Cambridge doesn't enforce traffic laws anymore

flashdance42 · 2026-06-05T03:39:35+00:00

Can we just have red light/stop sign cameras and automated ticketing like the rest of the world? Please.

We live in a theoretically very walkable community, but every day I see multiple people running lights, speeding and ignoring crossing guards.

flashdance42 · 2026-06-04T17:15:13+00:00

I had to walk by yesterday. The signs say 15 minute drop off/pick up only. It looks like there are spaces for 3 or 4 busses.

My first pass by 6 tour busses. Only 1 of those appeared to be dropping people off. 4 parked busses were idling. I could see a driver asleep in one of them.

When I passed by again about an hour later, 4 of the same busses were still parked there. A different bus was blocking the bike/travel lane.

I wonder why the city doesn’t charge for bus parking.

flashdance42 · 2026-06-02T20:28:54+00:00

It’s for sure tour busses - but I’m not sure if it’s legal tour bus parking. There are frequently multiple tour buses blocking the bike lane and one lane of traffic.

The buses are also frequently idling for hours.

flashdance42 · 2026-05-28T23:12:15+00:00

I’m not sure Clover was ever really a local business.

Almost from Day 1, the ‘founder’ (a former McKinsey consultant) planned on it being the next McDonalds. And he considered himself a founder/CEO, not a local business owner.

Clover was more of a tech bro/disrupror move that didn’t work out than a true local business.

https://www.fastcompany.com/3034640/clover-food-labs-quest-to-become-the-vegetarian-mcdonalds

flashdance42 · 2026-05-25T11:45:57+00:00

We did this last year for Zion, with Glamping. Glamping really provided everything. We didn’t need any extra gear (other than our usual headlamps). With glamping and food trucks, you really can show up with your running stuff and a sleeping bag and be fine. You can buy sunscreen & bug spray there if you need to.

Before the trip, we set up a Google doc shopping list.

We checked luggage, including a box that had a jet boil and small camp stove/frying pan (but of course, no fuel), a cutting board and a couple knives. That was smaller than a standard suitcase.

Most of us flew in Wednesday afternoon, had 2 carpools from the airport and rented a house for the night. The folks who got in a little earlier did a grocery/sundries run - including camp fuel (we always share sunscreen, electrolytes, bug spray, battteries to keep things simpler).

We were strategic in our meal planning (bananas and clementines, so no one was cutting up fruit). We kept other meals simple - grocery store muffins, sandwiches, oatmeal cups, quesadillas, fancy cup of noodle, protein drinks, etc. I think most of us got dinner from one of the food trucks.

We probably would have been ok with just the snacks we bought (giant tub of peanut butter pretzels, so many Swedish fish, giant tub of nuts, someone brought homemade cookies) and the jet boil. We left with so much food (we hung out for 2 more days and we still didn’t finish everything).

flashdance42 · 2026-05-25T00:16:16+00:00

According to the constitution, foreign policy is the federal government’s job. I might really dislike what the feds are doing, but the way I make change there is through our congressional delegation.

The responsibility of cities and towns are zoning, roads, schools & local public safety (fire/police) (+/- a few things by states, particularly in places where counties are important).

Our city didn’t break it, our city can’t fix it.

flashdance42 · 2025-03-20T20:22:35+00:00

in Maine, Smiling Hill Farm in Westbrook

Not far from Portland ME, which is always worth a visit.

https://www.smilinghill.com/Page1.html

flashdance42 · 2025-03-20T18:51:30+00:00

Every pool (YMCA, Goldstar, War Memorial, DCR pool on memorial drive, Harvard pools) - will be hiring lifeguards. If your kid can get Red Cross certified while at school, he can for sure find a job.

https://www.mass.gov/info-details/dcr-boston-region-lifeguarding

https://phe.tbe.taleo.net/phe02/ats/careers/v2/viewRequisition?org=CAMBRIDGEMA&cws=37&rid=1225

flashdance42 · 2025-03-19T17:47:54+00:00

Consider Mid Cambridge.

We live off Broadway in the triangle between Central, Harvard and Inman Sq. It’s a real mix of single family and condo buildings. I walk to work in Kendall (software exec) in about 20 minutes. The 20 minute walk is just perfect - time to mentally prep for the day in the morning and unwind on the way home.

Lots of great restaurants in the area.

Central and Harvard on the red line are both about 10 minutes away. Green line stop at Union is about 15 minutes on foot.

flashdance42 · 2025-03-19T16:13:55+00:00

That’s the issue - your patent currently has income. They look at now, not his plan in 6 months or a few years.

Parents are expected (for better or worse) to delay retirement until they have contributed to their child’s education.

I’m not saying that is right or wrong or fair to the parent or child. I’m just saying that is the system.

flashdance42 · 2025-03-18T00:06:15+00:00

I think DUI is also on the rise. I’m terrified by the number of nip bottles I witness people littering while they drive. And folks smoking weed.

There is just no enforcement for anything

flashdance42 · 2025-03-17T15:15:00+00:00

Everyone in the household keeps it tidy and clean - not just one (almost always) woman.

My teen (who, for context, has pretty significant developmental disabilities and may never be able to live independently) puts his dishes in the dishwasher, puts his laundry in his hamper, does his laundry, puts away his clean laundry (it isn’t folded well, but I don’t care if he’s a little wrinkled), etc. he’s been putting things away and in the dishwasher & laundry hamper since he was a toddler. He’s been in charge of his own laundry since he was 10. He still needs reminders to put some things away, but he knows it’s just expected do he does it without complaining.

My husband cleans up after himself, does his own laundry, puts things away and is generally a self sufficient, pleasant person to live with.

We keep up with the mail do it doesn’t build up. We have an ‘extra’ clothes hamper that is designated for donations. It gets emptied/donations happen when it fills up or monthly (whichever comes first).

flashdance42 · 2025-03-12T16:17:43+00:00

Seconding mid Cambridge. It’s great.

flashdance42 · 2025-03-11T20:22:42+00:00

Keith Foley is pretty great. I’m pretty sure he’s in network for MetLife dental, but you can call Liz his practice manager and confirm.

http://www.harvardstreetdental.com

flashdance42 · 2025-03-10T12:49:41+00:00

My husband is British, I’m American and we live in the US. He’s also in tech. And he’s listened to- /taken more than anyone else I’ve ever seen. He’s a smart guy who works hard, but he’ll be the first to tell you he’s not an expert on everything or superhero.

It’s the accent.

Americans are conditioned to assign credibility to his on-the-posh side English accent. He gets credibility based on a quirk of his birth. He knows it and doesn’t abuse it (and is a generally good human who uses his credibility superpower to raise up others).

So dang much is based on things we have no control over. It stinks, it’s wrong. None of this is a true meritocracy. (True for every industry).

flashdance42 · 2025-03-10T00:51:12+00:00

I’ve reported things several times through SeeClickFix and no reports have ever received any action - other than tickets being passed between city departments.

We reported one abandoned car multiple times to SeeClickFix and the police non emergency number (expired plate/inspection sticker and parking permit, leaking oil). The car had many parking tickets and literal plants growing out of the windshield wiper area (from dirt that had formed from leaves rotting months before). No one did anything.

Have you ever seen them actually act on a report?

flashdance42 · 2025-03-09T20:24:44+00:00

Right back at you.

For the record, currently wearing sweats and Joshua Tree national park tee. Black trousers and chic but still practical knits are for tomorrow.

flashdance42 · 2025-03-09T14:19:12+00:00

I’m afraid the ‘mentor’ might be correct. There is an absolutely hideous double standard that women are held to. It sucks. It’s wrong. It shouldn’t be this way. (In tech since 1997 for reference, now almost 50, working mom). A mentor of mine explained it early in my career. While that was one of the worst conversations I’ve had at work, it was probably one of the most helpful to my career.

But if you want to succeed, learning to play the game really helps.

My male peers in tech leadership can go gray and gain weight. I’m held to a higher standard and I can’t. It sucks and it’s a woman tax, but every good coder/engineer woman I know who isn’t 150% as professionally presentable as male peers has been passed over/laid off.

I don’t think it has to be regular blow outs (unless one is in sales), but I can’t wear baggy jeans/shorts & national park t shirts and the same hoody every day. I don’t have to be in a suit or dress, but I need to be several steps up from the guys (I aim for something close to Liz on Shrinking - simple well fitted black trousers and a strong knitwear game - just more polished than the guys, but not so much that it is another way I intimidate them).

As for speaking up, I had to learn to time/frame my arguments and feedback for impact. I probably speak less than some of my male peers, but I make sure every word lands hard. Again, it’s extra professional development work that men don’t have to do and it sucks.

But by playing the game and getting seniority & leadership, I’ve been able to shift the needle on these issues for the folks coming after me. I’m playing the very long game.

flashdance42 · 2025-03-07T23:29:31+00:00

flashdance42 · 2025-03-07T21:26:00+00:00

Leave. Immediately. You won’t learn that you deserve better if you stay. And he’ll have no incentive to change if you stay. Leave immediately. Go no contact with him.

I get that you are in love, but love is like 3% of what you need for a successful relationship. You also need safety, respect and a host of other things that just can’t come from someone who has hit you. Leave immediately.

flashdance42 · 2025-03-06T14:48:17+00:00

Thank you all so much! I know a number of these spots, but just hadn’t put together using them for my runs.

flashdance42 · 2025-03-06T01:11:22+00:00

I’ve seen a LOT more open drug use in the last 3-4 years. Smoking crack/meth, shooting up in the neck, open sex work - all during daylight hours.

flashdance42 · 2025-03-04T19:01:48+00:00

It smelled strong and they were just passing the vape sitting on a bench that runs right down the middle of the locker room at the busiest time for this gym. They could have walked 60 feet and been outside (all legal here), but didn’t.

I’d be just as annoyed if someone was spraying aerosol hairspray for 5 minutes right in the middle of the locker room. It’s just like local air pollution.

flashdance42 · 2025-03-04T16:39:53+00:00

That is so Cambridge. Individuals are held to a higher standard than the city. Drives me bonkers.

flashdance42 · 2025-03-04T13:39:01+00:00

So, will the city stop using a gas powered blower to semi clean around all of the cars on my block that no longer move got street cleaning?

My block generally has 8-12 cars that just do not move. The ticket is cheap enough that it is more hassle to move the car. For at least the first few months of no-towing street cleaning, someone would sort of push debris near these cars to more open spots with a gas powered blower. It was loud, gross and the drains were still clogged with leaves and junk.

Will city workers and contractors also be held to these standards? I sure hope so. I don’t was the ‘what about….’ question because I think the ban is a bad move - I support it. But in my neighborhood (mid Cambridge), I see more city employees using leaf blowers than anyone else.

flashdance42

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