I am aware of at least one accident between a pedestrian and a car at this intersection that occurred July 2010. It was a hit and run. It was also almost compounded when a driver sped through the crosswalk and almost hit an EMT that arrived on the scene. I think white stripe crosswalks on the sides would assist, currently it appears to pedestrians that they must walk through the center of the intersection since that is where the raised intersection is. Stripes are also more universally understood by drivers.

I've also received reports from MIT students that drivers rarely slow at that intersection. Given the frequency of reports, I wouldn't be surprised if there were a plurality of hit-and-runs and near misses. I really hope the City of Cambridge can improve this particular intersection with cross-walk lines and perhaps additional signage along the Albany direction.

I, too, have heard of several accidents between cars and pedestrians/bikers at this intersection. It can be a high traffic area for pedestrians and cars at certain times. It should be more clear that pedestrians have the right of way.

There have been several instances where I've seen cars speed up on this intersection and not stop for pedestrians. I've also seen a couple of near misses. There really needs to be a white stripe crosswalk and additional signage (stop signs etc.) to prevent accidents on this intersection.

I've personally witnessed two accidents involving cars and pedestrians or bicyclists at that intersection when I lived in Ashdown House last year. I imagine that there were other accidents that weren't reported to MIT or Cambridge police. Drivers consistently speed through the crosswalk rather than slow down, despite the yellow signs that are supposed to signal drivers to slow down and yield to pedestrians. The yellow signs are clearly not the solution to the problem. There needs to be a clearer indication to drivers (stripes on the crosswalk or a stop sign) that they need to yield or stop for pedestrians.

Crossing this intersection is especially dangerous during the morning rush hour when students are walking to campus and drivers are in a hurry to get to work. Speeding commuters rarely yield to pedestrians. Cambridge police could improve safety by occasionally enforcing speed limits and traffic laws at this crosswalk like they do at other ones around the MIT campus.

I agree with most of the other posts. Drivers do not understand the meaning of a raised crossing and often believe they have right of way before pedestrians, leading to dangerous situations.

What is the meaning of a raised intersection? It's not a crosswalk.

This intersection would be much better if they got rid of the raised part, and replaced it with regular crosswalks with sidewalk bulb-outs.