Columbia Walks (and Waits) for Safer Streets


My dearest Columbia,
What is there to say? It's been a difficult week, and this author will confess that she, too, has gone searching for comfort in whatever small corners it may be found: a strong cup of tea, a longer walk than usual, the quiet company of neighbors who understand without being told. I shall not go over the particulars of what has grieved us so; they are, frankly, too painful.

But grief, if it is to mean anything, must eventually roll up its sleeves and get to work. And so we must. We must find solutions to keep our people safe. It is the very least a town owes itself.

Fortunately, Columbia is not without its champions in this cause. A spirited group calling itself "Columbia Walks" has assembled, and taken up the banner of pedestrian safety. One hopes the council chambers are prepared for their persistence.

Speaking of council chambers: a resident rose before the council this week and delivered a statement of such force and care that one imagines even the most relaxed member found himself sitting up a little straighter. This resident's concerns, dear reader, are not his alone. They are ours, and belong to every one of us who has ever stood at a crosswalk and said a small, silent prayer before stepping off the curb. Let us hope the council was listening, and let us hope, harder still, that listening is followed by doing.

But one cannot speak of pedestrian safety without turning an eye toward the Veterans Memorial Bridge, which was promised a proper rehabilitation eight years ago and has simply not received one. Now, inspectors are found delicately chipping bits off her. Why? Entire chunks, too, have occasionally departed the structure, as though it has grown tired of waiting for the paperwork.

Out of caution, the bridge now carries a ten-ton weight limit, but caution is not cure, and those who walk there deserve rather more assurance than a weight limit and a shrug.

So let us hope, Columbia, that this project is finally, truly addressed, and addressed promptly. For whatever else may be said of us, surely we can agree on this: no one wishes to take an unscheduled dip in the river when merely out for a stroll.

Yours in fond and watchful regard,
Cassandra 

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