Westfield Mayor Andy Skibitsky no longer relies on the experts now that the expert reports have proven the pedestrian crossing on Central Ave. should be moved to the intersection of Central & Clover.
Skibitsky relies on his non-expert opinion along with other municipal and county politicians.
........but accidents happen everywhere.
ReplyDeleteYes they do, but not at this frequency in a 115 foot stretch of road. Please find another road in town that comes close to the number of accidents in such a small patch of road.
ReplyDeleteHey Andy,
ReplyDeleteAre you sure that you don't want a recount of the third ward votes ?
If you can't beat him......MOVE THE LIGHT!!!
How much longer can the mayor and council deny the data and the recommendations of the experts? Are they completely clueless or ignorant as to how they appear to the general public? Why it almost seems like an episode of the Twilight Zone. Who are these people? I know that I won't be taking any strolls down that stretch of Central any time in the future unless they move the crosswalk to the intersection. It appears as if it's become a death trap. Wait a minute. I have to drive up and down Central everyday. I guess I'm taking a big chance of getting into an accident over by Clover and Central. Maybe I should speak out at one of these council meetings. Actually anyone driving on Central should let the mayor and council know that enough is enough. Wake up and count the accidents.
ReplyDeleteThe video is hysterical...Nice mug Nancy "I can't feel my face Pelosi" I mean Joanne Neylan. These clown's deserve to be publicly humiliated! Especially the ringleader of this three ring circus Skibitsky...what a buffoon!
ReplyDeleteMayor, please come to your senses and put aside the personal grudge you have against Adina, Maria, and Greg. This is not about who wins and who loses but about what's right and what is wrong, what is safe and what is unsafe, what is practical and what is not practical. You have done a lot of good for Westfield and I am afraid that this ill-conceived crossing will be what most of Westfielders will remember you for.
ReplyDeleteNice try GOP, but the mayor is an idiot. Anyone who can continue to defend this debacle is frankly nothing more than a total idiot. My prayer is that this is the maximum damage he inflicts on our beautiful town.
ReplyDeleteWhere is the "raw data" your Patch account promised would be featured at this link?
ReplyDeleteTFOTM-
ReplyDeleteCan you please clarify some dates? According to your video, accidents occurred as follows:
2010: Jul 9, Jul 22, Aug 22, Aug 24, Sep 26, Oct 25 (total of 6)
2011: Jan 7, Apr 25, Sep 12, Sep 21, Oct 27, Dec 14 (total of 6)
2012: Jan 25, Feb 9, Mar 14 (total of 3)
Today's Patch article quotes you as saying "5... in... 2010 , 5 in 2011 and 2 in 2012."
Did Patch misquote you? Or, did you misspeak last night? Or, is there an additional date for each year above that should be removed? Clearly, the accident data speaks for itself and it is compelling. But, I just want to try and clarify if it was 6+6+3 = 15 since construction began or if it was 5+5+2=12 since construction began. That would give a better idea as to the average amount of days that an accident has been taking place since construction began and the average amount of accidents taking place on an annualized basis. I think the mayor and some Patch/TFOTM readers might find those statistics interesting since they seem to think the real numbers are 0+0+0=0, whereas Westfield Police Dept. accident reports and Patch/Leader articles show otherwise.
Also, since some Patch readers and politicians seem to think your facts are “your facts” and not “facts”… is it possible to post the official Westfield Police Dept. accident reports on TFOTM and/or to post accident report numbers with their dates and descriptions of the accidents that took place, as reported by the officers who arrived at the scene of each accident? The data is compelling but official WPD accident reports would make it even more compelling.
Thanks.
-NR9
The reports will be posted here at TFoTM. A blog story containing the reports will be posted before the weekend. The difference between the video dates and the number of accidents quoted at last night's town council meeting is because I narrowed it down to only accidents taking place in the northbound lane on Central Ave, between Cambridge and Clover. The Pennoni report identified left turns off of Central onto Clover as an issue. Certainly, left turn accidents were a concern in 2005 when the location was identified as a "hot spot" by the Town, the Citizens Traffic Safety Advisory Committee, and by traffic engineer Gordon Meth. Since then, the number of accidents has increased and Mayor Skibitsky remains silent when asked what he has done to remedy a hot spot identified in 2005. Answer: NOTHING
DeleteTFOTM - Thank you. That explains the discrepancy. For what it's worth, and you might disagree with me... My suggestion is that TOTAL NUMBER OF ACCIDENTS SINCE CONSTRUCTION BEGAN (about July 1, 2010?) should ALWAYS first be mentioned AND THEN, if so desired, further broken down to sub-categories (such as "__ of [the total] due to northbound left turns", "__ of [the total] within the past __ months", or whatever sub-categories you deem worth looking at more closely). For those readers truly looking to understand the data, I think such clarity would be helpful. If we read one day that there were 15 accidents (in total) and then see on a subsequent day the mentioning of 12 accidents (which is actually a subset) and then an even lower number on yet a later date – such as 7 accidents (over a particular time period), a reader could mistakenly not realize why the numbers have gone DOWN. I think it's better to instead avoid room for confusion/ambiguity and keep adding to "total accidents" and then, if so desired, include subcategories as you see fit. I think clarity is very important because there are some people out there who will look for any possible sign of a possible inconsistency to completely write off a person as being credible. Just my opinion- take it or not. Regardless... Keep up the great work!
Delete-NR9
I agree with each point you have made and will be sure to incorporate your suggestions in the next blog story on this issue. Thank you for your input and your continued support.
ReplyDelete