Safe crossings are needed
To the editor:
I am writing to express my disappointment in the New Ulm City Council’s decision to not move forward with the grant application process for a Rectangular Rapid Flashing Beacon on Broadway at 4th S. Street.
I am on the Safe Routes to School (SRTS) Action Committee and I am a member of the Safety Commission. Both of these groups determined that this was a worthwhile issue and a necessity. The Safety Commission recommended it for approval at their October 13th, 2016 meeting and the City Council voted in favor of it at their meeting on October 18th, 2016. The issue was put on the City Council agenda again for January 3rd, 2017 and neither the SRTS Committee, the Heart of New Ulm, nor the Safety Commission was notified.
The SRTS committee made its request, and the Safety Commission made its recommendation, based on the Safe Routes to School 2014-2015 Parent Survey Report written by the 2015-2016 GreenCorp intern Nathan Fuerst. This report says “Informed decisions about which areas could use safety enhancements can be made by viewing NUMC’s heat map. Knowing where large amounts of children live can help prioritize investments in safety” (page 16). This heat map (which is in the report) shows that there are multiple concentrations of children under 18 years of age that reside on the East side of Broadway that would benefit from a safe crossing at 4th South Street.
In addition, in the 2014 and 2015 surveys, over 30 parents specifically mentioned crossing Broadway as one of their concerns about allowing their children to walk to school. My nieces, who live on South Minnesota Street, would walk to school if they could safely cross Broadway without having to walk blocks out of their way. I would argue that no child in New Ulm that lives within walking distance of any school should be prohibited based on traffic safety. This seems like common sense to me.
Every person that I have spoken to is in favor of safer crossings of our busiest streets, which includes a safe crossing somewhere between Center St and 10th S. Street. Many cite the fact that there used to be a controlled crossing that has been removed.
In my experience, New Ulm is overall not proactive, but reactive. Other smaller cities in Minnesota are outpacing us in their commitment to green practices, walkability, traffic calming/ control, etc. If New Ulm wants to continue to grow and thrive, we need to be able to keep pace. Believe it or not, this includes something as small as a safe pedestrian crossing.
Amanda Groebner
New Ulm
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