🚀 go-pugleaf

In article <kuk5jhINNkg9@news.bbn.com> rnewman@bbn.com (Ron Newman) writes:

>I hope they'll install some lighting.  A small section of this path
>has existed for some time, leading from Alewife station north to
>some side streets in Arlington (which eventually take you to 
>Lake Street).   After the sun goes down, this area becomes very dark,
>and I always fear that I will run into a pedestrian (or another cyclist).

The section to which Ron refers was the scene of a rape about a year
ago.  It happened around the same time that another woman (Dr. Frug, I
think) was stabbed to death outside her home near Harvard Square, and
other assaults occurred at/around Alewife and Porter.  At the "public
safety meeting" that this rash of incidents prompted, it was stated
that the city and MBTA were negotiating the assignment of a police
officer to cover that path full-time at night (before the incident,
MBTA cruisers would "coop" there periodically, giving some people the
feeling that the area was covered).

The concern I have about the railway bike path is the same I have about
the proposed pedestrian bridge over the B&M yard, the Longwood hospital
area, the parkland along the Charles, and BU's west campus.  These areas,
even when well lit, are hazardous at night, as several people I know
will attest.  If you get into trouble out there, there is no one around 
to help or call the cops.  Assigned patrols (probably from the local 
police forces), proper landscaping (no tall bushes near the path to 
conceal muggers), and emergency call boxes would go a long way to 
reducing the crime potential.

				-Jim.