To WSMAC members, officers:
This has been a well thought out and composed discussion. I respectfully
Thank John for his Contributions and Views. With the exception of a Fatality a
few years ago at WCD and Stroudwater Street that resulted in the Loss of a
close friend of our Founder, the WCD and its myriad of Intersections and
Crosswalks have been kind of quiet this year - perhaps the reduction in
vehicular traffic from the Pandemic is one reason - But. including the two
young women and a young pre-teen girl crossing WCD at Central Street, I have
watched many people walk across WCD in between marked and controlled Crosswalks
at all locations and in darkness and sunlight, good weather and bad.
Fortunately, there is the raised median as a " Safety Island." The City has
invested lots of funds and worked with the DOT, the BCof Maine and with our
small but Very Important Committee in achieving safety improvements, most
recently on 5 Marked Crosswalks along Main Street installing the Demonstration
Crosswalk Delineators. I have noticed a small increase in the number of 18
Wheeled Tractor Trailers going east and west on Main Street. Unless they are
having to make deliveries or pickups therein, are they not supposed to be using
the WCD ? I will admit that sometimes, having to walk across any of the
Crosswalks on the WCD, the amount of and the physical SIZE of some of those
Rigs can be intimidating...
One consequence of the Pandemic this year is the cancellation of the "
Westbrook Kids Safety Day " which, would have been this Saturday - Tomorrow.
With the noticeable Increase of young people using Bicycles, Teens and 20-
somethings using E - Bicycles, and Motorcycles, this could have been a critical
Year to get the Word out on Bicycle Safety - Motorcycle Safety - using Helmets
- Reflective type outer Clothing ....
As Vice Chair of the WSMAC, I wish to close by recognizing the Westbrook
Public Services Team for a Job - JOBS WELL DONE - Repaving and new Sidewalks on
parts of Cumberland Street - Rebuilding and Repaving of Haskell and Rochester
Streets, Repaving worn out sections of several residential Streets, improving
Visibility of one side of the new Crosswalk Sign and Flashing Strobe Lights at
the Main and Stroudwater Streets Crosswalk.
Today, I visited the new Market Basket Store for the first time. One
Wonderful Infrastructure Item I want to point out is Outside the Store in the
Parking Lot - The design of the Driving Lanes to access and exit the Parking
Aisles plus the raised Sidewalks for Customers to walk from and to their
vehicles instead of having to walk in the Driving Lanes, is HUGE . Hannaford's
and Shaw's Parking Lots and Driving Lanes to and from the Parking Aisles were
NOT designed that way, nor does either Store have the raised Walking Sidewalks
for Customers. I have experienced a few scary moments at both Hannaford's and
Shaw's with both Incoming and Outgoing customers driving in and going out
DIAGONALLY ACROSS EMPTY DRIVING LANES AND PARKING AISLES WITH NO APPARENT CARE
FOR WALKING CUSTOMERS OR OTHER MOVING VEHICLES USING THE DRIVING LANES
CORRECTLY.
DESIGNERS WERE THINKING WHEN THEY BUILT MARKET BASKET.
Thank You,Dennis MarrotteWSMAC Vice Chair
-----Original Message-----
From: John Brooking <johnbrooking4@xxxxxxxxx>
To: wsmac@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Sent: Fri, Sep 11, 2020 5:43 pm
Subject: [wsmac] Re: Fading Fast
Splitting up neighborhoods with a new arterial or highway has been one of the
biggest social harms of the automobile era, especially mid-20th century during
urban renewal and the buildout of the interstate highway system. In cities of
all sizes, both efforts usually chose "blighted" areas for these
"improvements", which had the effect of displacing many poor residents, often
minorities, and destroying once-thriving neighborhoods, albeit ones that were
avoided by more well off people, such as those doing the planning. The effect
has been exactly what you cite in Westbrook, cutting residents off from
essential services, which in many cases further impoverishes and endangers
them. I know from my involvement in Portland that residents in the Libbytown,
Woodfords Corner, Morrill's Corner and Nason's Corner neighborhoods still
resent the presence of Outer Congress Street, Forest Avenue, and Brighton
Avenue, and continue to advocate heavily for pedestrian and bicyclist safety
through those corridors.
On Fri, Sep 11, 2020 at 5:00 PM Dennis Marrotte <dennis.marrotte1111@xxxxxxxxx>
wrote:
John, Thank You for your accurate, articulate views. I agree 100 +%.
A neighbor Friend told me last year, whom I once knew Decades ago when he was
in school, Local Residents on Central Street were upset when Wayside Drive was
built which is known as WCD today, because it cut them Off from Downtown
Westbrook. The shortest direct way between Two Points is a Straight Line and
that will never change Even with a 4 lane Motor Vehicle Bypass in between....
Dennis
On Fri, Sep 11, 2020, 4:32 PM John Brooking <johnbrooking4@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
In my opinion, the root cause of people continuing to cross at Central Street
instead of Mechanic has much more to do with human nature than the state of the
sign. For one thing, people often don't notice signs even when they are shiny
and new. But even more, if you're walking down Central Street on your way to
the the CVS plaza, it doesn't naturally occur to people to walk a block out of
their way just to get directly across the street from where they started, and
even if it does, many people will just choose not to. (Sometimes me.) In some
cases, maybe they don't know, or they forget, but some people just don't see it
as a concern. Walking is such a natural human thing that the idea of following
rules when you do it is still a pretty heavy lift, I think. It's only been in
the last 100 years that we've started asking people to modify their natural
walking behavior (like following the straightest line between two points) to
adapt to motor vehicles, and it's yet to be all that effective.
On Thu, Sep 10, 2020 at 5:18 PM Dennis Marrotte <dennis.marrotte1111@xxxxxxxxx>
wrote:
Understood, John. I was at Sportsman's Hardware when two Women and a Daughter
of one of them ? 8 or 9 , watched for the traffic to stop back at the
Mechanic Street Lights and watched for a Gap Westbound to cross WCD at Central
Street where the faded Universal Do Not Cross Signs are and the reverse on
their return across WCD when I came out of the Hardware Store and saw the same
trio coming back across. Most take the time to use the Crosswalk controls at
WCD and Mechanic Street but a LOT MORE cross at Central Street. That is NOT A
GOOD EXAMPLE TO SET FOR A YOUNG GIRL.
Dennis
On Thu, Sep 10, 2020, 4:58 PM John Brooking <johnbrooking4@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
You'd have to ask Public Services.
On Thu, Sep 10, 2020 at 3:34 PM Dennis Marrotte <dennis.marrotte1111@xxxxxxxxx>
wrote:
The attached photo, from Thursday afternoon, September 10, 2020, is looking
across WCD from the Sportsman's Hardware Store. The RED Universal DO NOT CROSS
SYMBOL on the walking Pedestrian Sign is fading fast. It is actually two signs
back to back. The black Arrow <----USE
CROSSWALK.
To try to convince people NOT TO CROSS THE 4 LANES OF WCD WHERE CENTRAL STREET
NOW ENDS IN FRONT OF SPORTSMAN'S HARDWARE STORE AND THE
<-----USE CROSSWALK
SIGN POINTS TO THE PEDESTRIAN PUSHBUTTON ACTIVATED CONTROLS FOR THE MARKED
CROSSWALK AT THE TRAFFIC SIGNAL CONTROLLED 4 WAY INTERSECTION FOR WCD and
MECHANIC STREET.
ARE THERE ANY PLANS TO REPLACE THE FADING SIGNS WITH SHINY NEW ONES?
Dennis Marrotte for WSMAC
