Student had it right on intersection
EDITOR: Concerning your Oct. 10 front page story, I have lived in Healdsburg for more than 30 years and have use the Fitch Street and Powell Avenue intersection hundreds of times. I agree with Massimo Tuscany that the intersection is unsafe and totally disagree with Public Works Director, Larry Zimmer’s decision to do nothing with the Fitch Street and Powell Avenue intersection.
When traveling north on Fitch, it does not make any difference if you are turning left or right onto Powell, you can easily become a traffic statistic due to your inability to see the vehicles approaching from the west. Just as Massimo, stated, “he had to pull out into traffic lanes of Powell to see if cars were coming.” Massimo is not the only Healdsburg driver affected by that unsafe intersection.
Also, the photo you took at the top of your story shows a large shadow that makes the cross walk, and anyone in it, very difficult to see. The picture is the same crosswalk where Massimo stated, “the crosswalk is on part of the road that has limited visibility.” Your front page photo of the cross walk shows an accident waiting to happen.
The citizens of Healdsburg should not have to wait for a student to be struck down in a crosswalk, or get into an accident while trying to turn left onto Powell just so he or she can attend school.
I request that the Public Works Director, Larry Zimmer, take another look at the cities criteria such as accidents, sight distance and traffic volumes that have to be met before installing a stop sign when the final decision concerns the safety of our students.
I also request that you, Andrew Pardiac, managing editor of the Healdsburg Tribune, follow up your Oct. 10 story so the citizens of Healdsburg will be informed of the Public Works Director, Larry Zimmer’s decision concerning any changes to the Fitch Street, Powell Avenue, intersection.
Ken Dalton
Healdsburg
