Emergency Response Vehicles and Sidewalks: Upcoming Meeting

An Emergency Services Management Meeting to discuss sidewalks on Main Street will be held on Wednesday, July 30, 2008 at 7:00 PM in the Town Hall Board Room, according to the official notice posted on the bulletin board in Town Hall. (Since it is not a “public hearing” there was no requirement to publish a notice of the meeting in the local newspaper.) Like all government meetings, it is open to the public.

Many of the residents along Main Street have expressed their concern that the proposed sidewalks may increase emergency vehicle response times for these reasons:

• Narrowing the roadway reduces lane room for emergency vehicles to pass and for other vehicles (including large trucks) to pull over.
• If sidewalks with granite curbs are constructed along the west side, southbound vehicles will no longer have much room to pull over to allow the emergency vehicles to pass by. 
• Normal vehicle visibility is impaired in both directions along the hills and curves of lower Main Street, so emergency vehicles may have to slow down before swerving into the oncoming traffic lane.

When we have spoken informally with firefighters and EMS personnel, they have also voiced these concerns. However, there are public pressures behind the scenes to build the new sidewalks. Think about it. If your house is on fire or your family member is waiting for an ambulance to arrive, are you prepared to wait a few precious moments longer so residents can jog in a continuous loop around town? Have we got our priorities straight?

We have no doubt that our Town officials would agree that public safety is of paramount concern to all, and we need to trust our experts on this issue. But there are negotiation realities in politics: some are suggesting that there are perks for facilitating the sidewalks and tradeoffs for resisting them. Pick your battles, they’re being told. Our concern was heightened when we heard one of this meeting’s organizers refer to it as a “Come to Jesus Meeting.”

We don’t know if residents will be permitted to speak at this meeting. But we think you should be there.

Tags: emergency response, main street, New Canaan, sidewalks, traffic