The town of West Hartford is creating a safety task force after a string of deadly crashes last week, but what could their work entail?
“We almost had an accident right there. Somebody pulled right out onto Boulevard," Edward Pawlak, chair of the West Hartford Pedestrian and Bicycle Commission, says.
Not even a few minutes into our interview, a close call on the intersection of Boulevard and Whiting Lane in West Hartford. It’s an area Edward Pawlak has seen concerning driving while trying to cross the road.
“I waved my arm out, extended my arm. Of the six cars that came by, four of them went right through the cross walk, without even stopping for me,” he said.
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Pawlak is paying close attention, being chair of the town’s pedestrian and bicycle commission. It’s where one of a few deadly crashes happened this month. He says most of the streets in West Hartford were built with only car traffic in mind.
“The road is wide, and the road is straight, and it just encourages fast driving behavior by motorists. There’s no traffic calming here to slow the motorists down,” he said.
He’d like to see traffic calming like what happened to North Main Street this year. The road going from four lanes to two lanes with a center divider to slow down drivers and better lighting on streets.
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“The lightning here, especially now as the sun is down, is not good and I’m wearing black. I’m not sure the people will see me,” Pawlak said.
The town is creating a safety task force to address road safety. But if there’s already a commission, why should there be a task force? Pawlak says the commission is different.
“It’s not intended and never was intended to address a public safety emergency which is what we’re facing today, so this task force will have a very different charge,” he said.
He says besides road design, police enforcement and education are key to help drivers be more mindful on the road.
“You’re driving through their neighborhood, drive the way you want other drivers to come through your neighborhood,” Pawlak said.
More news is expected about this task force at the beginning of next month.
