ARLINGTON, Mass. — It is broad, it is busy, and Park Avenue in Arlington is building a reputation as an exceedingly dangerous place for pedestrians. That was made clear last Friday when a 16-year-old boy, walking home from school, was hit by a car while in a crosswalk near Oakland Avenue.
“I got a phone call saying that they had his phone and that he’s been in an accident — that he’d been hit by a car,” said the boy’s mother, who did not want to be identified. “I wasn’t quite sure where it was because I was so panicked. So I actually drove over and then ran to the scene.”
That scene would be a nightmare for any parent.
“He was lying on the ground and people were around him and somebody was cradling his head,” she said. “And there were fire and police people there — and people who saw the accident.”
Those witnesses included Barbara Thornton, who lives at the corner of Oakland and Park — and has witnessed a number of disturbing accidents over the years related to the crosswalk — which has no lights, no crossing guard and sparse signage.
“I saw strange behavior on the side street and I got out of my car and looked and there was a woman crying, there were people saying, how can we help,” she said.
The boy’s mom said it’s her understanding that while one vehicle stopped to let her son cross, another slipped to the right and attempted to pass. That’s when the teen was hit, she said.
Boston 25 News requested a police report for the incident, but as of Monday evening had not received one. Arlington Town Manager Jim Feeney did not respond to our request for a comment. It’s unknown whether anyone will face charges.
What is known is that Arlington Heights residents have complained about the crosswalks for a long time.
Nada Siddiqi has even forbidden her children from using Park Avenue crosswalks.
“At least for the last few years there’s been building outrage from the people who live on these streets,” she said.
That outrage was fanned in November 2023 when an 81-year-old woman was hit in a similar, poorly marked crosswalk near Siddiqi’s house. She survived, but with serious injuries.
“The biggest thing about it is we have commuters coming up and down — and it’s so wide, it’s really difficult to get across even during a good time,” said Bethany Eisenberg, who’s lived in the area for 30 years. “It’s very common to be in the middle of the crosswalk and a car just comes right by you, like, within an arm’s length. And they are going fast.”
Grant Cook, who lives near the Wollaston crossing, said you almost have to make a run for your life across Park Avenue with the hope drivers are paying attention.
“We’ve had lots of meetings saying something needed to be done here,” said neighbor Grant Cook. “I think the town was generally supportive. I think what we’re all wondering is how fast can this be put in place? Can you implement some quick actions to narrow the road to keep people from spinning to the right or left?”
Cook said for every pedestrian hit on Park Avenue there have been numerous near-misses.
“I don’t think we want to wait for someone to die to justify a solution,” he said. “We don’t want to wait to wait for the car to hit somebody to go, oh, you know, we could’ve done something — when we could have done something six months earlier that would have prevented it.”
Download the FREE Boston 25 News app for breaking news alerts.
Follow Boston 25 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch Boston 25 News NOW
©2025 Cox Media Group