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Recently, a wheelchair-bound friend of mine was hit by a car, while crossing Highway 116 in Sebastopol. Sebastopol is not pedestrian-friendly. Steps need to be taken. Also, they need to make some accommodation for drivers needing to access the major thoroughfares from side streets. The price to pay for not doing these things is more injuries and possibly worse.
Robert Feuer
I am sorry to hear about your friend. However I've been pleased to see many of the crosswalks being upgraded to a higher standard including the embedded flashing lights. What else would you like to see?
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Posted in reply to the post by robert777:
I am so sorry to hear your friend was hit by a car. Indeed, Sebastopol has a ways to go when it comes to streets that safely accommodate all users.
Fortunately, there have been some improvements with the newer crosswalks installed in recent years. Thank you to city staff who worked many years for that project to be completed (I think it took 10 years). Funding is a huge constraint right now in making more improvements but there are some ideas afoot from fellow community members on how to make things better even in the face of such a small city budget.
Those of us who walk, cycle, ride wheelchairs, push strollers, take public transit, and drive, have a newly-formed citizen's advisory committee to help funnel our needs/voices - in an official way - to the city council. The Complete Streets Advisory Committee usually meets every 2nd Wednesday of the month at City Hall.
You are welcome to email me if you would like to share your story or learn more about steps being taken to improve safety for those of us who rarely travel in cars around town. I am a member of the Complete Streets Committee as well as Sebastopol TrailMakers. One of the "voices" that I try to represent are those who travel in wheelchairs but I do not have 1st person experience with this mode of transportation and I would love to hear from neighbors who do use wheelchairs.
Larkin
[email protected]
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Posted in reply to the post by robert777:
Sorry it took me a while to get back to this thread. I spoke with my wheelchair-bound friend who had this accident. He indicated that some of the problems in maneuvering Sebastopol streets are that sidewalks have cracks and uneven pavement (largely due to trees roots). Also, some of the small ramps at streetcorners are difficult to maneuver in a chair. He didn't expand on that. He also advised people in wheelchairs to use crosswalks, and have lighted chairs and bright clothing if crossing at night. Personally, I think more traffic lights are needed, both for pedestrian and driver safety. Making a left turn onto a major thoroughfare can turn into a desperate lunge. Robert