Stop Chicken Little: The Truth about Traffic Calming in Portland, Maine |
Medians: Woodfords |
Medians: Woodford Street Median Medians used to be one of the top two devices installed for calming, until the city ran out of money with the collapse of the economy in 2007. Stop signs came into vogue because they are cheap. When the economy tanked, they started going in all over the place. More on stop signs later. The usual stated rationale for installation of a median was "pedestrian safety" though why any pedestrian would hang out on one is beyond me. I was always taught to get out of the street as fast as possible. Considering that there are a lot more cars in the road than pedestrians, and what all these medians seem to do is cause accidents and vehicle damage, the "safety" aspect seems to be lacking for the many drivers passing over them. You will see many scratches and dings in medians in the following photos. Remember that each one denotes damage to another car, damage to an underbody, suspension, brakes, exhaust. Losing a suspension strut or tie rod at speed, or not being able to stop, is dangerous. So where is the "safety"? I started photographing medians in 2006; every month or so for the last five years. I started right after I heard of an accident at the median on Woodford St. I'm going to split up what I call "the Big Three": Woodfords, Vannah Avenues, and Dartmouth Sts., into separate pages, for clarity. You can click on one of the silver links there to the left, if you have a specific interest in one. Follow me, grasshopper....... One can say "It's just a median...what could be so bad about that? Well, what got me going is that I heard of seven accidents which happened at the same time.
It seems one snowy night in Feb. 2006 some alleged drunk ran down the median, took out the sign marking it, and then stopped just beyond it. As it was dark and winter, the people coming up behind didn't see it when they moved to the middle of the road to avoid the damaged car stopped on the right. The second car was being followed by his buddy in the third, so it was boom-boom! They pulled over, and the drunk took off. Then some kid on a date hit it, then the guy behind him, then two more cars: bang - bang- bang- bang! The neighbors at the scene said it was nuts. There were car parts everywhere. The kids car lost a wheel, which rolled down the street. This house at bottom has been hit twice. Both times involved a car hitting the median, going out of control and swerving across the street, across the lawns, into the porch. The second time the car was upside down. The owner is tired of this. There have been a few neighborhood meetings about this median, - the neighbors want it taken out, but to date (2011) nothing has been done. I have the feeling it's another one of those "political" installations for a Councilor's friend. Next: to the Vannah / Baxter Blvd. Median Dartmouth Median Back to Top |