John Ruch
Web Exclusive
ARBORWAY—A jogger ran into the side of a moving car in a crosswalk on the Arborway, receiving reportedly minor injuries, in a Sept. 12 accident, according to the State Police.
The accident happened at about 4 p.m. around 174 Arborway, on a stretch that has received attention in recent years for possible safety fixes.
According to State Police Capt. Thomas Grenham, the jogger crossed the main lanes of the Arborway by using a crosswalk with traffic lights near the Arnold Arboretum entrance. Next, she tried to cross the so-called inner Arborway—a separate, service-road-type lane in front of residential houses, which has a crosswalk but no signals.
“She was running and ran into the side of the car” in that crosswalk, Grenham said. “It didn’t hit her so much as she hit it.” He said the jogger received “non-incapacitating,” or minor, injuries. There was no sign of “erratic operation” by the car, he said.
At meetings in recent years about various Arborway improvements, the inner Arborway has drawn attention for several traffic safety issues, such as cars speeding down the hill from the area of St. Rose Street. It is not always obvious to pedestrians that traffic on the inner Arborway is two-way.
One fix that happened this summer was removing a high, chain-link fence that bordered the inner Arborway where the jogger-car accident happened. One of the selling points for the fix was improving pedestrians’ view of oncoming traffic.
Another idea proposed by the state Department of Conservation and Recreation, which oversees the Arborway, is placing another crosswalk in the area of 250 Arborway. That plan received some criticism as having poor sightlines and not enough stopping distance for cars.
As a state parkway, the State Police have the main jurisdiction over the Arborway.