Letter to Mayor Smiley regarding street safety

Submitted by Zealousideal-Bus5806 t3_115g3k9 in providence

I don't write or engage my local politicians enough. But I have felt and also seen even on here, a lot of anxiety and concern about the recent pedestrian incidents (i.e. North Main, Judge Licht getting hit by the state house), and felt like I needed to do something. I'm just one person, but this is the letter I'm going to send later today to the Mayor. Please be nice! Hoping maybe this can inspire others to write to him or local electeds! Thanks and have a nice day.

Dear Mayor Smiley,

As a Providence resident of nearly 12 years, I am excited about all the beneficial changes happening in our city. From all the new businesses, to the arts and culture scene, to all the efforts to make Providence a more accessible, diverse, and world class city.

One of my favorite things about Providence that I'm sure you and many other residents share is how close everything is. It's walkable and bikeable. However, I have been concerned about the recent pedestrian safety issues that have come up, including the hit and run death on North Main street, and Judge Licht getting struck walking by the State House. I myself have been hit by a car while bicycling twice in Providence over the last 3 months because drivers did not use their blinker to turn right and did not see me.

So many of your constituents share similar experiences – close calls with vehicles while walking/biking, actual accidents, and just an overall anxiety and fear of trying to commute in a more sustainable and non-car centric way.

Every day that the dangerous street design and traffic flow around places like North Main is not addressed is a day that another person could be injured or killed as a result of unsafe street design and traffic flow. This is an opportunity to lead in our community and make a real impact in the lives of my neighbors.

I am also concerned about some of your office’s comments about reviewing existing bike lane infrastructure like the one on South Water street. I ask that you listen to all your constituents, not just those who may be a vocal minority opposing broadly accessible, safer, cleaner commuting options.

Please take immediate action to work within your municipal authority and/or with the state to make sure nobody else is hurt or killed as a result of irresponsible and dangerous traffic patterns. Please make Providence a place where all people - residents and commuters, walkers and drivers, churchgoers and schoolchildren - can move around safely and comfortably. Please don’t shuffle your feet or lead Providence backwards, stalling or undoing the progress we’ve had the last several years around our safe street infrastructure.

Edit: appreciate everyone's support and interest! Wanted to add I'm sending the letter through here :

https://www.providenceri.gov/mayor/mayors-office-contact-us/

106

Comments

You must log in or register to comment.

jakejanobs t1_j91f3a8 wrote

Love it, what I’ve come to realize is local politics is a lot easier to sway than state or federal politics. Most people don’t realize the power of a single letter or speech at a community meeting. It may be a shitty undemocratic system, but it’s surprisingly easy to change things

60

sc00p401 t1_j91musr wrote

There are people who deliberately drive their cars straight down the bikeway on Broad. This is SUPER dangerous not just for bikers, but pedestrians as well since these people don't pay attention to crosswalks or the widely-used RIPTA stops either. I've almost been hit THREE TIMES.

24

PeachesFromTulsa t1_j91v50a wrote

They have speed cameras but why not safety cameras? Should be an automatic ticket for something like that

12

galeeb t1_j92woq2 wrote

THANK YOU. A friend recently got a ticket in Providence for a red light while going through with a funeral procession (had the funeral flag and all) and a human being actually personally signed off on it. It would be great if the money-hungry tactics were wed with a true commitment to improving safety instead of that nonsense.

4

mhb t1_j941mow wrote

Because we should be trying to have fewer cameras watching everything.

3

laughsgreen t1_j94m1lc wrote

Smiley publicly was a proponent of the new plate reading cameras in neighborhoods "just in case" that were specifically put in through a roundabout deal with the police for less than the $5k that would require a legislative vote.

pro. a. governmental. go-around. to. implement. data. harvesting. cop. cams.

dude won't care about your letters. we voted him in after he was publicly anti representative oversight.

1

PeachesFromTulsa t1_j94w1re wrote

Not a fan of public surveillance but you are likely being surveilled more than you know, especially with the new plate readers implemented recently. If this technology is available and being used, I’d rather direct it towards people that are doing the most dangerous and idiotic things, like driving in a bike path. That and gunshot detection. If you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em… right?

1

RandomChurn t1_j95exbs wrote

>Not a fan of public surveillance

Nor me but I am so ready for traffic cams / robo tickets being issued every time some vacuous dick sails right through a four-way stop with a pedestrian halfway across in the crosswalk 😡

I walk my young high-energy dog a lot throughout the day and can't count the times we'd have been hit if I weren't hyper-vigilant

3

Zealousideal-Bus5806 OP t1_j91n73h wrote

Absolutely insane hearing that. There needs to be better enforcement of bike lane safety

9

Cole3823 t1_j91ugga wrote

Not gonna lie I accidentally did that the first time I drove down broad. That bike lane is horribly designed.

6

sc00p401 t1_j92hhrg wrote

It really is. The first week they put the bus stop risers in, someone drove their car into it and the car didn't fare well. They could use some reflective paint.

1

etrnlhaze t1_j988tn4 wrote

how bout dont put a big ass, worthless bike lane on broad !

−2

sc00p401 t1_j98ak84 wrote

If it was worthless people wouldn't be using it (the way it's supposed to be used) on a daily basis. I suggest you look at your own backside or check the mirror if you want to see something big and worthless.

2

Locksmith-Pitiful t1_j92xnvf wrote

Also, email the businesses against this stuff. There's several, but three big organizers are Rhody Craft, Plant City, and The Jewelry District Association. Just a sentence or two to any of these folks is helpful.

https://www.jewelrydistrict.org/contact

https://www.rhodycraft.com/contact.html

Seriously, just a sentence or two, it takes 30 seconds!

"Hi X,

As a resident, I am concerned about accessible streets, including bicycling and pedestrian safe infrastructure. Please reconsider your stance on these issues and assist in pushing forward accessibility for everyone in our community.

Regards, XYZ"

11

infestans t1_j93kzk9 wrote

The only time I ever hear about Rhody Craft its them opposing some pedestrian or cyclist safety improvement.

​

Weird marketing on their part

8

FrutaFertil t1_j94dksv wrote

I don’t get how the owners of Plant City are for the environment and unsupportive of bike as a transit mode.

The lady at Rhody Craft is looney tunes for sure

8

lightningbolt1987 t1_j963ge4 wrote

Now that South Water bike lane has been open for a year and clearly hasn’t harmed her business, I wonder if she had the humility to change her mind. She responds to emails. Someone should kindly see.

Then again, maybe her business is down since last year simply because the food sucks and the concept is no longer a novelty.

1

FrutaFertil t1_j98ozqx wrote

I doubt their business is down honestly, I don’t like the food but they hustle and it’s a unique concept so I’m sure they do great business. I just wish that the business owners would stop behaving like they own the street. The complaints are stupid and if they want a ton of parking, they should be in the suburbs. Streets are for everybody, especially in a city.

3

etrnlhaze t1_j987y4b wrote

the bike lanes are a tax scam , we dont need them , they dont even repave the roads or redo the lines , we need drivers to learn how to drive around pedestrians , we dont need an over-hyped safe space so your feelings dont get hurt !

−4

FrutaFertil t1_j98p4ab wrote

Everything in Rhode Island is a tax scam, are you new here?

3

lightningbolt1987 t1_j96360v wrote

Don’t bother writing to the jewelry district. It’s just Sharon Steele’s personal fiefdom and she’s not interested in facts or the concerns of other people. Her views, and by extension the JDA’s, are just based on arbitrary feelings that she has from her own weird life experiences.

2

etrnlhaze t1_j9880zu wrote

so abolish the neighborhood associations !

0

pepetheskunk t1_j921nd1 wrote

Thanks OP, I will set as aside some time to write the mayor’s office as well!

9

[deleted] t1_j927q6s wrote

Awesome. Where exactly are you sending this? By email? What’s the best email to write too?

I took his survey online and mentioned similar things.

7

listen_youse t1_j962f32 wrote

If people just going about their day were getting hurt and killed in random robberies at a fraction of the pace of traffic violence, there would be a crash program to hire 1000 cops.

3

UnicornShitShoveler t1_j98q5i6 wrote

There should be comprehensive training in your drivers testing class that deals with bike and auto road sharing. Biking commuters should also have a road test. There also needs to be a standardized lanes/networks for bikes cars or a combo.

2

etrnlhaze t1_j987r67 wrote

diversity means the black community get erased so over priced hipsters can gentrify our hoods !

−2