A number of community members have become increasingly concerned about pedestrian safety, especially when it comes to children’s interactions with traffic in town.
This anxiety faced by many parents in town was amplified last week when a car struck a teenager riding on a bike while turning onto a side street from West Shore drive. According to Police Chief Dennis King, the accident was reported at 7:45 a.m. In a statement, King said that the youth suffered minor injuries and was transported to the hospital.
The driver was not cited and speeding was not a factor according to King, who said in the statement that all parties should be vigilant when using any part of the roadway.
“Everyone traveling on the roads in Town has a responsibility to pay attention, follow the traffic laws, and drive and bike responsibly,” King said. “This may not eliminate all accidents, but it can reduce the number of accidents and mitigate injuries.”
Dan Albert, who sponsored the article at the Town Meeting that will result in the creation of a Traffic Safety Advisory Committee, has been outspoken about creating ways for pedestrians and vehicles to safely coexist.
Albert said that while he agrees with King that all parties need to be attentive when using the roads, there should be means in place to prevent dangerous encounters when drivers or pedestrians do not follow the rules.
He cited Vision Zero, a national project that aims to “eliminate all traffic fatalities and severe injuries, while increasing safe, healthy, equitable mobility for all,” according to its website.
“Yes, we all behave ‘badly’, but per vision zero, the mobility system/transportation infrastructure should ensure that we are safe even when we misbehave,” Albert said.
There have also been concerns from residents living on the Neck who have seen pedestrians walking two or three wide on the roads at times, which they feel could create unsafe conditions.
Albert, a driver’s ed teacher who regularly takes student drivers up to the neck, says that he has not heard of any issues to date involving pedestrian accidents with vehicles. He said that the reason being is that the area is much less congested with traffic, and drivers are normally not in a rush coming to and from the Neck, compared to the hustle and bustle of the mainland.
When asked if the addition of sidewalks would help deter pedestrians from walking out into the road, Albert said that the approach should be to create marked pedestrian or bike lanes in the streets, specifically on the Neck.
Alex Krisak, who moved into town last December with his two daughters, is one of the Marblehead parents concerned about pedestrian safety. Krisak lives at the corner of the five-way intersection located just across from Glover Elementary School. He recently had a close call: a driver turning onto Tedesco Street came to a screeching halt as his five-year-old daughter chased a ball into the road while he was unpacking his car.
“Somebody was taking a right turn during school hours, which you’re not supposed to do, who was not paying attention to the chance of a pedestrian popping out, slammed on the brakes at the last second and almost hit my five-year-old,” Krisak said.
Since then, Krisak’s lawn has had a green pedestrian sign facing the street with the message: “Drive like your kids live here.”
The intersection currently has a sign that reads “No right turn school days from 7:30 a.m. to 3 p.m.” Krisak said that many times, there are drivers who don’t obey the sign, or get pressured from drivers behind them to take the turn instead of waiting. His proposed solution would be to have no right turn on red whatsoever at that intersection.
“The intersection is terribly designed to cause either an accident or pedestrian accident,” Krisak said. “I think it’s too complex for the long run and you’re going to have some accidents because of it.”
Krisak said that though many drivers are not paying attention, he believes that a lot of the issues centering around traffic safety can be blamed on some of the traffic designs in town, adding that it’s “only a matter of time,” before someone gets hit.
“I don’t think everything needs to be on the drivers or the pedestrians or kids, I just think that intersection isn’t set up great,” Krisak said.