MILFORD - A Milford lawmaker has raised the issue of pedestrian safety on a busy street in her community.
Recently, two people have been hit by cars on busy Bridgeport Avenue, also known as Route 1, and state Rep. Kim Rose, D-Milford, said that she is working with Milford’s Police Department and the State Department of Transportation to address pedestrian safety concerns there.
On August 28, just before 11 p.m., a 34-year-old server for the Bridge House restaurant was hit by a speeding car along Route 1, near Woodland Drive, as she was about to get in her car after her shift. The owner of the restaurant, Frank Basile, says Amanda Keane sustained a fractured spine and required dozens of stitches. A GoFundMe was set up to help with her recovery, which you can find here.
Police are still searching for the dark colored sedan, which they have good surveillance pictures and video of.
Two days later, a teenage boy was hit on the same road while trying to cross. That incident occurred near Bridgeport Avenue's intersection with Camden Street, less than half a mile from the other crash. The driver in that incident stayed on the scene.
“We had the unfortunate experience of having two pedestrians struck on Bridgeport Avenue just a few weeks ago, within days of each other, and a family was killed several years ago, which prompted me to request traffic statistics for that area,” Rose said.
Rose says that research revealed that within the last 10 years along Route 1, between Lansdale Avenue and the Devon Bridge, there have been 17 vehicle versus pedestrian accidents, resulting in four fatalities.
Fortunately neither of the two most recent incidents were fatals. The boy is back to school and Keane is home from the hospital.
Rose says cars drive far too fast on this part of Route 1 and she has worked with police to make certain that they are stepping up their speed and DUI enforcement.
Rose is hopeful that after meeting with the DOT, they will agree to install more crosswalks and consider changing the timing of stop lights.
Speaking of crosswalks, drivers state wide should know that effective October 1, penalties for failure to yield to pedestrians using crosswalks will increase.
