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Cambridge police treat bus stop as loading dock
Friday, February 2— A Cambridge police cruiser is parked in the loading zone in front of Starbucks. A UPS truck comes along and parks illegally in the MBTA bus stop. Business as usual in busy Central Square.
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The photo above shows a UPS driver parked and working in the MBTA bus stop on Mass Avenue outbound at Prospect Street, Central Square Cambridge. He has several 2 foot by 2 foot boxes on the street, and a 4 foot dolly blocking the use of the bus stop by MBTA buses.
The UPS truck cannot use the loading zone in front of the bus stop, because it is occupied by Cambridge police. They are parked there even though they are not "on a job."
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After this the UPS driver returns and loads the dolly with more packages for another delivery to be made across the street.
Both the truck and the police in the loading area blocked the bus stop for the full half hour that I watched. No buses were able to drive into the bus stop to curb, so passengers could not use the new million-dollar feature—low floors to allow people with disabilities and seniors tp board the bus.
When the bus stop is blocked by illegal use, such as parked, standing, loading vehicles, the bus cannot pull into the bus stop. The MBTA recently settled a lawsuit promising to stop discrimination based on disability. They have promised to curb buses so seniors and People With Disabilities (PWD) can take advantage of the accessible buses.
However, when the drivers cannot enter the bus stop, they cannot curb their buses. Passengers must board while standing in the street.
Transportation is a fundamental right, and the MBTA must service this right for PWDs. The MBTA needs, and has asked for, cooperation in keeping the bus stops free from illegal use. In this case the Cambridge Police have repeatedly refused to enforce the law.
On this day one police officer identified himself as "Officer Friendly" and another informed me that he had "discretion" to decide how the bus stop should be used.
The second photo above shows the police cruiser parked in the loading zone. The officer in this cruiser refused my request to enforce the law, and instead told me he would drive around awhile, and that when he came back, if the UPS guy was still in the bus stop, he would ask him to move.
Gee, isn't that just another way of saying, it's OK with me if he uses the bus stop as a loading platform? I do not know how long the UPS truck was there. I came upon this illegal operation at 1:30 pm, and it continued until past 2:00 pm, even though I asked several police officers to put a stop to it.
Why are these laws not enforced? Why should the single lane of traffic, the bike lane and the bus stop be blocked like this? Why do the police believe they have a right to give "permission" to UPS to use the bus stop as a loading zone? What does "no standing" mean, anyway?