Editor, Times-Dispatch:
RTD reporter Michael Martz's article on the omnibus transportation bill begins with the bad news of a gasoline tax and ends with the good news of much improved rail service between Virginia and points north. This slant toward bad news is regrettable. Funding in the bill for pedestrian safety is not even mentioned in the article, although — according to the Richmond Regional Transportation Planning Organization's 2019 Transportation Performance Measure Progress Report — pedestrian crashes in the Richmond region have increased and pedestrian fatalities have nearly tripled since 2015. All too often we read in The Times-Dispatch about a tragic traffic accident resulting in a pedestrian death on major thoroughfares in the area — such as Hull Street Road, Brook Road, West Broad Street — where crosswalks and pedestrian traffic signals are greatly lacking. The good news is that omnibus transportation bills include funding for pedestrian safety infrastructure. Gasoline taxes can help prevent the loss of life and limb.
Virginia Cowles.
Richmond.