In the past couple of months, our central Vermont community has experienced three tragic traffic crashes (2 in Randolph and 1 in Chelsea) resulting in 3 deaths and 1 person with serious injuries. All of the people involved, as well as the first responders, have surely been traumatized by these events and deserve our support. These events highlight how dangerous crashes involving motor vehicles can be. 

Two of the three deaths were people who were walking and were struck by vehicles. We don’t know all the details of these crashes yet, but both emphasize that when a person walking is hit by a vehicle, the consequences are serious and often fatal. That’s why a number of years ago, the Vermont legislature created a definition of “vulnerable users” that includes people walking, bicycling or using wheelchairs or other assistive devices. There are several laws related to how people driving vehicles must interact with vulnerable users. Just last year, an amendment to one of those laws made it a requirement that when a vehicle is passing a vulnerable user, they must give them a minimum of 4 feet of clearance to do so safely.   

Walking in a downtown environment should not be a dangerous activity. There are many factors involved. Randolph’s downtown has a better than average network of sidewalks and crosswalks. Thanks to the vision of previous town government leaders, a streetscape project took place in the mid-1990s and created some of the better features of the downtown, namely the bump outs of the curb at intersections and much of the sidewalk along Main Street. The bump outs, such as at the intersection of Main/Merchant’s/Salisbury help to slow traffic by narrowing the roadway and also make for a shorter crossing for people walking while making it easier for people waiting on the corner to see and be seen by traffic. While features from that project endure, more can be done to make our downtown safe for people outside of vehicles.

Town and Advocates Work Together

The Town has taken some recent positive steps. They enlisted the help of Two Rivers Ottauquechee Regional Commission to develop a walk/bike master plan. Over 200 people responded to a public survey about the current state of walking and bicycling in Randolph. A complete inventory was made of all existing sidewalks in Randolph. Speed and volume data was collected at key locations on all the entry points to Randolph’s downtown. The Town applied for and was awarded a grant to study the feasibility of new segments of sidewalk. The locations being studied are the missing segment out to Justin Morgan Plaza (Shaw’s) from the Gifford Thrift store, all of Weston St. with a spur to the Senior Center, and the segment of sidewalk from near Wallace Hill Road out to the Town recreation area on Park Street/12A. That study has just started with DuBois and King doing the work. The Town also replaced some key segments of sidewalk last fall. This included a critical section adjacent to the Main Street entrance to Randolph House. The Town marks crosswalks with fresh paint each year and removes snow from them in the winter.

In addition to efforts led by the Town, Walk+Bike+Roll Randolph (WBRR) has also been working to make a difference. WBRR is a citizen led advocacy group whose mission is “working towards a Randolph in which all members of our community have access to our public spaces and can walk and bike safely and comfortably”. Our group started forming in the first half of 2022 and has been gathering momentum since then. Last year, WBRR purchased three in-street pedestrian signs that were deployed at key crosswalks in the downtown to draw attention to them and to help slow traffic. These signs were well-received  by the community, with almost universally positive feedback. When one went missing, many citizens expressed notes of concern before it was located. When a second sign was stolen towards the end of the fall and never found, several generous donors provided enough funds for a replacement. Ideally, the Town will kick in funds to purchase 1 or 2 more of these relatively low cost safety improvements that will be redeployed when snow plowing season is over.

Creating a safe Environment for Walking and Bicycling

Creating a safe place for people to walk, roll, and ride depends on two main components. One is providing quality infrastructure so that all transportation users have adequate and safe ways to travel. The second is for everyone on the road to operate safely. This means that drivers go no faster than the posted speed, they are focused on the task of driving, and they are aware of all possible road users. People walking or bicycling must follow the rules of the road. This “behavior” side of the equation is much more difficult to influence. It is relatively easy to build infrastructure given the will and adequate funding. Getting people to do the right thing when behind the wheel of a powerful vehicle is not as easy. That’s why there are over 40,000 traffic deaths in the U.S. each year. The U.S. has the highest rate of traffic deaths among industrialized countries worldwide.

WBRR has heard many stories about – and experienced first hand – close calls when either walking or riding a bike in Randolph. I have been cut off by a car going from Central St. to Park St. at the junction of 12 and 12A. I have had cars roar by me as I walk along the road because the sidewalk was too icy. Cars routinely cut the corner going south from Main Street onto Pleasant Street (by the gazebo), risking a crash with people in the especially long crosswalk who are trying to cross the street. A mother and young child were hit by a car at this crosswalk in 2023, luckily with no resulting injury. Drivers cutting this corner also pose a threat to vehicles coming out of Pleasant Street. People have also reported speeding traffic coming down the South Main Street hill as they use the crosswalk by the Playhouse Theater. Let’s all slow down and look out for one another so we prevent further injuries or fatalities. 

Hopefully, the Town will continue investing regularly in improvements to the infrastructure. Some other ideas received from the community are: better lighting at crosswalks for people walking at night; push button flashing warning lights at key crosswalks, especially those used by school aged kids or elderly people; modifying the Main St./Pleasant St. intersection to keep cars from cutting the corner while still allowing large trucks to make the turn; striping our travel lanes slightly narrower and putting in white edge lines to help reduce vehicle speeds and also give drivers better visual aids at night. The City of Burlington recently joined many other U.S. cities and lowered their city wide speed limit to 20 MPH. While we may not be ready for that, this is the type of visionary, inclusive thinking that is needed to make Randolph a safe place to walk or ride a bike. 

Safe Driving is Critical

As a community, we all need to do our part when behind the wheel. It is not hyperbole to say that we are in the midst of an epidemic of aggressive driving. When you are behind the wheel of a vehicle that weighs anywhere from 2500 to 4500 pounds, you have the benefit of all the safety features surrounding you, but you are a lethal threat to anyone who isn’t driving and speed is a critical factor. At 20 MPH, a person walking has a 5% chance of dying; at 30 MPH, 45%; and at 40 MPH, 85%. Drive slowly through town keeping your eyes peeled for anyone walking, riding a bike, opening a car door from a parallel parking space, or for other drivers not paying attention. People walking should make eye contact with drivers at crosswalks and dress visibly when walking during times of low light. Bicyclists should follow the rules of the road. 

The size of many of the vehicles on the road today adds to their lethality. A recent National Safety Council Report identifies larger passenger vehicles as the culprit in more severe crashes of all types, but especially those involving vulnerable users like people walking or bicycling. All you have to do is stand next to the front end of a modern pickup truck to understand why. An additional problem with these oversize vehicles is that they have significant blind spots, especially to the front and rear. Just imagine a child in front or behind one of these large vehicles. Would you see them?

Our public roadways are just that, public. They are not only for people who drive. They are for everyone to use, regardless of whether they are driving, walking, or riding a bike. Let’s all work together to make Randolph a safe place for everyone. No one wants to see Randolph in the news again because somebody died in a traffic crash.