#getting run over

It would seem that crossing the street is a pretty universal concept. Look right, look left, no cars coming, go. That's certainly how it is in some parts of the country, but here in Boston all bets are off. As a Boston native, I'm used to stepping off the curb wherever I feel like it. Crosswalks? Child's play. I assumed every city in the country shared this attitude until I went to visit my cousin in LA. When I tried to cross in the middle of the block she looked at me like I was hanging off the ledge of a building. "What are you doing??" Apparently some places actually have systems for crossing streets, and Boston serves as a sort of chaotic free for all. Last week my roommate from Chicago nearly got run over when a car with a red light took a right turn onto the street she was crossing. "I'll never know how to cross streets here!" She cursed the sky, frustrated. 

In the ten years I've been crossing streets by myself and the two years I've lived in the city on my own, I've become fairly confident in my ability to make it from points A to B without getting run over: thus I am here to share some of my seasoned wisdom.

  When deciding whether or not to cross a street in Boston there are certain choices you have to make. Waiting for the walk light is definitely the safest option, but not always the most efficient. If there are no cars coming, that's generally a tip that it's cool to cross, no matter the status of the orange and white signals. But it's a nerve wracking scenario: there have been many times when I've been at the curb peering down the street, an inner monologue pulsing through my brain. Should I go now? Wait that car's coming. Wait I totally could have made it. Now? Too close, too close. But that guy just crossed! I should have gone. Could I make it now…? There have been times I've decide to wait for the validation of the small white figure to assure me of my actions, realizing stupidly that I could have walked the ten feet to the other side and back already.

  But if you choose to take your chances on the flashing orange hand, you must know that it cannot be trusted. Sometimes the traffic light turns green the instant the hand turns solid BUT sometimes you have another ten seconds or so after the fact to make it across the street if you maintain a light sprint. It's a game of timing and speed, one that is endlessly frustrating to out-of-staters and natives alike.

As a street-crosser, it's important to note that pedestrians have the right of way in Boston. The moment you step into the street it essentially turns into a crosswalk. It's easy to think you have the upper hand in this situation. I am pedestrian; see me walk. Unfortunately it won't really matter that you had the right of way when you're splattered across the sidewalk so make sure to look both ways, kids.