Wednesday, September 4, 2002
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Wednesday, September 4, 2002 |
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Slowdown tactics on PTC street lead to honking motorists, vandalized street signs on Golf View Dr.
By JOHN
MUNFORD
The newest stop signs and enhanced speed humps on Golf View Drive have drawn civil unrest from motorists upset with the changes who feel they are being inconvenienced. Some people are so upset that they have vandalized new traffic signs in the area, costing the city thousands of dollars to replace, according to Mayor Steve Brown. The speed humps originally spanned just one lane at a time, but some motorists would swerve into the oncoming traffic lane to avoid them. So the humps were lengthened to cross the entire roadway, and the speed limit was shrunk to 20 mph for the entire length of Golf View. The humps were also raised because sport utility vehicles with well-equipped suspensions could navigate them quickly without slowing down. That got the protesters going, along with a hand-drawn sign urging unhappy motorists to "honk" in protest as they travel along Golf View Drive. While Golf View residents have petitioned the city council numerous times for help in slowing down traffic, the council had the final say on what changes would be made. Brown pointed out that the changes to Golf View are part of the city's new traffic calming program, which is in the "pilot" stage. The mayor said he decided in favor of the changes by considering the safety of citizens in the Golf View area. He has heard reports that traffic has slowed so much that Golf View residents are doing pedestrian activities on the street again. "This is a public safety matter of the highest order regarding a dense, highly populated area of senior citizens," Brown said. "... I think we have a duty as a society to look out for our seniors. And if that means slowing traffic down to a reasonable speed than so be it. And I am adamant about that." Brown reasons that the inconvenience to motorists is far outweighed by the safety concerns. "We've kind of returned their quality of life," Brown said. Prior to the speed humps and additional stop signs, Golf View residents told council of numerous occasions of speeding vehicles which would leave the roadway, plowing down mailboxes and in some cases nearly missing residents who worked in their yards. Some citizens upset about the new speed humps and stop signs have told city officials that Golf View residents should have known about the traffic hazards when they moved in. But many residents there have lived there a long time, before the "cut through" traffic became a problem, Brown said. "They used to have block parties in the street," before the Blue Smoke Trace street was connected to Golf View, Brown said.
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