Nearly every week for the past several, the Journal has reported on accidents within walking distance from the office on 50 Avenue in St. Paul. Those accidents vary a great deal in scope but drive home the message that something is going terribly wrong in traffic safety on St. Paul’s main street.
This week, a vehicle hit a pedestrian at 49 Street, not long after a minor vehicle collision with no injuries was reported at the same spot. The week prior, a vehicle and a semi contacted at the intersection at 46 Street. The week before, a single vehicle accident occurred near the same spot and emergency services attended another minor accident near 51 Street. Not long before that, a young woman was struck by a vehicle and had to be airlifted by STARS to Edmonton.
It seems like accidents are predictable in frequency, with one or two a week, at least in recent months.
While circumstances are different for every accident, the cause can only be one thing: people.
It’s people making mistakes, whether behind the wheel or walking on the street. Drivers need to pay more attention to what they are doing, while pedestrians would be well advised to do the same. Both drivers and pedestrians need to be aware of what someone on the road not paying attention may try to do.
The size and strength of motor vehicles makes them potential killing machines and they need to be treated as such.
Fortunately, St. Paul benefits from the quick response time and expertise of volunteers and professionals in emergency services.
Many of these collisions could be avoided by paying more attention to the flow of traffic and potential hazards. If there have been this many accidents along the corridor through St. Paul in the good driving conditions, it is an unfavourable prediction of what kind of problems and potential tragedies could occur through the slippery winter months.
