The following is an excerpt from the December 2018 Safety & Activities Update written by the Lebanon Pedestrian and Bicyclist Advisory Committee (LPBAC).
This letter to the community highlights important resources and best practices and invites all to commit to safe driving, cycling, and walking, complete infrastructure design for all modes, and data analysis of opportunities for improvement.
We laud Valley News for sharing the LA Times piece “Pedestrians Are More Likely to Be Killed by Cars on Halloween” back in October. However, it’s what we do every day, on the ordinary occasions of walking or driving a familiar route or in a location where there are dedicated facilities-- and not just on Halloween--that vigilance is required.
This came to light in their ensuing “Hanover Officials Reach Out on Pedestrian Safety” piece on November 15th, prompted by a recent pedestrian fatality due to a vehicle collision at the intersection between Hanover Street Extension and Evans Drive in Lebanon. This is not far from the high school, and along a popular walking route where a school-hour crossing guard, sidewalks, streetlamps, and, the subject crosswalk, would otherwise convey a sense of safety for the most part, which makes this accident all the more vexing.
We offer our greatest condolences to those who knew the individual identified in the Lebanon Police report. Lebanon's Pedestrian and Bicyclist Advisory Committee (LPBAC) continuously welcomes public input and no one previously brought this location to LPBAC’s attention, though it is possible that concerns were conveyed elsewhere.
Rather than attempting to answer what happened, the intent of this communication is to invite our community to learn more, with us, about ways to be preventative and help reduce vulnerability.
Members of the public are strongly encouraged to attend LPBAC meetings, which are held at City Hall at 7pm the first Tuesday each month. We also invite you to submit information of interest to LPBAC via the contact contact form on our City webpage.
Click here to continue reading the full text of the update. For additional resources related to safety and skills, please visit the Ped & Bike Additional Resources page.