Exhibit A: The Direct Result of Dysfunction And Lack Of Accountability in Hudson City Hall

Last night there was yet another auto accident at the intersection of Columbia and N. 6th Streets.  I did not witness the accident, but the results were still strewn all over the street this morning.  A nearby resident who heard the accident and saw the aftermath told me that a pickup truck and a car met in the middle of the intersection, like so many times before.  Yes, someone likely ran a red light again at this busy intersection along our truck route.  (One of the vehicles may have been going the wrong direction on 6th, according to my neighbor)

Gauging by the amount of leftover debris and fluid in the street, it must have been quite an impact.  There was even a headlight unit on the sidewalk this morning.  Tow truck drivers are supposed to remove the accident debris when they respond to an accident -- this is NY State law.

The situation at 6th and Columbia is getting out of hand, thanks to City Hall.  About a year or more ago at an Informal Council meeting, there was a lot of discussion about 6th and Columbia after a Hudson Fire Department vehicle was run into as a result of another red light runner at the intersection.  The woman who heard last night's accident spoke at length about the intersection to the Council, Police Chief Ed Moore and Lieutenant Miller.  Ed Moore seemed like he was having trouble concentrating on the topic, asking well into the conversation, "Are we talking about 6th and Columbia?"  Lieutenant Miller assured everyone that there were not enough accidents at the intersection to warrant any concern or changes to the intersection.

It turns out we were all wasting our time by talking to the wrong people.  Miller and Moore have nothing to do with improving or changing intersections or traffic control devices.  They talk like they do, but this is false.  No, this responsibility is supposed to be handled by the mysterious, no-show, so-called Commissioner of Police, Shane Bower, and only to him.  Honestly, it doesn't matter what Moore or Miller think or say, since they have no authority in the matter of traffic safety.  Plus, Ed Moore doesn't live in Hudson  -- do you really think he cares about traffic safety in Hudson?  I don't know where Sgt. Miller lives, but I've never seen him in street clothes on a sidewalk or trying to cross a street in Hudson.  Come to think of it, I've never seen him in uniform walking anywhere in Hudson.  

Why are these people even taking questions and comments from the public and the Council about unsafe streets and clearly dangerous intersections?  Why are they responding to questions, if they do, when they know they aren't in charge of traffic matters?  They probably go home at night and chuckle about the fools at the meetings that ask them all those questions about the unsafe intersection at 6th and Columbia or wherever.  At the meetings, Ed Moore will say something like "I'll take a look at this and talk to so and so."  And then you never hear anything out of his mouth again about the subject.  It's like it never happened.  Then the next inevitable accident occurs because someone ran the red light again at the same god damn intersection that "isn't a problem," or "isn't an unsafe situation."

People who live near 6th and State have known for years that there is something wrong with the intersection, but the officials (Moore, Miller, Robert Perry) who give the impression they will keep our streets safe don't see it that way or don't even care.  And the one "official" who should be taking comments and questions about unsafe streets and intersections (and DOING SOMETHING ABOUT IT!) never bothers to show up to Informal Council meetings.  It's all so putrid. 

If you see Shane Bower soon (good luck finding him!), ask him if he is aware that there was yet another accident at 6th and Columbia on Friday night.  In the off chance that he is aware of the accident, ask him how he feels about it.  Then invite him to Monday's council meeting so he can tell the public and the council what he might do about the intersection, or if he thinks there is a problem there.

Late last year at a meeting, I asked DPW Superintendent Robert Perry why there were no stop lines or crosswalks, indeed no paint at all, at the intersection of 6th and Columbia.  He said the following:  "Some things are important and some things are not.  And we do not have unlimited funds."  Do you think Robert Perry gives a crap that there was another accident at 6th and Columbia last night, and that there is debris and oil all over the place?  Of course he doesn't. His $114,000 salary is too low for him to be bothered with such inconveniences.