Ditto For Obtuse Road

To the Editor:

I would like to thank Carolyn Bergen for her letter of August 27 entitled “New Lebbon Rd Is Neither A Dump Nor A Speedway.” I would also like to appropriate it, virtually word for word; only please substitute “Obtuse Road” for “New Lebbon Road.”

I have come to refer to this winding, narrow, hilly country road as “Route 85.” Here too, the speed limit, which is only barely posted as the signs have either been knocked down or spray painted, is no more than a quaint concept left over from a kinder and gentler time when people generally drove humble cars instead of racy SUVs and “light” trucks. Here too, the family down the street with two young children – one in a stroller – must venture into the brush along the side of the road in order to walk safely. Here, too, I have received “the finger” as a response to my requests to passing drivers to slow down. Along with the speeding, we have the added perils of Ignoring the Dividing Line (why, nobody could possibly be coming the other way!) and Tailgating, since of course those of us who might not wish to hit a person or an animal are going much too slowly. We have lost two cats to those drivers who forget that this is not only a shortcut between Route 133 and Route 25, but a residential street. And parents, take note: Obtuse Road is a school bus route. I invite you to park in our driveway some morning to see what the kids and the bus drivers are up against.

I have great respect for our Police Department and am well aware of the enormous challenge of patrolling the huge geographical area that is Newtown, but I must add to this litany of complaints the scarcity of police presence here. In the five years since my husband and I moved to Newtown, I believe I can count on one hand the number of times I have seen a patrol car go by. We are on the Brookfield border; only the new homes on Newbury Road and Pheasant Ridge are beyond us, but still in Newtown. I’m pretty sure, however, that we are all paying the same taxes as those who live, say, on Currituck or Toddy Hill. I had occasion to call the police department once when we found our mailbox lying in the street, a victim of vandals; at that time I invited the officer with whom I spoke to camp out in our driveway during the morning commute. I hereby reissue that invitation.

And, Ms Bergen, I sympathize with you on the subject of roadside trash. Last spring, we too did our own cleanup, but we made the mistake of bringing only one large trash bag. It proved hopelessly inadequate. And I wish I had a dollar for every beer can littering Obtuse Road. Just recently we saw a neighbor’s curbside decorated with an entire 12-pack. Are people drinking those beers while operating a speeding vehicle? It wouldn’t surprise me. But it would make me downright happy to see somebody get nabbed for it – and to be fined for littering in the bargain.

I love Newtown, and have been happier than I could have imagined living here. The one truly distressing aspect of residence here on Obtuse Road has been the traffic. The likelihood that Hawleyville in particular, and Newtown in general, will continue to develop all available land only means that that problem will worsen. I guess I must be resigned to live with the volume of traffic. But surely Ms Bergen and I are not alone in our calls for more civility from the drivers using our roads. I urge my neighbors all over Newtown to make their concerns public, too. And to you, Ms Bergen, many thanks for speaking up so eloquently.

Sincerely,

Jan Neuberger

51 Obtuse Road, Newtown                                         September 4, 2001