Chris Churchill: It's easier to change roads than people
Taken together, the five fatalities illustrate the extent to which we've created an environment that puts cars ahead of people — even in densely populated neighborhoods.
In Menands, Rick Rogozinski was raising concerns about Van Rensselaer Boulevard before the crash that killed Farrell, who was beginning her commute from the Dutch Village apartments to a state job in Albany when she was hit by a gray Infiniti sedan.
Van Rensselaer is also one of the most lightly traveled four-lane roads in the region, largely because it was widened before the construction of Interstate 787 took much of its traffic.
Van Rensselaer handles 8,000 to 13,000 cars daily, according to the state Department of Transportation.
[...] the part of Van Rensselaer near Wards Lane where Farrell was killed is lined by apartment complexes filled with families and children, and Dutch Village is expanding with four new buildings.
There are a lot more residents here now," Rogozinski said, "and it's very dangerous for those folks when you have a four-lane highway where people can go 55 m.p.h.
Rogozinski is among a handful of residents who are pressing the village and the state, which controls the road, for fewer lanes and a lower speed limit along Van Rensselaer — changes that make sense to me.
Bike lanes are also planned, and it is likely, he said, that the speed limit will be reduced, although a new speed hasn't been determined.