The RTS family joins the Alligator in offering the sincerest condolences to the family of Erin Pelton. No words can express the loss of such a bright young person on the cusp of a promising future.
It is with this in mind that we, the board of Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1579, must strenuously object to both the tone and contents of the Nov. 4 editorial “RTS must act to make crossing streets safer.”
The saddest thing about this tragedy, which shattered two lives, is that it could have been prevented. We feel it is irresponsible and inflammatory for the Alligator Editorial Board to place the onus on RTS.
RTS operators consider their passengers’ safety to be of the utmost importance. When an operator asks you to exit via the rear door or the talking bus reminds you to cross behind the bus, where you will be most visible to traffic, this is done with your safety in mind. Operator concern about passenger safety has also led to RTS management adopting a policy that discourages passengers from running across the street to catch the bus.
The Alligator has suggested that RTS is not alert to locations where passengers make high-risk crossings. On the contrary, this fall, with the support of the Student Senate, RTS launched a new Route 22 that uses Old Archer Road — a routing suggested by an operator — to give residents of Oxford Manor and Brandywine Apartments an alternative to crossing Archer Road midblock.
Furthermore, we would like to address the Alligator’s recommendation that RTS remove all midblock stops to discourage high-risk crossings. On Archer Road from 23rd Drive to 34th Street there are bus stops at crosswalks, apartment complexes and places of business. The stop where Erin Pelton most likely got off is located adjacent to a driveway that leads to the UF entomology and nematology departments. There are legitimate reasons for a person to wish to use these stops that do not involve a high-risk crossing. If the Alligator Editorial Board were to carry its arguments to their logical conclusions, it might not find the results to its liking.
