"Our objective is traffic casualty reduction."
Contents:
Objective
Pedestrian Summit
Death - Felony - Sentencing
JCPS Student/School Assignment
Pedestrian & Bicyclist Training
Kentucky Drivers License Manual
License Plate Violations
Attitude
Drunken Driving
Resources
Next Planning Meeting
Early Supporters
Contact
Pedestrians, wheelchair users, joggers/runners, cyclists and motorists are being injured and dying on Louisville streets in unacceptable numbers. Working with local and national citizens and organizations, Safe Streets Louisville seeks to implement a wide range of changes resulting in fewer road deaths and injuries. Safe Streets Louisville will not shrink from identifying and addressing the major cause of road death and injury. The laws of physics concerning mass, velocity and impact identify the problem - the larger the vehicle, the faster the speed, the greater the damage. A major element of our agenda is to slow vehicular speed and hold vehicle owners responsible for destruction done by their vehicles.
Children will chase balls into traffic. Youths will erratically bicycle in alleys and streets. At present, when these young pedestrians and cyclists are hit they are written off as collateral damage while motorists continue to drive without being held responsible for the damage their chosen mode of transportation inflicts on others. We reject blaming the victim for not wearing bright clothes. We reject letting off the sun-blinded motorist. We reject absolution for driving under the influence. Our agenda is to make Louisville's sidewalks and streets safe for all users - regardless of their age or transportation mode.
Some will wrongly characterize the Safe Streets Louisville as "anti-car". It is not anti-car. Safe Streets Louisville promotes responsible motor vehicle use. Our first concern is primary transportation - walking (or for some, wheelchairs). Pedestrians deserve safe right-of-way. Adult cyclists should stay off sidewalks; motor vehicles should not threaten pedestrians, cyclists or other motorists. Safe Streets Louisville promotes responsible vehicle use.
Our objective is traffic casualty reduction. The strategy is to reduce the number and severity of crashes. The tactics include aggressive prosecution, better road design, stronger legislation, increased enforcement, improved driving, transforming public attitudes toward road safety, holding drivers accountable for their actions, making license plates legible, reducing motor vehicle speeds, greater enforcement technology, curtailing the use of distracting electronic devices, employing motor vehicle control technology, etcetera.
Safe Streets Louisville thanks Jewish Hospital Health Network and Frazier Rehab Institute for the generous offer to host the Safe Streets Louisville Conference at the Rudd Heart and Lung Center. We are subrogating our Conference and coordinating our efforts with those of Metro Louisville to make the Pedestrian Summit a success.
Our experience with the 2005 Metro Louisville sponsored Bike Summit informs our approach to the Pedestrian Summit. Some good came out of the Bike Summit. However, the "unveiling" of the Bike Summit plans immediately buried the most powerful concept of the event. The buried concept? Give de juro and de facto right-of-way to pedestrians first, people on human powered vehicles second, public transit third, and other motorized vehicles last. This concept reverses the balance of power on our streets and sidewalks. Currently, local motorists can, with impunity, hit and kill pedestrian and cycling children and adults. The Pedestrian Right-of-Way holds drivers responsible for controlling their vehicles.
The grassroots origin of the Pedestrian Right-of-Way is noteworthy. The concept came from the public participation portion of the Summit - the 'Policy' breakout sessions. Two different groups brainstormed thirty (30) to forty (40) policy concepts of their own making. The two independent groups were then asked to choose only three (3) of the dozens of ideas. Of the dozens of concepts discussed, one of the groups prioritized this concept as Item #1, the other group prioritized the concept as Item #3.
More recently, the establishment of a Pedestrian Right-of-Way Zone around schools and parks has been discussed by several groups. Several months ago Safe Streets Louisville re-introduced a Neighborhood Pedestrian First ordinance to the Mayor's office. The ordinance would give pedestrians uncontested right-of-way within three blocks of parks and schools. We will work to assure that the Pedestrian Summit does not miss the opportunity lost by the Bike Summit .
"A car is the ultimate expression of individualism, a crosswalk is community." Bill McKibben
Twentyfour (24) pedestrians and cyclists were killed in Jefferson County in 2007 by drivers moving at killing speeds. They include:
* Mark Smith - September 23, 2007 - pedestrian - juvenile driver holding a permit but without a licensed adult in the car
* Apryl Hunter - September 13, 2007 - pedestrian - driver ran a red light
* Chips Cronen - July 3, 2007 - cyclist - driver didn't see him
We do not know the number of deaths to date in 2008. They include:
* Shelby Gray - 9 year old on the way to school - January 30
* Robert Lanham - 51 years of age, hit-and-run victim
* Amelia Lopez - 64 years of age, hit-and-run victim
The loss experienced by victims of irresponsible driving and by their families is tragic. We share their loss. We also share the road with those who endanger others by irresponsibly operating dangerous vehicles. It is "the others" - those who are endangered by irresponsible driving - that demand our focus. While we mourn victims and sympathize and support victim families, our focus is not on the dead. While we hold no antipathy for the ones whose irresponsible driving results in death and injury, our focus is not on the drivers. Our focus is on the greater community. How, for the good of the greater community, do we communicate that we will no longer tolerate the irresponsible operation of vehicles capable of maiming and killing?
It has been suggested that drivers' licenses should be suspended. We agree. We also remember that in December 2006 a driver driving with a suspended license hit and killed a thirteen year old girl walking to school. The driver "did not see the child" and was fined and told to enroll for traffic school. Suspension alone is obviously an inadequate response. A much stronger response is needed.
It has also been suggested that new legislation on the state level is needed. Only after current law has been enforced and proven deficient, can we agree with that suggestion. The currentlaw is not being enforced, charges are not pressed and aggressively pursued. We are asking that felony charges be pressed.
Assuming conviction follows charges and trial, what sentence is appropriate? Imprisonment is costly and generally detrimental to all envolved. Why not sentence the convicted to traveling at or under the commuting speed of a cyclist? Ankle bracelets can relay to a computer the location (GPS) of the convicted. The computer can monitor the speed at which the convicted moves from point to point. If the convicted violates the terms, then harsher terms go into effect. This concept may not work. Public service may work better. We must explore serious sentencing alternatives.
Media accounts of our faux coffin rides and contacts with the Commonwealth Attorney's Office, Louisville's police and mayor can be found at: www.bikedepot.org (click Advocacy, click Media)
We encourage JCPS to give make every effort to accommodate the school choice of students and parents who will commit to walking or bicycling to school.
Pedestrians and cyclists have a responsibility to use the roads responsibly. Two local groups, Bicycling for Louisville and the Louisville Bicycle Club, conduct good cyclist training programs. Safe Streets Louisville applauds those efforts and encourages cyclists to improve riding skills through those organizations.
Principles of safely navigating the streets by foot is something to be learned early in life. Our local sister-city of Barbourmeade, under the leadership of Mayor Kim Holsclaw, has established a program to reduce the number of students arriving to school by car. The program encourages kids to walk (and bike) to school and teaches safety principles. Safe Streets Louisville applauds this effort and will be working with Jefferson County Public Schools to develop a progressive program to accomplish these parallel ends.
Safe Streets Louisville has been working with Kentucky State Police to improve the Kentucky Drivers Manual. The manual's Table of Contents contains no listing of PEDESTRIANS as a heading. Pedestrians are mentioned in the manual's text only as subsets. With the gracious assistance of Lieutenant Adam Whitlock, PEDESTRIANS will be listed in the Table of Contents and have a more elevated status within the text of the next Drivers Manual. Work with the State Police indicates that further efforts to increase awareness of pedestrian safety for readers of the manual should be in implementing legislative changes in Frankfort.
Safe Streets Louisville has been asking the mayor's office for greater enforcement efforts ensuring that motor vehicle licence plates are legible. Obscured licence plates encourage irresponsible driving. To date (4 March 2007) we have not had a positive response from Metro. In the meantime drivers continue to hit and run. The most recent hit and run was by a vehicle with a film over the license plate (below). When are the Mayor and Chief of Police going enforce laws to make our streets safer?
Courier-Journal, 4 March 2007
Police seek drivers involved in hit-run
Louisville Metro Police are seeking the drivers of two vehicles involved in a hit-and-run incident early yesterday that left a pedestrian in critical condition. Police say three cars were chasing each other along Dixie Highway about 3:30 a.m. when the pedestrian was struck crossing the street. Two of the cars apparently hit the pedestrian, police said. Police said the vehicles left Wick's Pizza in the 10000 block of Dixie about 3:30 a.m. The pedestrian was hit in the 8200 block of Dixie. The pedestrian, whose name was not released, was in critical condition yesterday at University Hospital with head and leg injuries. Based on witness descriptions, police said one vehicle was a gray Chevrolet Blazer with a pink-colored license plate or a pinkish cover over the plate. The vehicle was occupied by two white males and one black male. The second vehicle was a green Cadillac DeVille with a white door and tinted windows. It was occupied by two black males. Anyone with information is asked to call 574-LMPD.
Courier-Journal, 18 February 2007
Pedestrian struck on N. 26th Street
A pedestrian was hit on N. 26th Street this afternoon, and the driver fled the scene, according to MetroSafe dispatch. The accident occurred about 5:20 p.m. It was not immediately known in which direction the vehicle, a white and black Ford, was heading. The pedestrian’s condition was not immediately known.
Courier-Journal, 18 February 2007
Truck hits pedestrian in Valley Station
A pedestrian was hit by a truck near 5414 Valley Station Road just after 4 p.m. today in a hit-and-run accident, MetroSafe dispatch said. The pedestrian’s condition was not immediately known. The truck left the scene, but it was not known where it was headed.
Courier-Journal, 16 February 2007
Pedestrian struck at Second and Broadway
A hit-and-run accident at Second Street and Broadway downtown left a pedestrian with minor injuries, according to a Louisville Metro dispatcher.
The following LINK TO PICTURES OF LICENSE PLATE VIOLATIONS also includes the Kentucky law regulating car registration plates. These pictures were taken in a two block area taken over a period of five minutes. Louisville clearly has a problem. The license plate is the first step in driver accountability. We need Metro to enforce the registration plate law.
The greatest obstacle to our effort to make streets safer is attitude. Louisville's attitude
toward the various components of the traffic mix (pedestrians, cyclists, public transit & private
motor vehicles) can be improved upon. Take a measurement of your attitude by viewing the following video of a bus lane installed in Manchester, England.
VIDEO
Another focus for Safe Streets Louisville is drunken driving. While the Jefferson County attorney's office reports a ninety-five percent (95%) conviction rate for the 3,300 people arrested in 2006 for drunken driving, it is noteworthy that the severity of the convictions lacks much to be desired. We want to thank the prosecutors and the judges for the convictions. We ask that the offense be taken much more seriously and the penalties be harsher.
Our next monthly planning meeting is Monday, April 14 at Bearno's Under the Bridge, corner of Main & Second Street, 6:00 p.m. (food ordering begins at 5:30). Monthly meeings are on the second Monday of the month. Past guests include Mayor Kim Holsclaw of Barbourmead, Vice-Chair of Metro Council's Transportation Committee Tom Owen, and representatives from Police Chief White's office, KIPDA and KY Transportation Cabinet.
Agenda:
Crack down on traffic violations that endanger others
The following growing list of citizens, elected officials, neighborhoods, and other organizations support this effort to make Louisville streets safe.
If you or your organization would like to be listed as a supporter,
or want to help with the kickoff meeting, please contact Jackie:
Jackie.Green@SafeStreetsLouisville.org
583-2268 (8-5
M-F).
Thank you.