INC NEWS - Interesting what news gets covered

[kjj1@duke.edu]

First, these accidents are all tragic and do speak to the need for 
pedestrian/bicycle friendly transportation policies. And my thoughts are 
with the families of those whose lives have been lost.

At the same time, while these incidents were covered in the press yesterday 
& Wednesday, there was also coverage of three rapes in downtown Chapel 
Hill--one story on one day in one paper. Not to be too conspiratorial, but 
where's the uproar about a cluster of sexual assaults. And can you imagine 
what the press coverage would have been if there had been three sexual 
assaults in downtown Durham?

Just observations.

Kelly J.



--On Friday, January 27, 2006 12:40 PM -0500 Ken Gasch 
<ken.gasch at hldproductions.com> wrote:

>
>
>  [Image: "src="]
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> Town baffled as 3rd person is struck, killed by vehicle
>
> By BETH VELLIQUETTE, The Herald-Sun
> January 26, 2006   8:52 pm
>
> CHAPEL HILL -- For three nights in a row, a pedestrian or bicyclist was
> killed on the streets of Chapel Hill.
>
> For a town that has few if any fatal accidents in a year, having three in
> three days has police officials asking themselves what is going on -- and
> crossing their fingers that there won't be more.
>
> The most recent accident occurred about 8:20 p.m. Wednesday on Fordham
> Boulevard at the intersection of Manning Drive.
>
> Morton David Galinsky, 71, professor emeritus of psychology at UNC, was
> killed when a car hit him as he crossed Fordham Boulevard on his way to
> watch the UNC's men's basketball team play Boston College at the Dean
> Smith Center, police said.
>
> The driver has been identified as Eugene Arnold Bober of Chapel Hill. He
> works as a management engineer for medicine administration at UNC,
> according to the UNC directory.
>
> Police still are investigating the accident and did not release any other
> information Thursday.
>
> "Obviously this is alarming to us," said Jane Cousins of the Chapel Hill
> Police Department. "Whenever we have any fatal collisions, we always look
> at what the causes were and what changes can be made, including
> environmental design."
>
> In Chapel Hill since the beginning of 2004, no one has been killed in a
> bicycle or pedestrian accident until this week. Carrboro also reported no
> pedestrian or bicycle fatalities for the same period. UNC police did not
> provide statistics about pedestrian or bicycle fatalities.
>
> Although Chapel Hill police have not concluded their investigations, the
> one common factor for all three accidents was that it was dark when they
> occurred, Cousins said. On the night of the first accident, which
> occurred Monday on U.S. 15-501 near the entrance of Southern Village, it
> also was raining, Cousins said.
>
> The victim of that accident, Arthur McClean, 54, was hit as he crossed
> the road.
>
> There was no crosswalk where he was hit, and police believe alcohol may
> have been a factor in the accident, Cousins said. The driver of the
> vehicle that hit McClean was not charged.
>
> The second accident happened Tuesday night on N.C. 54 when a bus carrying
> the Boston College men's basketball team to the Smith Center for a
> practice session hit a bicyclist as he rode along the side of the road.
> Police identified him as Harry Weldon Alston, 39, of Carrboro.
>
> Police have not completed their investigation of that accident. They
> identified the driver of the bus as David Harder, who is employed by
> Southern Coach Lines.
>
> Ed Harrison, a member of the Chapel Hill Town Council, often rides a
> bicycle and once rode through the area where Alston was hit.
>
> "That was enough," he said. "It's such an unpleasant place to be on a
> bicycle."
>
> The problem is that there are few east-west routes between Chapel Hill
> and Durham, and none are very safe for bicyclists, he said.
>
> "I was amazed at how fast those cars were going," Harrison said of his
> ride along N.C. 54.
>
> The shoulders along that section of road aren't very wide, so there's not
> much room for bicyclists, he said.
>
> "It's one of those we have to figure out what to do with," he said. "It's
> going to be hard to do. It's a big complicated project."
>
> Kumar Neppalli, program manager for the Chapel Hill traffic engineering
> department, already has started an investigation into each of the three
> fatal accidents -- along with a fourth pedestrian accident on West
> Franklin Street on Monday night in which a man was seriously injured.
>
> Already he's tested the traffic signal at the corner of Manning and
> Fordham, the site of the third fatality.
>
> "I didn't find any problem with the signal operation," Neppalli said.
>
> The roads where the accidents occurred are all state-maintained, and it
> is the state's responsibility to make changes if there is a problem that
> contributed to the accident, he said.
>
> Neppalli said he plans to meet with state officials next week to discuss
> the accidents and any problems he may discover during his investigation.
>
> UNC police have started a safety program for pedestrians that involves
> educating both drivers and pedestrians, said spokesman Randy Young.
> They're focusing on pedestrians who cross streets outside of crosswalks
> or against the light and impede traffic.
>
> Last Wednesday, police began issuing verbal warnings. Next Wednesday, the
> officers will begin giving written warnings. Two weeks after that,
> they'll begin issuing citations that will cost the pedestrian $135 in
> fines and court costs.
>
> "We hope we don't have to issue a single citation," Young said.
>
> URL for this article: http://heraldsun.com/orange/10-694344.html
>
> © Copyright 2006. All rights reserved. All material on heraldsun.com is
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