By Arthur Moore
How many times as kids growing up in Somerville did our mother’s say look both ways before crossing the street.
I guess this is no longer the case by what I am seeing here these last few years and getting worse by the day. Going daily by where the community paths cross the streets this old slogan is rarely used. Truer of people on some sort of transportation item like bikes or scooters. Even at the slow rate many of us do to be sure not to have a problem it has been hard to avoid people due to the speed at which they come out. The one on Cedar has some blockage which makes it a bit more dangerous. In the few times a day I go by there are some very close calls. And some sadly with babies on their bikes. Have yet to see very many at those spots with the people staring at the phones with no clue if anything is coming or not. At Highland and Cedar I see more of that. And I am sure it is happening in places in the city where I do not normally go by. Let’s pay attention to being safe. Our moms were smarter than what we sometimes think. But those on powered items really have to get into paying attention. One day they may not make it home. But this is something we all have to do in order to play safe. If we had a director of mobility here in Somerville that understands the problem we might have signage and streets designed for safety. We need to design these for everyone and not exclude the seniors and the mobility impaired. But moms had the common sense to make use learn that phrase, “look both ways before crossing the street”