Safety Committee November Meeting
We had a full house at the Safety Committee meeting Monday night. It was great to see so many interested folks come out to share their experiences and thoughts about walking, rolling, and driving through our downtown. I was relieved to see that the energy in the room was very positive, and lots of great ideas were discussed.
Requests for CT Consultants
We started by reviewing our draft list of requests for the village engineering firm, CT Consultants. I had circulated earlier versions of the list to Safety Committee members so there wasn’t a lot of discussion among us. Erinn did suggest asking for advice about getting accurate data for the amount and kind of traffic passing through downtown (vehicular, pedestrian, or bicycle). This could mean a mix of manual counts, pneumatic tubes, and automated processes using cameras or GPS signals. Over the next few days I’ll be incorporating that feedback into an updated version that will be recommended to council for final approval.
Public Comment
Next, we opened up the floor for public comment, and the audience did not disappoint. The conversation went on until I had to cut it off at 7:30 for our regular village council meeting. We heard suggestions for lighted bollards, lower speed limits, additional stop signs, narrower lanes, and of course lots of observations about distracted drivers and jaywalkers.
The comments that really resonated with me were about acknowledging the trade-offs involved in any changes we make. Optimizing for traffic speed and volume comes at the cost of pedestrian and cyclist safety. Making downtown more pedestrian-friendly may reduce the amount of parking slightly. Introducing traffic calming measures may mean it takes a little longer to drive through downtown. I don’t expect we’ll ever get everyone to agree on how to balance these priorities, but we on council need to come to a consensus about what kind of downtown we want to have.
Looking Ahead
What I would ask of you is the chance to let the village try some things, make mistakes, and not let perfect be the enemy of good. This is (hopefully) the beginning of a years-long process. We cannot address everyone’s concerns at once, and we shouldn’t let not being able to fix everything stop us from improving some things.
If you weren’t able to make the meeting, there are posters in Council Chambers showing each of the major downtown intersections and mid-block crosswalks. Feel free to stop by any time Village Hall is open and add your suggestions using the provided sticky notes. I’l be compiling this feedback and sharing it at our next meeting.
If you have additional thoughts that you’d like to share with me directly, please get in touch. I’m also willing to meet up for an in-person walk around downtown to talk about the issues.