Danger on Main Street

To the Editor,

With the growth of our town comes a growth in my concern for the safety of the pedestrians of Main Street.

Every day I make my way down Castle Hill Road and take a left onto West Street which leads me to the familiar “Flag Pole intersection” of Main Street. As I travel up West Street, the old town meeting hall is to my left. There is a stop sign – I stop. But I can’t see anything! The hedges, although well kept, are so high at the old town meeting hall you can’t see traffic coming from the left.

I inch my way forward, only to stop suddenly with a jerk as a skateboarder whizzes by me without a glance, without a care in the world… a boy, maybe 10, leaning forward enough so I can’t see him – not even from the high vantage point of my jeep. My heart skips a beat or two. I thank God that I did not hit him and then I curse the intersection which lays before me like an obstacle course. I inch forward again, a second attempt, navigate my way through the intersection with success – mission accomplished. But what about all the newcomers? What about the people who are in a hurry?

Undoubtedly there will come a time in the not so distant future when a car will stop at the walkway – (I see people do it all the time) just past the stop sign and it will be too late. Remove the hedges, or place streetlights at the intersection. Why wait until an innocent pedestrian falls victim to our beloved Main Street again?

Sincerely,

Doris Hanley

                                                                  October 8, 1999