‘The Anxiety Is Unreal' for Parents at Boston Intersection Where Kids Have to Dodge Cars

Parents of some Boston students are growing more and more concerned that kids have to dodge cars and trucks to cross the street.

The issues start at Causeway Street and North Washington Street, where traffic merges from several lanes down to just one due to the ongoing construction tied to the replacement of the North Washington Bridge.

"The anxiety is unreal," said Katy Fleming.

The merging has led to long delays that back up into the intersection, blocking lanes of traffic and crosswalks.

"It is frustrating, and I think that is the key piece, it is really frustrating," Fleming said. "People get frustrated. When drivers are angry and upset, they kind of tend to rage through this intersection, they press on the gas and the walk signal is there and and even these buses are flying in the bus lane."

Fleming has started an Instagram account documenting her daily route crossing the street as she picks her kids up at school.

"It is a bunch of us moms who document what happens to and from school," she said.

Peter Furth, a professor at Northeastern University, has been studying the traffic issues and says he met with officials at the Massachusetts Department of Transportation Tuesday in an effort to find a solution.

"There is a real problem, you see the problem with people blocking the box 109 pedestrians not getting through," Furth said. "That flow goes down to a trickle, so hardly anybody is getting through, I've calculated about 700 cars an hour getting through, that's all."

"The MassDOT construction of the North Washington Street Bridge has increased the congestion in this intersection, and the Boston Transportation Department continues to partner with MassDOT to alleviate congestion where possible," a Boston spokesperson said late Wednesday. "While this work continues, the Boston Police Department has officers in the area every school day to help children cross safely, and officers directing traffic daily during the evening rush hour."

Furth says he believes a light in the intersection needs to be better timed.

"Yes, there is a solution," he said. "Fix the traffic signal timing, and it needs a non-conventional timing, which people are not used to."

Fleming is just hoping for a solution before there is any tragedy.

"We get it, it is Boston, we are frustrated, driving stinks, which is why we are all walking," she said.