Rachel Martin, a West Hartford parent of young children, writes in her Nov 14th letter in We-Ha.com, “We Need to Make Our Roads Safe for Kids and Families.”
…If we really want to make West Hartford a great place for families we need – desperately – to rethink the ways we design our roads and streets… I don’t pretend to be an expert in pedestrian safety. I’m a mom who cares about my own children, along with all of the other kids in our town. But I know from visiting friends and family across New England that other towns and cities have managed to raise crosswalks and add blinking lights and speed tables so that cars slow for crossing pedestrians. Other towns have added truly protected bike lanes so that all riders, even those less comfortable on a bike (like my 5-year-old, or, frankly, me) can safely and comfortably ride. I know that other towns have lengthened the time allocated to cross at a crosswalk so that people with little legs (or creaky joints) can safely walk across the street with time to spare…
The irony is that by designing our roads so that they are unsafe for pedestrians, we are pushing families like mine to forgo walking or biking for short trips in the name of safety. Instead, we’ll get in our cars to drive a half mile or so to parks or restaurants or libraries. And we too will add to the traffic, add to the pollution, add to the fights for parking, and add to the lines of rushed drivers who forget to stop for pedestrians and make our roads less safe. It’s a cycle that won’t stop unless our town officials and senior staff members take real responsibility and action for fixing our infrastructure and making our town safe for all pedestrians…
Read more of Rachel Martin’s letter in We-Ha.com