Bridge needed on South road; people don’t focus

TO THE EDITOR:

 I don’t agree with your recent editorial stating that the proposed South Road pedestrian bridge is unnecessary and a waste of money (“Not quite the Golden Gate,” Oct. 16).

The current system depends upon both the driver and pedestrian paying attention to each other.

With the prevalence of iPods and other mobile distractions, often neither the driver nor pedestrian are fully engaged with what they are doing.

 Your proposed crossing guard system would still depend upon the driver seeing and recognizing people within the crosswalk, and it would be expensive with salary and administrative costs in the tens of thousands of dollars every year.

Thus it would not be a great improvement over the laissez- faire system we already have and would still be expensive.

A pedestrian-controlled stop light could work, but it would further add to the traffic congestion on South Road, and it would have costs in the hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Separating the pedestrians from the drivers makes the most sense from a safety and traffic point of view. The planned bridge is expensive, but it is the best option.

Let’s have a dedicated system for drivers and walkers and keep everyone safer in the process.



Evan Corey
Graduate Student
School of Medicine