In collaboration with the Holton Home and Brattleboro Department of Public Works, the Safe Streets Project recently launched a pilot program to improve pedestrian visibility. It is located at the crosswalk between Holton Home and Trinity Lutheran Church on Western Ave. Two fluorescent orange and yellow flags sit on the yield signs on each side of the crosswalk, with instructions to “carry a flag when crossing the street and place it in the container on the other side”.
This site was recently approved for a pedestrian activated flashing light by the Town’s Traffic Safety Committee, due to the vulnerable population using this crosswalk. These flags will be used in the interim until the flashing light system can be purchased and put in place. If the pilot flag program is deemed successful, flags maybe placed at other crosswalks around town in the future.
For more information about this pilot program or the Safe Streets Project, contact Alice (acharkes@myfairpoint.net) or Kathleen (kwsugarsnap@gmail.com). The Safe Streets Project mission is to increase safety and civility for all Brattleboro road users, through education and outreach. The project welcomes the participation of interested citizens.
Photo: Ethel Brosnahan, resident of Holton Home, uses the new pedestrian flag to cross the street.
Wow!
Inexpensive, easy, effective… plus, it goes into effect immediately upon picking up a flag. No waiting!
(Don’t we need to spend $1 million for a system that meets federal safety standards?)
Keep us posted on the success/failure. If it works, we should replace downtown lights with them… : )
pedestrian flags
🙂 Will keep you posted!
Western Avenue
This is great and long overdue. I live on Western Avenue and speeding is a big problem. Drivers getting off 91 think they’re still on the highway. I wish they would have the digitalized speed monitors that alert people to how fast they are driving.
Excellent!
Simple and effective
Math, too
This seems like a good math problem, too. That is, how many flags are needed to make sure there will always be at least one on each side of the road?
If there are equal crossings from each side, it should work out with as few as 3, right? One on each side for the next person, and one being carried.
But what if the crossings are lopsided. Say more people cross from Holton Home to the church side than back… how does that change the math? If we only had three flags and two are used in succession to go the same direction, then all three are on one side of the road.
It’s all theory. I’m sure the good people of Brattleboro will simply notice if flags are lacking and capable people will reset the balance.
Crossing yellow flags for people to carry
Maybe the town can also sell (or give away) crossing yellow flags for people to carry with them. Or people can make their own.
arts project
Good Arts Committee- Traffic Safety Committee project to take on together.
Have an annual flag drive, where we all submit new flags to be used at crosswalks all over town. We could become known as the flag town, and people would come to drive slowly just to see the flags.
Aim to put them at 10 crossings each year until every crossing has ’em.