Park & Warren, Where There Are No Pedestrian Safety Issues At All! (And These Pictures Prove It!)

 

On Saturday morning, after no more than 5 minutes of observing pedestrians crossing the Warren Street end of Park Place, I took four revealing pictures within the span of about ten seconds.  It's frightening how many close calls there are everyday at this turn in the city's eastern truck route; the dangers for pedestrians there have become normalized by City Hall.  Someday, if I'm (un)lucky, I just might get a picture of a pedestrian or three in the crosswalk being struck by a turning car or truck, perhaps being run over and killed or just paralyzed for life.  I can't think of a pedestrian crosswalk that would be more appropriately featured in a handbook on traffic safety in a chapter titled "How To Kill and Injure Pedestrians Without Trying."

This crosswalk -- all 40 feet or so of it -- is certainly the most dangerous in the city for pedestrians, not only because the intersection is one of the busiest with vehicles and pedestrians and the crosswalk has no flashing pedestrian signal, but also because it has the distinction of vehicles turning off of Warren that never have to come to a complete stop (unless eastbound drivers encounter oncoming traffic).  Of course, this includes trucks of all sizes, lengths and weights. (3rd & Warren is probably busier with foot and vehicle traffic, but it does have a traffic light.)   The only reason that a truck or car headed west on Warren needs to stop before turning right onto Park is if a pedestrian or pedestrians are in the crosswalk and, of course, the driver happens to notice them.  And not just pedestrians anywhere in the crosswalk, but in the crosswalk directly in front of them or soon to be.  And since the city speed limit, including on Warren, is 25 mph, drivers can take the unsignalized turn going 25, which many seem to do.   A pedestrian or three on the other side of the crosswalk, either waiting to enter the crosswalk or already walking in it?  PSHAW!  Fuck 'em!  Go, and go quickly before they get in the way!

What's more frightening, perhaps, is the fact that since December 18th and 20th when two city residents (one by the name of Jason Foster) were struck within 40 hours by turning vehicles in the city's most dangerous crosswalk, no one at any meetings of the Safety Committee (HPD), Infrastructure (DPW) or the Common Council has mentioned anything about the incidents or how to make the intersection safer.  It's like nothing happened at all and no one wound up in the hospital with a badly broken leg and PTSD (not Jason Foster, he was only grazed by a pickup truck). It is as if there is no safety problem at all for pedestrians at Park & Warren.  Nothing here to improve!  It is as if there are no pedestrians there at all.  La De Da, everything's just fine.  Just ask Jason Foster!

Notice in the first two pictures how the couple on the far end of the crosswalk have to wait for the red car to complete its turn before they can proceed safely.  They didn't begin walking in the crosswalk because they knew that the driver was not paying attention to them, was not willing to let them cross first, and didn't care about them (he must have seen them).  Once a vehicle has begun its turn, it's better to stay out of its way, because you never know what the driver is thinking and they likely would rather not stop awkwardly in the middle of the intersection.  In brief, this is the problem:  Vehicles have the upper hand in this crosswalk at all times!  Pedestrians are on their own!  

Unlike pedestrians preparing to use the crosswalk behind them that crosses Warren, those two pedestrians (as well as the woman with the cane ahead of them) had no flashing signal to activate to alert car and truck drivers of their presence and that they have the right of way once they've stepped into the crosswalk.  The right of way in theory, at least.  On paper.  Not on a sign anywhere!

Notice in the picture above that the pair of pedestrians have no awareness of the car behind them waiting to turn.  They began into the crosswalk without knowing that car was there.  Notice that the car has proceeded from its original place in the first picture.  Even with the pedestrians waiting at the corner and then walking, the driver still proceeded, just itching to take the turn.  What right of way?

Notice in the final picture that the woman in the red pants has her head turned toward the vehicle that has entered the crosswalk a few feet behind her (2 white stripes away).  Now she is aware of the moving car, likely having heard it, not seen it, first.  Her partner may or may not have been aware of the 3,000-pound vehicle moving a few feet directly behind her with an impatient driver at the wheel.  

And, to name a few, Joe Ferris, Margaret Morris, Henry Haddad, Lola Roberts, Greenport resident Dewan Sarowar, Jason Foster, Mishanda Franklin and Rob Perry are all okay with this.

Just over a month ago, chairperson of the so-called Safety Committee, Henry Haddad, requested four traffic signs of HPD to improve safety at what he determined were three unsafe intersections, both for drivers and pedestrians.  One of those intersections was not Park & Warren.  And one of those signs -- a DO NOT ENTER sign for wrong way drivers on North 7th approaching State -- still has not appeared.  But during the Infrastructure Committee meeting exactly one week follwing the sign requests and when only two of the four signs had been installed by DPW, Haddad, who was chairing for the absent Jason Foster, thanked Rob Perry for installing all four of the signs.  Perry accepted the thanks, not bothering to disabuse Haddad of his ignorance of the situation.

Remember when "mayor" Joe Ferris promised us he was going to improve ten intersections in downtown Hudson to make them safer for pedestrians?  Has anyone, including all members of the Common Council, seen that list of intersections?  And if a list does exist (other than in Ferris' mind), is the intersection of Warren & Park Place somewhere on it?  Is it at or near the top of the list?  If it is, why the heck hasn't he or anyone else mentioned anything about pedestrian safety issues at that intersection?  Is it because they can't find the money to hire a traffic engineer or safety expert to tell us what to do about the problems there?  Better to do nothing at all and not acknowledge or admit that something is wrong?

On Thursday at 5 pm, I was informed that there had just been a vehicle collision at Park & Warren, though I don't know the details of the incident other than it did not involve any pedestrians.

If you're in the mood for some entertainment tonight, perhaps a laugh or two, I suggest you tune into or attend the 5:30 meeting of the so-called SAFETY Committee.  This is the meeting that, if he shows up, HPD Captain David Miller is expected to have speeding ticket data with him to satisfy both a Warren Street resident's curiosity and committee chair Henry Haddad's request.  You see, in response to the persistent resident's questions about speeding tickets during the past two monthly meetings, Captain Miller has repeated his claim that he hasn't brought speeding ticket data with him.  At the May meeting, when first asked for some numbers, he actually responded to the resident, "Like if you were here last month, I had the sheets in front of me, that's all.  Sorry."  Last month, Henry Haddad finally tried his best to do something about Miller's lack of preparedness and professionalism.  Henry asked him, "Would you be able to get us some data for next month?"

Miller responded with a simple "Yes."  

Expect more nonsense tonight, in one form or another. "Like if you were here three months ago...."  Don't miss it!  But don't expect anyone to talk about PEDESTRIAN SAFETY issues at Park & Warren.  Clearly, those issues don't exist.  No one has been run over by any cars or trucks there recently!  And no one ever will be.  There is no there there.