Life in the Ville by Jimmy Del Ponte

Driving in Somerville has become a nightmare. Not only because of all the construction and street repairs, but for the pedestrians walking while looking at their phones and listening to their earbuds. They often walk into an intersection without looking for cars.

There is also an influx of motorized scooters that jut in and out of traffic and often come out of nowhere.

Often there will also be a bicyclist inches away from your car which can be very harrowing. There is often the need to drive into oncoming traffic to avoid a bicycle.

Is there a solution to these problems? Hopefully everyone can just start paying more attention to their surroundings.

Here are some comments on the matter:

“The roads today are like a Daytona speedway.”

“So many detours.”

“Ban cars. That would solve the traffic problem in Somerville.”

“If they stop catering more to bikes, it would help!”

“Get rid of the bus and bike lanes!”

“Pedestrians need to be off their phones when in a crosswalk.”

“Solution: should be fined $250 for each offense.”

“Bikers need to follow rules of the road. 90% follow the rules.”

“All bikes (including ride shares) should be regulated. They should pay a fee for registering their bikes and like drivers can be pulled over and fined. Fines need to be $50 and up depending on infraction.”

“Drivers are just as bad, eating, drinking, applying makeup, reading a book or newspaper and running red lights.”

“Start pulling them over and everyone can exist on the roads.”

“No bike lanes! The bikers don’t use them anyway. No bus lanes, just go around them or wait behind them. Go back to what we had 10 years ago. There were no problems and nobody complained.”

“Get rid of the bike lanes and respect the older Somervillians.”

“It’s happening everywhere, not just Somerville!”

“Bus lane on Winter Hill should have mornings, evening and weekend hours. More exhaust pollution now with traffic backups than before.”

“Additionally, less respect on the road and more entitlement!”

“I was in Somerville last week and man I don’t even recognize it anymore. What a mess it was driving through. Glad I moved out years ago.”

“So different from our younger daze!”

“You are not allowed to drive a car in Somerville now. You need to walk, bike, grab a scooter, or get a horse.”

“The number of cars on our tiny street is through the roof! Between the increase in car ownership and all the pass-through traffic, if they would give people an efficient transit system, they wouldn’t need to drive!”

“The bicyclists need to pay and contribute! Just like the people with cars. They pay excise tax every yea. It’s only fair and everyone is about being fair.”

“I need a path to walk my dog so he won’t get hit by a bike, bus or car and dump in a pedestrian path. I will be calling the mayor!”

“Places to bag and dispose of the sh*t would be nice too. These automobiles get in the way of everything!”

“Slow down and smell the coffee! Life’s too short to be in such a hurry! Stop, say hello! Help one another!”

“More respect for others just may help the situation.”