WILLIAMSVILLE-An open letter to the editor, VTrans, Vermont state legislators:
There is an obvious problem with speeders on all of our local roads. We all know that, especially in places like Williamsville, where we have a state road running straight through our sidewalk-less village in a direct line to a major mountain resort that attracts not only skiers but visitors for year-round activities and events.
In conversation with other folks in our adjacent area, I'm hearing 60-80 mph drag racing. It's unnerving to walk through this village to the post office, to its multi-use hall, and to the soon-to-be-open café across the street. People whip through here. I've been clipped by a truck driver who didn't even slow down.
There's no way that this fast-moving culture is going to be controlled across the board, but for public safety, it needs to be curtailed in our villages and towns.
Here in Williamsville, after 30 years of effort and 8 in. of paper files, we have managed to install one speed table on the blind curve just west of the post office. It's manufactured by Traffic Logix; it is quiet and effective.
We are looking to install a couple more, since everyone simply picks up speed after the bump and the southwest-bound traffic is unaffected. Removing it each fall and re-installing it each spring looms as quite a job burden to place on the highway department.
In Sweden and other European countries, there is a device installed flush with the road surface with a metal-hinged steel panel that works in conjunction with a radar speed reading device. The driver's speed is measured, and the flap lowers in accordance to the measured speed. Sounds pretty expensive but effective.
As for realistic, affordable measures, I believe that road dips should be considered. It seems to me that a road dip could be designed to effectively slow folks down without damaging cars. It would be a permanent design feature of the road, removing the need for a device to be repeatedly installed and removed.
If the state could dig in and figure out the dimensions and angles and standardize this design for local road crews, something workable could be instituted statewide, I would think.
I could see there being a contractor who specializes in installing these dips efficiently and inexpensively. Put it out for bid by the state. If a town wants the dips or devices, the state could negotiate a contract to simplify and lower costs for Vermont towns to purchase these services.
I believe that the state should step up to the plate and address this issue.
T. Breeze Verdant
Williamsville
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