Typical Boston. People <strike>jay</strike>walking <strike>in the middle of the street</strike>.
That's why I like Boston.
If you want persecution of "jaywalking" then go to LA.
^ The fact that all those annoying things you mention routinely happen in Boston and yet you STILL feel safe and confident as a pedestrian proves that we actually know how to move around each other very well.
It's in those places with wide, straight roads where everybody "follows the rules" that you'll find people who have no clue how to move around each other.
I've taken to just shouting "move back, people, plenty of room in this car." that actually works pretty well -- got in the habit after observing the guys staffing Fenway station after games.
Uhhh jaywalking is one thing and boston has a serious problem with people walking in the street. It also has a severe problem of people not knowing how to interact or behave when contacting each other in all realms, be it face to face, on foot, bike or car. And it might be the city's least endearing quality. Managed chaos is one thing - London makes this somewhat charming in a tolerable, cute but still depressing way - Boston does not. It's the same character trait/flaw/aberration that drives why people in T stations not moving in when more passengers get on, people "block the box" at every intersection, turn trapelo road into two lanes when it's striped for one, bike IN the riverway at night with no lights, double park on Tremont for as long as they want, and just stroll into a busy intersection in front of three lanes of traffic when they don't have the right of way. Quite frankly, it's pathetic. I do love that I feel safe as a pedestrian and know I likely won't get run over when I need to jaywal, and I would never want things here to be like London or New York where you WILL get run over if you don't wait your turn. BUT this town has a real problem with people not knowing how to move around each other, and it's basically written into the laws at this point. No, we could use a modicum of discipline, for sure.
Video showing how this building will affect the skyline:http://vimeo.com/108500230
I was up in the area a few weeks ago and figured that I'd walk by this site and I noticed that so far it looks like it's going to interact pretty nicely with the street. Certainly much better than the pit that had been there for the past five years.
Such a ringing endorsement
A building interacts better than a hole surrounded by a fence. Got it. It would be pretty atrocious if that statement somehow turned out to be inaccurate.
I'm surprised they're already putting up glass considering how slow this is rising.