Your Letters: Traffic Light Needed at Post and Edgewood Roads

(The following was submitted by Christine Weston)
The crosswalk signal at the intersection of Post and Edgewood Roads is inadequate and continues to fail to protect pedestrians, especially children crossing on the way to and from school. We cannot trust that cars will see and/or obey the blinking yellow light and are forced to risk our lives to simply cross the street. Here are just a few examples that illustrate our concern:

February 14th, 2023: a 14-year-old girl was hit by a car while attempting to cross as she walked home from high school. She was taken away in an ambulance but was released with minor bruising.

February 8th, 2023: a man on his way home from dropping his young children off at Edgewood was almost hit by a car that did not stop, despite the presence of other stopped cars, including a police car.

January 25th, 2023: a mother and her two young daughters were walking home from school and were almost hit by a car that shot through the intersection.

September 12th, 2022: a commuter on his e-bike was hit and injured by a car.

May 27th, 2022: an 11-year-old boy and his bicycle were hit by a car as he was walking home from playing with friends at Edgewood.

There are countless more near-miss stories involving children, parents with children, commuters walking to the train station or anyone else trying to access the cut-through at the top of Windsor Lane to travel to or from the village.

Travelers in cars often have near-misses with other cars as well, especially when turning onto or off of Post Road. Residents of the surrounding houses report hearing honking horns and screeching brakes daily.

The New York State Department of Transportation must take responsibility for this dangerous intersection and install a much-needed traffic light or Pedestrian Hybrid Beacon.

Until that happens, we implore the community: BE CAREFUL. Drivers, keep your eye out for those lights, and slow down. Pedestrians, cross very carefully; assume cars can’t see you or the lights.

Please report all incidents, whether accidents OR near-misses, to us at [email protected] so we can continue to put pressure on the state to act.

Sincerely,

Christine Weston
Camille Roche
Julia and Glenn McClanan
Alyson and Jason Andrus
Abby Balbale
Mary Beth Evans & Dan Moretti
Fabien de Malartic
Joshua Mitts
Paul Tetlock and Edy Moulton

…and many other concerned residents of Crane Berkeley, Drake Edgewood, and Arthur Manor