Question 5: Speeding is a quality of life problem on many Verona streets. How would you appeal to your fellow Verona residents to get them to slow down?
Edward “Ted” Giblin: While on the campaign trail, several Verona residents have mentioned to me their concerns with speeding and other traffic law violations in our neighborhoods. Furthermore, residents agree that most of these violations that are committed within our residential neighborhoods are done so by Verona residents.
First of all, I would ask my fellow residents to consider what they like most about our town. Undoubtedly, many would agree that having children playing and bicycling in the street on an everyday basis during the warmer months is something that sets our town apart. Kids in Verona still go outside and play! Secondly, the rest of us enjoy walking, running and other recreational pursuits on our roadways and sidewalks. If the perception amongst our residents is that the streets are not safe, both children and adults will remain indoors and a unique feature of our town will be lost.
Verona is a caring community and when we experience a serious injury or fatality as a result of careless driving it deeply affects us. Most of us are oblivious to the day-to-day activities of our police department and all they do to protect us. As a Councilmember, I would support increased education to our schoolchildren and collaborate these efforts with the BOE by having our high school students create public safety announcements that can be shown on VTV and by partnering with organizations such as Keep Kids Alive Drive 25®, to assist with these initiatives.
As a final resort, it may be necessary to make road improvements where residents are forcibly made to follow traffic laws. These include placing traffic strips and speed bumps in areas where speeding is a consistent problem, creating one way streets, and establishing a road diet where streets are narrowed in high traffic areas as a way to slow traffic. In addition, I would recommend installation of flashing speed signs and blinking stop signs, where appropriate. While many residents are likely to find these measures as an annoyance, it may be necessary to protect our residents to ensure that Verona remains a pedestrian-friendly place to live.
