Pedestrian and bicycle safety in Pittsfield has become a priority as the city continues to redevelop its downtown, but police say problems persist.
The city’s most recent data shows about 27 pedestrians and 14 bicyclists were involved and often injured in motor vehicle crashes in 2011 through 2015. An average of one person died per year.
At Tuesday’s City Council meeting, the city accepted a roughly $3,000 Pedestrian and Bicycle Safety Enforcement grant from the state Executive Office of Public Safety and Security— Highway Division. The city has used this grant for about a decade.
Councilor Chris Connell asked Police Chief Michael Wynn why the number of car-pedestrian collisions hasn’t dropped.
“I don’t see this getting any better,” Connell said. “Is this program really working?”
The funds are part of a law enforcement decoy program. Undercover officers test and stop motorists who are driving recklessly. The program is targeted at crosswalks, like this one on North Street, where pedestrians are also sometimes to blame for not crossing safely.
“If the decoys that you have in plain clothes that either are in the crosswalks and…,” Connell said.
“Jumping out in front of moving vehicles, according to the drivers,” Wynn said.
“I mean, if there is a violation do they actually go ahead and write a ticket to a vehicle operator?” Connell said.
“Yes,” Wynn said. “So the decoy initiates the contact and then the spotter, the observer observes the operation and pulls the violator over.”
Police issue about 160 citations a year.
“These funds are actually enforcement funds. If you look at the budget, these are actual targeted enforcement activities,” Wynn said.
“Right,” Connell said.
“That’s what these are for,” Wynn says. “I agree with you that the data is not promising. But, and I hate to hammer a dead point, but this entire length that you have looked at this this have been a collateral assignment for patrol officers on overtime, it’s a grant-driven fund. And I have stood before you before and said that if we ever get back to a full-time traffic unit this will be the type of stuff that they will do to hopefully have an impact on traffic safety.”
The Police Department was budgeted last year to have 99 officers. As of April, even with 20 new hires, it had just 81 on the force — not counting six who are unfit for duty for personal reasons. But…
“As of this morning, we’re there. We are back to a fulltime traffic unit. So hopefully we can use these funds wisely. Traffic can spend them in targeted locations and we can see some impact,” Wynn says.
Another problem is visibility at night. The city plans to spend $3 million to convert to LED streetlights next year. Another $2.5 million will be used for street repairs and for pedestrian areas downtown.
The Police Department has rented or used donated billboard space in the past to announce the increased efforts to promote pedestrian awareness and bicycle safety.
