To the editor:
I am writing to support the efforts of all who have tried to reach out and work with the town of Great Barrington, for many years now, to try to implement some permanent and effective measures to slow traffic down to the legal limit of 25 mph on Taconic Ave from Haley Street, near the top, all the way down to the intersection of Main Street (Route 7) and St. James Place.
Please make no mistake: This is a very serious problem, and it has been for much longer than the time that my wife and I have lived here (almost 17 years). Ever since we moved here we have witnessed cars, motorcycles and trucks barreling up AND down Taconic virtually every day.
The problem threatens the well-being and, potentially, the lives of the neighborhood residents, the people passing through on foot or by bicycle, and even the drivers of the cars, trucks and motorcycles and other vehicles who are doing the speeding.
Over the years I had dozens of conversations with former residents, Parker and Anne, who lived at the corner of Barrington Place and Taconic who repeatedly told me that they could not believe the speeds with which drivers would approach that dangerous curve from both directions. They observed those drivers every day from the windows of their home that provided unobstructed views up, and down, Taconic. They were amazed, especially in the winter, that more people had not run off the road and into a front yard when coming from up the hill.
Everybody who lives, or has lived, in the vicinity of that intersection has spoken out about their concerns for public safety because of speeding.
It is important to understand that the vast majority of traffic coming through this area is local traffic of one form or another. It is vehicles traveling regularly to and from Simon’s Rock both for school purposes and for athletics/sports/health memberships (or for other cultural events) on the Simon’s Rock grounds; it is tradespeople and landscapers and contractors (mostly coming down the hill to come into or through Great Barrington in the mornings and then going back out in the afternoons); it is workers and visitors going to Fairview Hospital; it is people taking the back way to Steiner School; it is residents of Alford and North Egremont; it is delivery trucks of all type. In other words, it is people who use these roads frequently, even daily, and who live in, or come from, Gt. Barrington and the surrounding areas. And without the benefit of any comprehensive survey, or other analytical data, I truly believe that it is very safe to claim that 85-90 percent of all of the traffic traveling on Taconic is of a local, or frequent-user nature; people who know the road, and should understand the residential nature of it.
Further evidence of that is the fact that it begins at roughly 6 in the morning when cars and trucks of all shapes and sizes, many towing loudly-rattling trailers, start descending the hill at high velocity. This lasts for at least two hours EVERY workday.
Granted it is a hill, and there is a natural tendency, especially on the descent, to let one’s speed accelerate. I know, and am willing to admit, that there were occasions in the past when I allowed my car to travel too quickly down hill. However, I stopped doing that entirely, both on my way up and down the hill, about 12 years ago when I began to observe more young people and children in the area. I consciously ensure that I obey the speed limit every time I use Taconic and I believe everyone can and should be able to do that.
Given what I wrote above regarding the makeup of the traffic using the road it is not a viable argument to state the our town does not want to make itself visitor, or tourist-unfriendly by issuing tickets to those who speed on Taconic. Everyone should be in agreement that at least 95 percent of all visitors and tourists to Great Barrington approach the town from either Route 7 (from north and south), Route 23 (from east and west), or Route 41(from the West Stockbridge and B3 Turnpike exit areas). Indeed, it is highly unlikely that there is a single Garmin, MapQuest or other navigational device that directs people who are visiting this area to approach Great Barrington via Alford Rd./Taconic Ave from any direction.
While a different, more gentle, strategy might be effective, or desirable, for other main arteries into and out of Great Barrington, that would not be an effective policy on Taconic (or on East Street, West Street, or Hollenbeck among others). I do not believe that people who have, for years, habitually sped on Taconic, East, West, Hollenbeck or other streets, will be deterred from doing it again if they are issued with a slap on the wrist (a warning). On that point I respectfully disagree with Jonathan Hankin and Timothy Eustis. People need to begin to understand immediately, after too many years of this, that there is a no-tolerance policy with respect to speeding on Taconic and some of these other streets.
A neighbor of mine was recently the recipient of veiled threats from someone in a truck who slammed on their brakes, backed down Taconic, and stated that they too live in this area (so watch yourself) after my friend, while walking with a small dog and an elderly person, had gestured, in a mild manner, for that person to slow down on Taconic. I was once intimidated by a member of Great Barrington’s police force when I motioned for him to slow his police cruiser down while traveling downhill on Castle Street just beyond Hollenbeck. The officer, who I believe is no longer on the force, actually believed that it was a good idea to circle back around from Benton to Brainard to Castle to confront me and admonish me for interfering with his performance of his duty. This is what happens when policies are vague, loosely-enforced, and half-heartedly supervised by management of any kind.
The tax-paying residents, whose taxes pay for the local government and its various resources, have actively asked for, and demanded, strict enforcement for too long. It is the job of responsible government to respond, and act swiftly, in a fitting and responsible manner.
There is a disaster, possibly even a death waiting to happen on Taconic. The sad and horrible death on East Street two months ago (involving local people) should have been enough of a catalyst to prompt immediate action to better control traffic in certain areas of the town that are known to be dangerous. Waiting for another death to occur, or even for a serious injury, before finally deciding that it is time to take those necessary actions, is not a viable strategy.
I applaud, and fully endorse, the efforts of Ann Condon, Marty Albert, Dana Coleman and others who are trying to affect change.
Stephen Donaldson
Great Barrington, Massachusetts
