A recent spate of pedestrian deaths in Maine have prompted a renewed call for roadway safety improvements.
The executive director of the Bicycle Coalition of Maine, Andrew Zarro, says during a 10 day period last month, four pedestrians were killed in vehicle crashes: a woman crossing the street in Waterville, a man getting mail in Durham, a 12-year old boy getting off a school bus in Rockland, and a runner in Portland.
And Zarro says the total number of cyclist and pedestrian crashes so far this year have topped 400, with nearly 30 fatalities.
"Traffic violence is a statewide public health crisis at this point," he says. "If we were seeing violence come from another form, we would be talking about this in a very different way."
Zarro says vehicle speed is the top contributor to injury and death. He says improved safety changes should include modernizing traffic signals and improvements to road crossings and lighting.
