Two pedestrian fatalities and an additional two serious incidents involving cyclists inside a week is too much for any one of us to bear. A city which is a liability for its most vulnerable road users has lost its way, its soul and spirit. Yet some inexpensive but highly effective measures could begin to turn things around almost immediately, writes Martyn Williams.
Martyn Williams: “Roads which look and feel like Highways don’t belong in urban areas and will only result in more fatalities involving all road users and no progress with achieving transport diversity and creating enjoyable, liveable communities. We need to figure out a cost effective means of adapting them for use by all.”
In HRM we lose 14 people a year on average to road fatalities.. For comparison, Seattle has reduced road fatalities to 5 per year after implementing safety improvements and speed reductions.Time for Halifax to stop being so complacent, writes road safety advocate Martyn Williams in a letter to the Transportation Standing Committee.
Road safety advocate Martyn Williams wrote a letter to theb mem
Three bicycle accidents in Halifax in short order show that if we really want to reduce accidents and increase active transport, we need to equip our urban streets to meet the needs of cyclists and pedestrians first and foremost, writes Martyn WIlliams.
“Halifax downtown needn’t be about meeting the needs of traffic flow first, pedestrians second,” writes Martyn Williams. Now that federal funding will drastically reduce truck traffic downtown it’s time to revisit the Cogswell design plans and do it right this time.
Martyn Williams: “The accident near 350 Pleasant Street marks the fifth pedestrian fatality in our municipality in just over a year, and the fifth hit and run involving a pedestrian in just two months. We need to know that addressing the danger and death on our roads is a priority for all our levels of government, not just in words, but also in the city’s budget.”
Martyn Williams weighs in on Halifax Council’s budget deliberations: “We already know that our roads cannot be made safe simply by asking people to take more care. However incidents can be reduced by introducing proven infrastructure safety countermeasures that ensure the protection of vulnerable road users is our first and foremost priority on our roads.”
The most recent pedestrian fatality, at Gottingen Street, the fourth of this year, involves once again unforgiving infrastructure for those on foot which should have been mitigated during recent efforts to remodel it, writes Martyn Williams.
Martyn Williams writes, “Our lack of consideration for the needs of people travelling on foot has come into sharp focus yet again with the tragic loss of a local resident who was walking across the Beaverbank Connector from local services to his home.”
Martyn Williams continues his common sense campaign to increase safety for pedestrians, wheelchair users and cyclists. “Road users need infrastructure which does not let them down and allows them to complete their journeys safely and without injury to themselves and others. With the rate of incidents we have on our roads per day, we need the budget and will to make that happen now.”