Letter: E-Scooters Injuries: A New Epidemic

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To the Editor:

With the advent of the Bird e-scooters in Pittsfield, available to anyone with a license, a few cents, and a cell phone, I hope that Berkshire Medical Center's emergency room is ready for the traumatic brain injuries coming down the road.

The rentals don't include helmets and I've seen plenty of people having a blast — laughing and zipping along next to traffic — some riding double and no one wearing a helmet. They feel like a toy but they aren't toys: E-scooters are one of the most dangerous vehicles on the road with double the head injuries of cyclists — the injury rate is comparable to motorcycle riding. This includes the pedestrians who are struck by scooters.

The title of a 2021 medical article says it all: "Electric Scooter-Related Injuries: A New Epidemic in Orthopedics." Richmond, Va., has a longer history of Bird scooters, and thriving personal injury legal practices dedicated to defending scooter accident victims. How is this a good thing for Pittsfield?

Sarah Gardner
Williamstown, Mass.

 

 


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Williamstown's Cost Rising for Emergency Bank Restoration

By Stephen DravisiBerkshires Staff
WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — The cost to stabilize the bank of the Hoosic River near a town landfill continues to rise, and the town is still waiting on the commonwealth's blessing to get to work.
 
Department of Public Works Director Craig Clough was before the Finance Committee on Wednesday to share that, unlike the town hoped, the emergency stabilization work will require bringing in a contractor — and that is before a multimillion dollar project to provide a long-term solution for the site near Williams College's Cole Field.
 
"I literally got the plans last Friday, and it's not something we'll be able to do in-house," Clough told the committee. "They're talking about a cofferdam of a few hundred feet, dry-pumping everything out and then working along the river. That's something that will be beyond our manpower to do, our people power, and the equipment we have will not be able to handle it."
 
Clough explained that the cofferdam is similar to the work done on the river near the State Road (Route 2) bridge on the west side of North Adams near West Package and Variety Stores.
 
"We don't know the exact numbers yet of an estimate," Clough said. "The initial thought was $600,000 a few months ago. Now, knowing what the plans are, the costs are going to be higher. They did not think there was going to need to be a coffer dam put in [in the original estimate]."
 
The draft capital budget of $592,500 before the Fin Comm includes $500,000 toward the riverbank stabilization project.
 
The town's finance director told the committee he anticipates having about $700,000 in free cash (technically the "unreserved fund balance") to spend in fiscal year 2027 once that number is certified by the Department of Revenue in Boston.
 
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