Stop and Cop

It has been some years since we last proposed that the police and the City Council of Cambridge do something about the open-field, no-holds-barred crossroads at the junction of Plympton and Bow Streets. Since then scarcely a month has passed without its complement of crinkled fenders and bumped-in sides, and scarcely a day without its close shaves. And we have watched, from our nearby vantage point, with something like fascination, as the police have come and gone investigating each crash, and the tow trucks have busily fetched and carried, and still no stop sign or traffic light has appeared.

When we heard the familiar crunch last Tuesday, we girded up our photographers and walked down to the corner rather bored. But this was no ordinary, run-of-the-month crash; the laws of chance, always just, had finally entoiled a police car in the policeman's trap. There it was, hanging from a tow truck, with the price of half a dozen stop signs stamped on its fender and grille. Otherwise the scene was the same as all the others.

We imagine that City Hall will make some changes now. But one can't be sure, so we are waiting with high interest to see what the future will bring to Plympton and Bow. And we are keeping our ears cocked for the familiar sound.