Harrison Sydor is a junior at Staples High School.
As a member of the cross country and track teams, you may see him running on Westport roads.
He sure sees you.
He emailed “06880” about an issue that, he says, has “bugged me and my friends for the last few months.” Harrison writes:
Traffic laws state that pedestrians should always be on the left side of the road. That is something we as a team adhere to most of the time, except for rare occasions where the shoulder is bigger, or we are shortly turning onto a street on the right hand side.
Lately, I have noticed that cars much less frequently give us space on the roads.
When there is oncoming traffic, it is much easier to slow down and safely pass us, instead of rushing through and threading the needle between the car on one side and the group of runners on the other. We have had crashes in the past.
Harrison Sydor (right), at an indoor track meet. Even in winter, Staples runners take to the roads.
On major roads we are 2 wide. One runner will jut slightly into the road, but not by a significant amount.
It is equally as important for the driver as it is the runner to pay attention and be courteous.
Recently, we have worked to make ourselves less of a hazard on the road to drivers. We would appreciate it if Westport drivers could make the same effort to use our roads properly and efficiently.
(“06880” often covers local quality of life issues. And we always like to hear from our town’s young people. If you appreciate our blog’s work, please make a donation by clicking here. Thank you!)
In the summers in the late 50’s to mid 60’s I ran the roads to stay in shape for high school and college sports. I always ran facing traffic. True there weren’t as many cars in Westport then and almost with out exception drivers were more forgiving and more courteous then. Seems a lot Less distracted and not as in a hurry!
Speeding has been a problem in Westport since Horace Staples got his driver’s license. My own late brother in law was a Westport cop and he wrote me up without hesitation numerous times. No one got off because most cops were Staples grass and they knew that the only solution for “entitled” drivers was a good spanking. You want to speed? Join the Downshifter’s Club sponsored by the YMCA (before it became Gold’s Gym).
“Grass” I meant grads. Goddamn AI. It’s your fault
Why not use common sense and run around such places as the golf course or Compo Beach. You never will control the distracted , speeding drivers in Westport or any place for that matter, More speed traps will help! The only way these entitled drivers understand is a ticket!
Good idea Peter but you still have to drive to get to the beach and/or Longshore if you run there. Why not use speed cameras to issue tickets on all main roads. “Photo ops from Foti” they could call it. Tooker!!!! Take notice!!!
Westport drivers being entitled and inconsiderate? Driving at unsafe speeds? Ignoring traffic signals and signs? (they are, after all, merely suggestions)… driving as if wherever they’re going is more important than wherever you’re going?… I’m shocked, I tell you… shocked!
I’ve taken to walking with a huge white handkerchief, which I wave into the road as cars go by. Seems to work; I’m getting a few more inches of the “shared” roadway.
Westport is not a pedestrian bike town. I empathize with the runners. I would avoid the streets as much as possible. People are speeding all over town. Drivers see people walking next to large puddles and do not even slow down. I don’t understand why we are so inconsiderate. I see parents driving fast in Staples parking lot to drop off their athletes on top of the playing track. I also see kids driving like NASCAR in Staples parking lot accelerating through crosswalks There is a very simple solution. There are many nice people who are kind considerate and careful.
Even Fairfield is putting in speed cameras. Would make a lot of sense for Westport on Bayberry, North, Roseville, Riverside and Greens Farm. Maybe Easton, Wilton, Lyons Plain, Coleytown and Cross Highway as well.
And, unlike tickets handed out by the police, half(?) the money collected goes to the town.
Put up 15 or 20 speed cameras and 25 speed bumps ( the high ones) and you’ll solve the problem! They’re all over around here. Trust me when I say the cameras work!
you know who loves cameras
Speaking as an old cross country and track guy at Staples, I feel your pain. However the law in Ct. states that if a sidewalk is provided you must use it. That said, for some reason there is not enough traffic enforcement in town. Case in point..last week Fairfield PD had 189 mv arrests (traffic tickets) Westport had 15…
I am a distance runner and train on the roads of Westport, Norwalk, and Fairfield. To those suggesting to just run at the beach or Compo, that is pretty hard to do when you have a 15-20 mile run to accomplish. My big wish is that drivers please stop running red lights. Every single run I go on, I see at least one driver run a light, especially at Compo and Post. I have learned to anticipate, but it is still scary.
I agree that drivers go too fast and are overly aggressive in town but why the need to run two wide? Single file would seem safer for all.
there is supporting data that speed cameras and red light cameras are just a tax and do not directly contribute to safety (some data actually supports that red light cameras cause more accidents). that said i have seen equally inconsiderate drivers and runners. i used to run often. i always used the sidewalk when possible, reflective clothing, bright colors, was in the proper lane if no sideway, and when i ran with someone else, we’d go single file if there was any vehicle coming. its weird to see people running and walking in the roadway when there is a usable sidewalk next to them. its also not cool when running, walking, bicycling side-by-side encroaching far into the roadway. also its not cool when on the wrong side of the road, wearing all black / dark colors at night, etc. as for drivers, i always stop within my lane if someone is in the roadway or a car is in the roadway up ahead in my lane. for whatever reason drivers think its OK to cross the double yellow with oncoming traffic with zero regard. in summary, both runners and drivers can do way better imo.
The first principle of any driving instruction should be that you are in control of a two-ton machine capable of killing another human instantly. Everything follows from that, including the second principle: that operating a vehicle is not, at any point during your travels, a passive activity.
The behavior among drivers in this town, while an oft-mined topic, is reprehensible. There’s not an errand I run where I don’t witness somebody running a stop sign, making a right turn on red even where prohibited, turning left at a light despite oncoming traffic having the right of way, following too closely or, like today at Cedar and Post, completely failing to yield to a pedestrian crossing with the light and at the crosswalk. And that’s not counting less-frequent errors of commission, like being passed on double yellows, especially on North, or errors of omission, like somebody farting around through an entire left turn signal (because they aren’t following the second principle!)
(I’ll ignore for now the other oft-repeated message: lack of enforcement implies acceptance. That also goes, with respect to our pedestrians, to the residents and business owners that refuse to shovel their sidewalks even days after a weather event; it’s not actually a law if nobody ever gets fined.)
Having spent years navigating a variety of roads, from the urbanest of urban to the ruralest of rural, as a driver, a runner and a biker, I accept that I have a greater awareness of any situation when two or more of any combination of these travelers interact. But, a lot of it also comes down to both common sense and basic training.
Kudos to this young man for raising the point, and also to his teammate and his coaches (and, I would suspect, their parents) for reinforcing best practices, as well as the self-awareness that’s critical to safely coexisting with other people. It is shocking how many people insist on walking with traffic, which I have noted on many recent trips through their own windy roads, is almost never the case in Weston. They also seem to have gotten the memo about wearing bright, easy to see clothing when they are out on the roads, something even many of our best-behaved walkers / runners here in town do too infrequently.
It’s not rocket science and is completely within our control to fix. It just requires people to accept there are other people around and they do, in fact, matter.
And once we fix that, then we can start addressing why nobody waves to each other any more 😉
This horse has been beaten to death, but I’ll give it a few whacks anyway. Many of the sidewalks (and they are few and far between in my neck of the woods) are uneven and/or crumbling. They are not safe to walk on, not to mention run on. Ditto many of the roads near the shoulder.
As someone who walks, runs, AND drives, I don’t see why it’s so complicated to share the space. Slow down, move over a bit, and be aware of how the road looks to the other guy (puddles! branches! sun in their eyes!). Yes, it would help if we enforced the laws, or made the roads and sidewalks safer. In the meantime, it would be so nice to see some common sense and courtesy out there.
For perspective, can someone name three towns anywhere in CT – or adjoining states – with more civil driving?
My husband ran track and long distance in high school. He said they never ran 2 wide in fact you shouldn’t. I agree drivers should be very careful but today … they’re terribly distracted and on the phone! Be careful guys and Go Staples!!!
Enforce the law, do your job, write a few tickets and you’ll be amazed how the quality of life in Westport improves for everyone regardless of politics. It’s not rocket science. It seems like the current chief’s head and that of his boss are still “Up at Staples” where the focus was winning “cutest couple.”