Viewpoints
Stopping Speeders
By Vicki O'Brien
January 17, 2008
Thursday
Like Aftan, this matter of speeders zipping up and down our residential
streets has plagued me for quite a while. I live on Jackson Street,
one of the main uphill thoroughfares in town, and while I love
this neighborhood, my family and I are considering moving - one
of our reasons being safety.
We have two kids and a dog. My husband has had nightmares about
one of the kids getting hit by a car. The reasonable 25 mile
per hour speed limit seems only a vague suggestion to some who
are trying to reach Fairview Avenue in record time. I rarely
let my kids go play in front of our house unless one of us right
there to watch them, but there are plenty of kids and pets in
this vicinity who spend time out there. Some days out of frustration
I have stood on the edge of my property and yelled 'slow down!'
at the cars rocketing past me. It's more for my own satisfaction
though; they're going so fast I doubt they can hear me.
We've talked about asking the City to put in speed bumps on the
road, or gates at the top of the hill, hoping to deter speed
demons. I don't know if either of these suggestions are even
remotely viable.
I think the answer is two-fold. One, we need to implore the police
department to patrol these areas more vigilantly. Most people
only need one or two speeding tickets before they begin to tread
more carefully in the areas they were caught. Two, we as residents
of these areas need to band together to educate people. Writing
letters to editors, getting media coverage, petitioning for "Slow"
signs and standing outside ourselves with signs are just a couple
things we can do. I don't think standing outside your house with
a sign reading "SLOW the HE__ DOWN!" is so bad! Not
when the alternative is another pet or loved one getting hurt.
These are a couple of pretty straight forward, basic solutions.
If anyone has more effective, creative - but still LEGAL! - ideas
it would be interesting to hear them.
Vicki O'Brien
Ketchikan, AK
About: "Jackson Street
resident - for now"
Received January 17, 2008 -
Published January 18, 2008
Related Viewpoint:
 How
do you stop speeders? By Aftan Zink
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