The article “Traffic declines; deaths don’t” in the Dec. 13 Sunday Valley News paints a stark picture of traffic fatalities in 2020. One fact stood out: New Hampshire has had 15 pedestrian fatalities so far in 2020, as opposed to just eight by this time last year, despite there being fewer cars on the road.
Analysis of Lebanon city crash data from 2006-2019 indicates that pedestrians are at increased risk of being involved in crashes, and that injuries are more serious, during dusk and dark. As we face the shortest days of the year and sudden winter conditions, all while the COVID-19 pandemic motivates us to walk and bike even more than usual, we need to all recommit to staying safe on our roads.
Pedestrians and bicyclists should wear light-colored or reflective clothing and use lights so they can be more easily seen, especially during dusk and dark. Stop and check before moving into a roadway, even at a crosswalk, and make sure that any motor vehicles are stopping. Drivers should slow down, be vigilant for pedestrians and bicyclists, be ready to stop when approaching crosswalks, and give sufficient space when passing bicycles.
This year, bicyclist markings have been painted in the center of the vehicle lane of some streets to remind drivers that they must share the road and that bicycles have a legal right to use the full vehicle lane. Remember that even pedestrians and joggers may need to share the road briefly as they attempt to keep a 6-foot “COVID-19 safe” distance from each other.
We urge everyone to pursue a target of “Vision Zero,” aiming to reduce the number of crashes involving pedestrians and bicyclists to zero. We are not there yet, but together, with safe habits, we believe we can get there.
More information about pedestrian and bicyclist road safety, the Lebanon crash data analysis, and the work of the Lebanon Pedestrian and Bicyclist Advisory Committee, is available at the Lebanon website (lebanonnh.gov), on the Ped & Bike Advisory Committee link.
ALAN SCHNUR, MARIE MCCORMICK
and JOHN KELLEHER
Lebanon
The writers are members of the Lebanon Pedestrian and Bicyclist Advisory Committee.
The Weathersfield Conservation Commission is concluding its project of petitioning town, state and federal officials for adoption of its proposed names for town streams and other waterways.
The purpose is to identify Weathersfield streams and standardize names to facilitate interagency planning for flood protection, infrastructure projects, emergency response, hazard mitigation and the general use by all map users for work or pleasure.
A survey of many contemporary and historical maps and atlases found that very few streams are named, and in written histories, multiple names are sometimes used for the same stream.
The Conservation Commission is fortunate that historian Ernest Butterfield, on his 1940 map of Weathersfield, named most streams, and the commission has adopted most of these names as the starting point of this process.
The commission is soliciting the help of all Weathersfield residents to bring to its attention any names they know of. Please contact any commission member, or call Jeff Pelton at 802-885-9517.
CHERYL COX
Perkinsville
I am in total agreement with Forum contributor Barry McCabe that our two major political parties are dysfunctional, and neither one cares about what’s best for our country, but what’s best for them politically (“Political parties are the real danger,” Dec. 20).
Instead of working together to advance American society, each party does all it can to obstruct the other. When was the last time our Congress produced meaningful legislation? All decisions are now done by presidential decree, followed by endless court battles.
Both parties have forgotten the ideals this country was founded on, and now function based on greed and selfishness. The Republicans want our country to be controlled by the rich and powerful, with no concern for the less fortunate or our society’s future. The Democrats want to support everything that’s ideologically popular, with total disregard for cost or the effects on those who have to live with those decisions.
Our society will never be totally conservative nor liberal, and the best decisions for all Americans have come from our leaders working together and finding compromise. As the current political parties no longer understand this, I believe we need a new major party consisting of moderates who can get us back to moving this country forward in a positive way for all.
STEPHEN D. RAYMOND
Sharon
Editor’s note: The last paragraph of this letter was inadvertently omitted when it was published on Dec. 23.
Following our “Scarecrows Coming to Lebanon and the Upper Valley” project in the fall, the Lebanon-Upper Valley Lions Club is proud to announce its first Lions Snow Sculpture Contest this winter.
Both individuals and businesses are invited to participate and place their sculptures (snowmen or -women or other snow creations) in front of their homes or places of business.
To compete for one of the four $25 prizes, entry forms can be found on the Lebanon-Upper Valley Lions Club Facebook page. The entry fee is $10 and will be used for Lions Club charity programs, such as sight and hearing assistance, scholarships and youth programs.
The program will run from now until March 1.
Fees should be accompanied by a photograph of the snow sculpture, to be judged by the Lions, and mailed to Anne Hoag, 85 Young St., Lebanon, N.H. 03766. We hope this project will encourage community spirit and pride.
TOM McGONIS
Lebanon