can be made? Should there be designated pick up/drop off areas for Uber et al.?

Long before my time, cities and towns in Massachusetts were given the right to assess an auto excise tax. I have never met anyone who liked paying this tax; as a result of Prop 2 ? more than 40 years ago, the percentage is now smaller than it was prior. The purpose of the auto excise tax was that people who drove automobiles – in those days, very large, heavy all steel vehicles – should pay for the upkeep of the roads. That makes some sense.? On the other hand, if the drivers of delivery trucks or more likely the drivers of Uber or their brethren, are registered in a different state, they do not pay an excise tax. At some point soon, someone who is really smart will have to figure all of these things out.

I sure hope between now and then some innocent soul walking on a sidewalk minding their own business is not knocked to the ground and suffers serious injuries as a result of an errant, uninsured and unregistered vehicle.