Allandale Street Want Speedhumps
I'm making this post because I'm not sure where else to put it and want to clarify misinformation that has come up again and again - online and in reporting to the Boston Globe (who I also reached out to). That misinformation is that the residents of Allandale Street by Faulkner Hospital do not want any speed humps - this is false!!!
- ALLANDALE RESIDENTS WANT SPEED HUMPS
Residents have documented safety concerns for the street going back over a decade. It is incredibly hazardous as there is only a sidewalk on one side of the street so dozens of residents (including children) have no safe way to cross the street (no stop sign, no crosswalk, etc.) and no sidewalk. These residents have to cross the street in order to access anything, and between blind curves and speeding cars it's incredibly unsafe. Crossing the street to access Allandale Farm also raises safety issues for many residents.
The speed humps were so being looked forward that before they were even installed - construction projects on the street mentioned the speed humps and were using them as a reason to not do additional safety work! So the promise of these humps has been for years and were used to reduce negotiating power on street safety for all of the developments on the street. Immediately after the removal residents like myself wrote and called in - including the Spring House which represents over a hundred residents.
- THE SPEED HUMPS WERE INSTALLED INCORRECTLY - THEY ARE ALLOWED AND THE HOSPITAL KNEW OF THEM BEFOREHAND
Speed humps are allowed on Allandale - it is not an arterial road. Faulkner knew about the speed humps beforehand and approved of them. The problem was that the humps were installed to be too steep so they slowed down traffic more than intended
- WHEN THE SPEED HUMPS WERE REMOVED, WE WERE PROMISED WE WOULD GET NEW ONES INSTALLED SHORTLY
While the humps were being removed (which we were told nothing about and not communicated with), I was calling 311 to try to learn what was going on. We were promised at least four speed humps would be installed again shortly. Since February 2025, I checked in monthly for status updates, and never ever got a straight answer despite asking about it continually and wasted countless hours on various assignments (like the 30 day review, drafting up a plan for hump locations, etc.) that were designed simply to waste my time and wear me out and never with the intent that they would affect street design or safety in any way.
I had e-mailed vision zero team and others like Councillor Weber and even a state representative multiple times asking if we truly would get speed humps back and they kept saying - "yes". In one instance, a week after vision zero confirmed that we would get speed humps, at a city council meeting Jascha stated that "There are no plans to do anything on Allandale". I followed up continually with the vision zero team comparing the e-mails they sent me with what Jascha said and never, ever got a clarifying response of plans for Allandale. It wasn't until after the election I was told (under the table) that they probably would never happen!
On top of that - at that same city council meeting - I signed up to speak beforehand for the zoom meeting, attended, and raised my hand, and was never given an opportunity to speak. Afterwards, I followed up with the chair of the meeting and they apologized and said they would meet with me - and I was again ghosted and never got a meeting. It's difficult for me, in light of everything, to see that move as not intentional. I was also 9 months pregnant at the time (which is why I had to attend virtually) and obviously very upset about it, and they knew all of this and still chose to act accordingly.