Ward 6: Deborah Riley
Twenty-four people have been killed while walking and biking in Quincy since 2015. How do you see yourself working to increase bicycle and pedestrian safety throughout Quincy?
Well, looking at the list of tragedies it doesn’t seem like there are one or two problem areas but rather the incidents are spread all over the city and some on state controlled roadways. There are by far more pedestrian fatalities than bikes perhaps because the bikers are more aware and operate more defensively than walkers. I think Quincycles has done a great job of promoting and advocating for safe bicycle lanes and access throughout the city but more can be done to make walking and cycling safer and more accessible. I do believe that drivers and walkers are equally distracted and that “right turn on red” and running of red lights is a big problem.
How will you support building more separated and protected bike infrastructure in Quincy?
We need to see some of the numerous infrastructure and development projects completed so that we aren’t navigating around construction obstacles. Intersections are especially tricky. I’m not sure how the exiting infrastructure can accommodate protected and dedicated lanes but I would like to see it included in projects going forward.
Currently, only a few of our schools have partnered with the state funded Safe Routes to School program. What will you do to bring the Safe Routes to School curriculum and programs into our schools across the city?
I’d like to know which schools are participating but I would most certainly advocate for expansion to all schools with incentives for students to walk/bike whenever possible. Walking or biking to and from school (or work for that matter!) has so many benefits both physical and mental. It increases oxygen levels, improves concentration, helps fight obesity, and is a great counter balance to our over scheduled and stressed lives. Having kids walk together would benefit their social skills in addition to the physical benefits.
Do you support measures to calm traffic in Quincy? (i.e. speed humps, curb extensions, etc. Learn more here) . If so, what would you do enact these measures in Quincy?
I know that speed humps are discouraged for first responders but I think that having dedicated center turn lanes is something that Massachusetts doesn’t utilize enough for whatever reason. Speeding and distraction are so ingrained in drivers now it’s frightening. I would like to see the option for mailed violations from the many cameras that we have at intersections. It’s not the most efficient use of law enforcement to ticket individual violators.
Quincy has had a Complete Streets policy in place since 2018 but has not yet created the called for oversight committee tasked with reviewing the city’s progress and creating metrics for evaluating the effectiveness of Complete Streets projects. What will you do to support the full implementation of the city’s Complete Streets Policy?
In general I would like to see a review of all committees, boards and advisory groups to determine which committees are active and which have gone dormant or have never been fully established. The meeting dates and agenda should be communicated publicly, and the meeting minutes posted. I would like to see a call for and active participation of committee members from the general public rather than appointments that seem to go on for decades and committees that meet inconsistently. Obviously a document is a nice start but if it doesn’t go anywhere it will never be effective or succeed in meeting the goals established.
Candidate Contact Information
Deborah Riley
122 Mayflower Road
617-302-7756
ElectDeborahRiley.com
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