Transportation safety advocacy group Safe Pass Ulster held an emergency community forum in collaboration with the Riders of Ulster Transit Alliance on Monday night in response to the tragic deaths of four young people in traffic accidents in the first few weeks of 2024.
The forum, held in person at the AME Zion Church in Kingston, and online via Zoom, saw advocates and others in the community come together to discuss traffic violence and transportation inequity, and to honor the losses of Kingston High School (KHS) students Jack Noble and Dillon Gokey, killed on Monday, January 8 while waiting to turn onto another street in Mount Tremper; Starllie Swonyoung, struck and killed by a hit-and-run driver while walking along Route 9W between Malden-on-Hudson and Saugerties on Friday, January 12; and Raymond Rattray, a SUNY New Paltz senior killed in a hit-and-run on Route 208 not far from campus on Tuesday, January 23. Seriously injured in the Mount Tremper accident was Joseph Sepesi, a friend and KHS classmate of Noble and Gokey.
The first half of the two-hour meeting allowed those personally impacted by traffic violence to speak about their experiences, while the second was devoted to efforts to increase safety for drivers and pedestrians.
Safe Pass Ulster organizer Rose Quinn, a former traffic safety educator, opened with an emotional tribute to her partner, John Lynch, who died after being hit by a car on Washington Avenue on July 20, 2021. Quinn said the tragedy reinforced her commitment to working to prevent traffic violence.
“People say, ’How can you talk about this?” And I say, “Well, because I was already doing it. I was doing it when he died,” Quinn said. “And if I was an artist, I would have painted a million pictures. And if I was a baker, I would have fed everybody. The only thing I could do was use my voice. So that’s why I’m here.”
A woman named Anne spoke about being knocked down by a driver’s rear view window as she crossed the street in Port Ewen nearly a decade ago. She was on her way to physical therapy after the accident when she was nearly hit again on Ulster Avenue, a road she described as “like a speedway.”
“The reason why I want to talk about this is because cars have absolutely no respect for pedestrians at all,” she said. “Ulster Avenue, people just, they don’t give a fuck. They just go.”
Another woman named Katrina said that as traumatic as traffic violence is for adults, it’s even worse for young people.
“We as adults have a hard time processing and dealing with this, so it has to be ten times harder for children and young adults,” she said. “And that’s where my heart goes out the most too, because a lot of the accidents that have occurred and taken place here lately are affecting the children.”
Ulster County Legislator Chris Hewitt (D-Rochester, Wawarsing) said he believed driver education, including street signage, might be helpful. But he added that his wife said he shouldn’t try and handle one-on-one driver education anymore, particularly as he’s gotten into numerous arguments on Broadway.
“I think it’s partly because they’re in a vehicle and they’re amped up from being in a vehicle, and as pedestrians were down to earth more,” Hewitt said. “I often come out and I try to ask people to move out of the bike lanes…I’ve had about five fights just by saying ‘Please move out of the bike lanes.’”
Hewitt encouraged Quinn and others to come to him with ideas for improving traffic safety.
“I am passionate about pedestrian and bicycle safety and reversing our ‘carchitecture’ that’s built around the car,” he said. “Come to me or your local representative at the county level because we would love to make some shifts to transit and supporting pedestrians and bicycles.”
Matthew Mackey, a constituent services liaison for New York State Senator Michelle Hinchey, and a social worker, commended those who’d shared their stories in the first hour of the meeting.
“As a social worker, I know that it can be re-traumatizing and having to put yourself back into that moment of vulnerability is something that should be acknowledged,” Mackey said. “Thank you so much for your courageousness and your bravery in sharing your stories.”
Bobby Preti, a social worker at Families for Safe Streets, said his group is one of many fighting for the Safe Street Act and other related bills at the state level.
“We know based on experience of Portland and other cities that have done (a similar) life-saving bill that it would definitely save lives in the next X-amount of years, just if we can get that through,” he said.
While advocates continue pushing for traffic safety and transportation inequity at the state level, Ulster County Executive Jen Metzger announced last week that the New York State Department of Transportation had committed to conducting a thorough investigation into road safety at the intersection of routes 28 and 212 in Mount Tremper, the scene of the accident that killed two KHS students and injured a third.
“I want to thank the DOT Region 8 office for its responsiveness to our request for a road safety investigation at the Mount Tremper intersection where this tragic accident occurred,” said Metzger in a Friday, January 26 press release.“As a mother of young adults, my heart breaks for the families of the young people we have lost, and the state must make every effort to ensure that our state roads are as safe as possible to prevent future tragedies from occurring.”
Metzger also acknowledged the efforts of traffic safety advocates like those at Monday’s forum for their dedication.
“I deeply appreciate the advocacy for improvements to Route 28 in Mount Tremper that we have received from concerned citizens and first responders alike,” said Metzger. “This commitment from NYS DOT is the first step in determining any necessary changes to the road design, and my office will be sure to communicate any updates to the public as this process plays out.”
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