|
Why Vote FOR 2A, the SECONDS COUNT! Initiative? |
||
| Question 2A, the
SECONDS COUNT! initiative, will help save lives and property in fire and
medical emergencies by removing purposely constructed street obstacles
proven to delay emergency vehicles. Boulder's emergency service is already
substandard, because our fire stations are too few and too far apart.
(Even the new Station 7 on 55th Street only solves the problem for a small
area.) Yet City Council has decided to allow delay-causing speed bumps,
raised crossings, and small traffic circles even on the most critical
emergency response routes, such as primary streets connecting fire
stations with neighborhoods and the main emergency approaches to the
hospital.
City Council rejects objective, independently verified proof that traffic devices covered by Question 2A create more risk and will cost more lives by delaying emergency response than they could possibly offset by slowing traffic. Promoted by a few vocal activists as safety features protecting pedestrians, the so-called traffic calming devices don't really work. There is no research or evidence showing they improve safety in residential neighborhoods. Quite the contrary, Boulder police statistics demonstrate pedestrians are injured more frequently on neighborhood streets with the devices than without. According to city figures, the main effect of speed bumps and small traffic circles is to divert up to 50 percent of traffic onto other streets, where unsuspecting residents must endure someone else's problem. The city's process for approving the devices doesn't even give residents on adjacent streets a voice in the decision. Only those on the street and within 400 feet of a device, who might benefit from traffic diversion, have a say. Even residents further along, whose lives and property will be jeopardized by delayed emergency service, aren't allowed to participate democratically. Traffic obstacles also cause hardship for our disabled population. Physical pain at speed bumps and tedious maneuvers around small circles limit mobility and reduce access to public amenities and private homes. The devices increase air and noise pollution as vehicles brake and accelerate. And the myriad instructional and warning signs that accompany them intrude on the visual environment. About fifty times per year, a pedestrian is injured by an automobile in Boulder, almost always on a major arterial roadway. Only a handful of accidents occur in residential neighborhoods, and no one has been killed by a speeding car on a residential street since police began keeping records. But 4,897 times in 1999, there were medical emergencies. Our Fire Department answered 1,817 fire emergencies and 398 time-critical hazardous situations. On each of these 7,112 responses, a few seconds could have been the margin between life and death. More than one-fourth of the time, help took longer than six minutes to arrive because it was already too far away. And six minutes is the goal adopted by Boulder's City Council because it doesn't want to pay for service meeting the nationally recommended four minute response time. For someone living "downstream," each pair of speed bumps or traffic circles has exactly the same effect as moving the fire station a tenth of a mile further away. The citywide impact of speed bumps and traffic circles, installed without consideration of the cumulative delay, is a risk we can't afford. Question 2A offers uniform protection to citizens throughout town, regardless of street classifications. It prevents a few loud voices from endangering others or displacing a problem. Most importantly, it keeps emergency service out of the hands of politicians so firefighters, paramedics, and police can do their important jobs when a home catches fire, a child chokes, or a grandparent suffers cardiac arrest. Other Reasons to Support SECONDS COUNT! and Ballot Question 2A |