Painted pavements a safety issue

To the editor:

It comes as no surprise to me that there was an automobile accident involving two cars recently at the intersection of North Sixth and Columbia streets. While there is a traffic light at this busy intersection along the truck route that runs through downtown Hudson, there is nothing painted on the pavement to alert drivers to pedestrians and other automobiles at the intersection. Neither a stop line nor a crosswalk — it appears there never has been anything painted at this 3-way intersection. This intersection becomes unusually crowded with cars and pedestrians for four hours every Saturday morning for 7 months of the year when the nearby farmers market is in session. One block south on Warren Street the intersection with Sixth Street has had four painted crosswalks for years, all maintained annually. One block north the intersection with State Street has four recently installed stop lines. Does pedestrian and driver safety not matter along the truck route with its speedy traffic and enormous trucks rumbling down a narrow road through a dense urban neighborhood? The entire truck route (Columbia and Third streets) is basically void of pavement paint.

Stop lines at intersections with lights or stop signs are important and helpful in two ways: reminding drivers where to stop when the light is red, as well as a larger reminder that an intersection is ahead with cars and trucks potentially in your path and that stopping may be necessary. Painted crosswalks are, of course, designed to help pedestrians get across a street safely, and, like stop lines, they are a subtle traffic-calming measure — another reminder to drivers that an intersection is ahead, to be cautious and aware and to slow down. Painting busy intersections with stop lines and crosswalks is smart: Drivers err all the time, so it’s best to have backup reminders directly on the road where they are difficult to overlook. They are an unworded sign: “You are approaching an intersection — be prepared.” It’s the way things are done in municipalities that take driver and pedestrian safety seriously. Busy intersections devoid of any pavement markings are an accident waiting to happen and a sign that those responsible for making the streets safe for everyone are, well, not paying attention.

If the police officer involved in this accident had been seriously hurt or killed, or if a pedestrian or bicyclist had been hit, would the Hudson DPW finally put crosswalks and stop lines at Sixth and Columbia and the rest of the truck route? Unfortunately, probably not. At last month’s public DPW meeting in City Hall, I asked DPW superintendent Rob Perry if he felt that the intersection at State and Third streets, with its new crosswalks, was an improvement. His response was simply “No.” I posed the same question to Hudson Police Chief Ed Moore at the HPD meeting. His response was a little more hopeful: “Not necessarily,” he said. Let’s hope this accident will change both their minds before another more serious accident occurs in downtown Hudson.

Bill Huston

Hudson