Dear Source:
As we all know, a young woman died by the roadside in Red Hook not too long ago, and another woman was hit a very short time later on the same road. I know that these are not isolated incidents from this area involving pedestrians and cars. I am, however, hoping that they are the last.
As the school nurse at Ivanna Eudora Kean High School, my office is located in the building that sits right on the road in question. Even though there have been significant recent positive changes (e.g. an increase in the enforcement of the "no parking" rules along the northern roadside in Red Hook and a visible police presence on the road outside the high school before and after school), there is still much that needs to be done.
All day long I hear trucks barreling by, speeding cars and screeching tires. Despite the police presence in the morning, vehicles are still going much too fast considering the number of children walking in the roads.
Ivanna Eudora Kean High School has approximately 1,100 children now attending school and using the roadway. Attached are three pictures that I took Wednesday. The pictures show the swale area that has recently been the target of the "no parking" enforcement. This is the only place that these kids have to walk from the school to the ferry that is not in the road. As you can see, when it rains, it is a river. Even when dry, it is so full of large stone and rubble that people will still choose to walk in the road, where there is sure and safe footing,
I keep hearing promises that "they" are planning to do something. It seems that "they" have been planning to do something for a very long time. Speed humps (like in Smith Bay) would be a great start, and a safe sidewalk is desperately needed.
It is time to stop talking and start doing before one of our children is hit and killed by a speeding car or truck!
Please help us keep the spotlight on this safety issue.
Yours truly,
Mary-Ellen Anton Coles, RN
School Nurse, Ivanna Eudora Kean High School
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