derby and english street intersection.
i live right on the corner. there is a crosswalk but no sign. the problem is, when cars pass the seven gables they think they are in the clear, so they bump up the speed to almost 45mph.
theres been a few times when ive had to just stand in the road and yell to drivers to slow down and we have plenty of kids on this street.
theres is a sign that says children close by but you'll need a pair of binoculars to see it..

The crosswalk at SSU on Lafayette. Drivers see that light as merely a suggestion.

The crosswalk that crosses Lafayette at the intersection of Lafayette and Fairfield/Leavitt

Essex @ N Pine, like many others, leads straight into a snowbank left by the plows. The city's contempt for pedestrians is palpable.

I walked this morning on Washington st. went to go dowm Lynden side walk not done.
So close to city hall someone must have blinders on. They should be fined every day not shoveled.

Boston st. / bridge st......there's no crosswalk buttons

Not really a crosswalk but still a HUGE problem! At the corner of Derby Street & Daniels, there are 4 parking spaces in front of Witch Way gifts. People 'create' a 5th spot parking where there is yellow on the curb. When pulling out of Daniels on Derby, you have to pull more than 1/2 way in to the street to see if there is any on-coming traffic. So, your front end is out in the street & some asshole comes flying down the street doing at least 40 MPH. I've watched my life pass in front of my eyes SO many times!

Bridge/Winter/Northey
Still a mess, even without the giant line of sight blocking snowbanks.
Bridge is still busy enough with the bypass in place that cars turning right from Winter to Bridge are not inclined to stop when they see a gap in traffic, even if that means there is a pedestrian in the crosswalk. Same goes for people heading the other way (Bridge left to Winter).

Thanks for the addresses everyone! The map is really starting to come together.

Federal/North ... Someone is going to get killed crossing the street to get to the courthouse.

Raymond Road & Loring Avenue - apparently when the state invested millions in Salem State expansion and dorms, none of the geniuses involved stopped to think about the impact of added foot traffic caused by thousands of students crossing this street every day that weren't there before. It doesn't help that there's virtually no visibility for NW bound drivers due to house & hedge placement, and since students are looking at phones or have headphones o n, most of them step into the street without looking. Shameful example of non-planning and despite local complaints, all we got was an expensive study with nonsense (low cost) recommendations when any idiot could see a light is needed there. The least SSU could do is put a crossing guard there as they do at HMLS up the street, although I'm not joking when I say 8 year olds cross the street with more care than SSU kids do. Someone will get badly hurt or killed there soon.

Late at night, the lighting on Derby Street, between Central and Hawthorne, near the crosswalk in front of Murphy's is very poor. (I know that they are supposed to look like charming old gas lamps, but they are significantly dimmer than the other street lights.) Pair that with bar closing time and you have a recipe for disaster.

Crossing Hawthorne Blvd. from Charter St. Crossing both directions are bad, since there are two awkwardly angled crosswalks in the same location that are badly in need of repainting, but crossing from the Charter St. side is worse because if you want to cross in the crosswalk, you have to cross directly in front of a parked car. What have we all known since we were children? Don't cross in front of a parked car. Nobody can see you coming. Thanks Salem. Also, with the light there now, people fly by trying to make the light. It's very dangerous. I've lost count how many times I've almost been hit there, and how many times I've driven past people waiting, not seeing them till the last second, and how many times I have seen them an stopped, only to find the person behind me, speeding around me to the light.

Corner of Boston and Rawlins St. almost every time I have to cross there I have had to dodge a car who is either going to straight out blow the light or a car that is going around the car that has stopped infront of them. I dread crossing there with my son!

Awesome...let's put up some more oversized and expensive traffic lights, like the ones near former st. Joe's, so people can just ignore the crosswalk and walk out into traffic! You can't buy people common sense!

There are two areas I notice a lot. One as a pedestrian, the other as a motorist.

As a pedestrian, the one that gets me is the crossing at Charter St. and Hawethorne, heading across towards the church. On the left, view of traffic speeding down from the commons to Derby (usually trying to catch the light), is inevitably obstructed by some large vehicle (suv, or van) parked right adjacent to (or in) the crosswalk itself. To the right, there's always a vehicle flying around the corner from Derby heading up, Just as you get halfway across. If that car does slow and stop, I've seen the next ones come around the corner and nearly rear end them.

As a motorist, the one that always gets me, isn't even a crosswalk. The stretch of Washington adjacent to Riley plaza. People seem to get lazy, and instead of walking to the safety of lit walk signals 50ft away at either end, they choose to cross right in the middle.. across three lanes of traffic in each direction.. at night.. in the rain...wearing black.. Yup.. totally amazed someone has yet to get plastered by a semi in this area yet..

I've had drivers scream at me because I was crossing the street (with the crosswalk signal) on Derby at Engine House. Sorry you had to stop at that red light dude!

Bing back the yellow and red pedestrian lights. People feel they can stop and then go right on red even though there is a pedestrian light flashing. I see this ALL the time with people taking a right onto New Derby St. from Lafayette. I've seen a few people almost get hit while they crossed. On the other hand, pedestrians also need to wait for the lights. Nothing fouls up traffic more than people (drivers and pedestrians) who do not comply with the traffic signals. Jsut look at the new lights at the intersection of Harbor and Lafeyette.

Just FYI - we have new lights going in soon at Lafayette & Holly/Leach and Lafayette & Ocean intersections that will have an overhead mast but otherwise are still pedestrian-triggered. Besides this forum here, let your ward councillors (including me) know about intersections and we may be able to get some of them addressed.

It seems that the goal in Salem maybe is to put up so many lights that nobody will ever go over 15 mph. BTW Josh your ward is spinning out of control,Gardner,Hancock,Rosyln,Hazel,Geneva do you have a plan of action?

The walk light is not long enough for you to cross at the corner of Flint and Bridge Street. By the time your in the middle the of the crosswalk, you have cars, trucks and motorcycles driving behind you or in front of you. They don't care.

The crosswalk that crosses Loring Avenue, adjacent to the Bike Path, near Salem State's Central Campus. I,and my coworkers, use this crosswalk every day to retrieve off-site library books. It's a challenge to get cars to stop for us. Frequently, when drivers do ultimately stop for us, the car behind them will try and pass them.

The problem with the "we need more traffic lights" theory is that to an extent, the existing traffic lights are part of the problem. Drivers get so frustrated at their 45-minute commute from one end of Lafayette to the other that they're willing to run down anyone in their way rather stop at yet another red light.

Good job josh turiel...typical city slime...putting lights where they already exist and thinking they are making a positive difference. Make sure you guys spend the extra money for the ridiculously oversized light post with "city of salem" in the metalwork...I don't mind paying for it. You were probably right behind the mayor in thinking that pictures of bicycles on every road in town was a practical use of tax dollars. "City of Morons"

Also, who's responsible for putting the problem markers on the map?

Is it my city councillor?

Whoever it is, they're ignoring South Salem, just like he is!

HIYO!

@Jroug - the lights we're putting in aren't new lights entirely. We're just adding overhead lights to the two intersections so that drivers will see the signals and be more likely to stop when a pedestrian triggers them. Hopefully it'll cut down on the number of accidents we have at those two locations.

Generally speaking, if you email your city councillor about it they'll talk to the SPD traffic division and figure out if there's any good fix. I've had a few that they couldn't really come up with a good solution for.

As to the neighborhood - were I the police I'd probably have more to say about the problems some people have. But since I'm not, I don't do the neighborhood patrols. When I do hear about a problem going on in an area, I talk to the police department about it and they keep me posted about what they're doing about it. If you called them about a problem down on your street, john, they'd likely do that for you, too - even though if I recall you live in 3, not 5. But if you know of anything specific, you have my email.

You are correct that I do not live in your ward but i do live in Salem. I read the news everyday about the ongoing problems in your ward and wonder what steps you are taking? As for contacting councilors or SPD,lets be clear,if there is a response it is short lived. SPD is overwhelmed and can only do so much. It appears that college students are moving down Lafayette and low income housing is moving up. What is your position on this problem?

I think the answer to the question is, "All of them."
Mike B definitely had the right idea with changing the walk lights back to flashing red and yellow. I think drivers need that extra visual clue to pay attention. And yes, pedestrians need to stop jaywalking as well.
As for problem crosswalks, the intersection at Boston and Bridge is horrific. Crosswalks but no walk lights, and no matter which way you're trying to cross traffic is on-coming. If that's where the new Community Center is going, we will NEED to have cross lights there.
The other intersection I have trouble with is by the Witch House (Summer and Essex). The signal there takes forever, if it goes at all. I have waited through 3 or 4 complete cycles before the cross light went on. There have been times it didn't go on at all and I've had to take my chances. Pretty frustrating, especially when it's cold or rainy. I've also had drivers take a LEFT through the walk light. Half a dozen of them in the last three years.

The cross walk between Salem Common and the Witch Museum. Death trap. I was actually hit by a car while crossing that intersection.

A crosswalk problem? No. Crosswalks don't do anything other than be there.

A driver and pedestrian problem? Yes. Many drivers are alway in a hurry to get to the next light or stop sign and a lot of pedestrians treat the street like their living rooms.

Reading this, you'd almost think the consensus is that people drive badly, pedestrians don't obey signals, the whole city is a disaster area, the police are too busy to deal with any of it, and nothing will ever change.

I hope not, or I'm out. There ARE ways to make changes. Posting here is fine to blow off steam, but how much impact does it really have. There are clearly a lot of strong feelings and concerns - and the energy to express them. We could be writing letters, forming citizen's groups, reporting issues & problem areas to the SPD traffic division (e-mail address is on the SPD website), talking to our councillors (I wish you have better luck than I've had), and putting pressure on local government & law enforcement to, uh, enforce the law. I can't get SPD to write tickets for illegally parked SSU Students near my house, so I've been very discouraged and am not expecting them to do this on their own - it will require focused citizen action. Anyone?