State, City Agencies Commit to Finishing Mem. Drive Safety Improvements by End of Year

More than 100 locals — students, cyclists, professors, and politicians — gathered at Boston University and on Zoom as local and state officials reaffirmed their commitment to completing $1.5 million worth of improvements at the intersection of Memorial Drive and the BU Bridge by the new year.

The Thursday night meeting, which was organized by the BU Bridge Safety Alliance, underscored how addressing longstanding safety concerns at the intersection by the bridge has become an urgent priority after John H. Corcoran ’84 was struck and killed by a car near the bridge.

William N. Brownsberger ’78, a Massachusetts state senator who represents the 2nd Suffolk and Middlesex District, said changes around the BU Bridge were originally scheduled for spring, but the DCR and Mass. DOT prioritized the changes after Corcoran’s death.

Now, Brownsberger said in an interview, the first changes to the area on the Charles River paths — where Corcoran was hit — are set to be completed before winter.

“They’re juggling priorities,” Brownsberger, himself a cyclist, said. “And when this happened, they just realized this had to be an even higher priority.”

The meeting featured a slew of leaders from the Boston Transportation Department, the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation, and the Massachusetts Department of Transportation — all of which have varying degrees of jurisdiction over the bridge and surrounding areas.

Galen Mook, the executive director of MassBikes, said that because the BU Bridge is a “multijurisdictional field,” it was “very hard to get them all in the same room together” to discuss improvements.

But he added that after the fatal crash, agencies met cyclist advocates with “willingness and encouragement” to implement safety changes.

At the meeting, a number of proposed changes to the area were described in detail, including widening paths by the Charles River, adding crash barriers, and reducing lanes on Memorial Drive.

But members of the crowd raised concerns about making changes to the infrastructure without first taking aim at enforcing traffic laws for drivers. The driver of the SUV that killed Corcoran swerved onto the sidewalk where he had been biking.

Brownsberger acknowledged the concerns, pointing to a decrease in law enforcement.

“I really do think that our enforcement level has gone down over the years. I think right now, police are in sort of a morale crisis, and they really don’t want to do it, stop anybody for a traffic violation,” he said. “So you see people driving through red lights without, apparently, any concern that they’re going to get stopped.”

The Cambridge City Council is also set to debate whether to draft a home rule petition to allow for automatic enforcement on city streets on Monday.

“I’m a strong believer that what we need is more automated enforcement, because that’s equitable,” he said. “It’s safe for everybody. It makes the world safer for everybody.”

—Staff writer Sally E. Edwards can be reached at sally.edwards@thecrimson.com. Follow her on X @sallyedwards04 or on Threads @sally_edwards06.
—Staff writer Benjamin Isaac can be reached at benjamin.isaac@thecrimson.com. Follow him on X @benjaminisaac_1.