Last year, the Daily Freeman reported that the City of Kingston is implementing a Pedestrian Safety Action Plan to improve over a dozen local intersections’ crosswalks. The improvements include the installation of curb ramps, “high visibility” crosswalks, and pedestrian signal updates, with the stated goal of reducing the number of vehicle-pedestrian accidents at those locations.
We don’t have exact numbers for those locations, but we do know that on average, about 50 pedestrians and 30 bicyclists visit an emergency room in Ulster County due to a motor vehicle traffic injury annually. Of those, about 13 pedestrians and 4 bicyclists end up being hospitalized.
As personal injury attorneys who serve Poughkeepsie, Kingston and the surrounding Hudson Valley, we’ve represented many pedestrians and bicyclists in the region who were injured by a vehicle. There can be many expenses that occur after a pedestrian or bicyclist is injured in an accident, and we push back against insurance companies that try to keep our clients from being properly compensated. We have offices in Poughkeepsie and Kingston; call 845-600-0000 for a free consultation.
Whether or not you’re at one of these crosswalks, there are some general safety tips for being a pedestrian:
- Don’t trust cars or drivers – Cars, and the drivers inside of them, are not perfect. Something could be faulty about the car, there could be problems with visibility, the driver could be driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol, or distracted by something in their car, or not familiar with the road. Never assume that a car or driver will do the thing that you expect it to do.
- Stay on the crosswalk – Although you can never 100% anticipate what a driver will do, being in a crosswalk means that they have a duty to stop and let you cross the street.
- Check both ways before you cross – Even if there is a red light or walk signal, you never know if someone is going to come barreling through.
- Use the sidewalk or walk against traffic – Bicycles are supposed to ride with traffic, but if you’re a pedestrian, and there’s no sidewalk, the law says to walk against traffic, which will help you see any oncoming vehicles.
The fact that cities like Kingston and Poughkeepsie are making upgrades for pedestrian safety and to prevent car accidents underscores the fact that pedestrians, drivers, and all users of our roads and sidewalks have a right to properly maintained sidewalks and crosswalks, which we wrote about here.
Here are the seven intersections included in the city’s Pedestrian Safety Action Plan:
Uptown Kingston
Joys Lane at Dietz Stadium
North Front Street at Crown Street
Albany Avenue and Maiden Lane
Midtown Kingston
Andrew Street at Broadway
Downtown Kingston
Yosman Tower and McEntee Street/Delaware Avenue
Broadway at McEntee Street
