TALK ABOUT A LIFE CHANGING MOMENT-CNBNEWS.NET

BY BILL CLEARY

(cnbnews.net) This morning while walking Erica a car and a SUV collided at the intersection of Lane and Thompson Avenues. The car coming down Lane Avenue was traveling towards Thompson at a high rate of speed when it reached the intersection. At the same time the driver of the SUV made a rolling stop at the Stop sign and entered the intersection. The two collided in the middle of the streets sending the car towards me and my dog. With seconds to react I let go of the leash, hoping the dog would run in the opposite direction of the oncoming car. At the same time I jumped in the other direction to avoid the car that was heading straight for us.

As for Erica, when the car crashed into the fence I heard her yelp! I thought for sure she was hit. But she appears to be okay, not limping nor are there any visible injuries.

Both drivers were shaken up but it appeared that neither of them was seriously injured.

I know if I had been walking both dogs today( Lacey was at home) one of them would have been seriously injured, if not killed. Likewise the same outcome would have occurred if I had held on to Erica and not let go of the leash.

Ask any resident living in this area if they think there is a problem with speeding cars and they would respond with a loud YES! They will also tell you it is just a matter of time before someone, be it pedestrian or driver of a auto, is either seriously injured or killed. For a moment today I thought for sure I was going to be that statistic.

The reason for that feeling simply put. Some parents of children who attend nearby Cold Springs School along with some employees who work there think Thompson/Lane Avenues is Dover Downs Race Track. Add into that mixture the same type of drivers who use those two streets as a short cut between Market Street and South Broadway and you can understand their thinking.

Several years ago I asked Police Chief George Berglund who was a Police Lieutenant at the time to do something about these speeding cars. He sent Officer Bob Lee to study the traffic on these streets. When asked about the outcome Berglund said the study showed that speeding was not a problem. Recently the City council passed a resolution to make the Thompson/Lane Avenues intersection a four-way stop. No doubt that will be of some help. But I doubt it will have any effect on slowing down these "Richard Petty want-a be drivers" coming and going from Cold Springs School nor will it stop the speeders flying down Lane Avenue.

If you have any suggestions on how to stop the speeding we would love to hear them. Comment on this post or send them to [email protected]

related ITS NOT THE DOG'S FAULT