Downtown traffic
safety
East Village has evolved from an industrial area to a growing neighborhood, incorporating new residential buildings and offices. As a result, there has been an increase in the number of pedestrians, bicyclists and motorists, highlighting concerns for traffic safety in the downtown area.
Traffic safety has become a huge concern for many seniors at the Potiker Family Senior Residence amid, for instance, the dangerous intersection at 14th and Island. This is a very risky intersection because cars can be seen running the stop signs, and speeding, all while drivers are using cell phones.
There is also a lack of curb cuts, which makes it virtually impossible to safely cross the street for persons in wheelchairs. This poses a significant threat because a large number of the senior residents, including myself, are in wheelchairs and/or use walkers or have other physical disabilities and cannot move fast. There have been several near misses in recent months.
The Potiker Residents Health and Safety Committee is advocating for infrastructure improvements in East Village, such as sufficient curb cuts, sign-age, countdown timers, visible crosswalks and other mitigations.
Although East Village is not as developed as many of its downtown counterparts, such as Little Italy and Marina, it is entitled to equal representation. East Village can be a beautiful, safe and walkable community for everyone.
We have partnered with the City College/East Village Traffic Safety Working Group to seek environmental changes in East Village. Recently, the Working Group submitted a letter to the city Traffic Engineering Department to address the traffic safety issues at the intersection of 14th and Market and suggest short and long term solutions.
Shortly thereafter, the department responded by installing crosswalks and increasing the time of the pedestrian signal at the intersection. We are thankful and commend them for their fast-acting response. We ask the city, CCDC, law enforcement and other entities to partner with the Working Group to further traffic safety mitigations in East Village.If interested in participating contact Shontey Hambrick at (619) 296-3311, ext. 26.
Malcolm Lambert
Potiker Residents Health
and Safety Committee