Navigating the Narrow Streets

Last Saturday at around 9 p.m., Patricia Guarch was struck by a car on Upper Main Street in Edgartown while on the way to get ice cream with friends. Guarch, 22, is here from Coral Gables, Florida as a part of the Vineyard Arts Project, a performing arts residency program with studios located close to where the accident took place.

After being rushed to Martha's Vineyard Hospital, she was transported by MedFlight to Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, where she was listed in critical condition.

The driver of the car has been identified as Dr. Robert Franklin, 85, who is a part-time practicing pediatrician on the Island. Guarch and three friends were in the crosswalk when Franklin hit her.

A tradgedy such as this brings the conversation back to road safety. How do we navigate the small roads of this Island that are filled to the brim with drivers, bikers, runners, and mopeds?

What should we expect of our police officers, our fellow drivers and ourselves? What safety precautions can we take as drivers, as bikers and as walkers to keep such devestating events like this from occuring?

What suggestions for improvement do you have for our roads, our traffic systems and our laws that would help make everyone more safe?

A lot of questions, we know, but this is a very important and, sadly, timely topic. One that perhaps we could all use another discussion on in order to make this a safer summer for all.