Jun 11, 2010
Lying in bed this afternoon around 5pm (something we retired people like to do - it's called a nap), I was jarred by the terrible sound of cars colliding on the street outside. This has become a somewhat usual occurrence on Underhill Avenue. The sound always fills me with dread - I live directly across from the playground, a neighborhood mecca filled with kids and parents. My first thought was to hope that nobody was hurt who might have been an innocent bystander: a child and parent crossing the street, a neighbor out walking their dog. Then, of course, I worried about the drivers and passengers, hoping they too were spared injury. But the sound was so loud and so terrible, I thought for sure, someone had to be hurt.
We were lucky. This time. This was the second horrible collision at the intersection of Prospect Place and Underhill Avenue in the space of a year. Same thing last time - two cars, one on Underhill, one on Prospect, meet in the middle of the intersection and smash into each other. One had to be running the light, a not uncommon sight in our city today. What utter foolishness and stupidity. But also malicious, because a car driven that way, fast and without care to the people on our streets, becomes a dangerous weapon; a weapon that can maim or kill.
The last time this happend, in May of 2009, I wrote:
"Driving to make the light without regard for safety of people on foot on our streets will, sooner or later, result in catastrophe. It is a fact that the leading edge of death of young children in New York is not disease but being struck by a car. his time nobody was seriously injured. Next time?? NOW IS THE TIME TO GET SPEEDING CARS AND RECKLESS DRIVERS OFF OUR STREETS."
This time we must take action. A petition must be written and distributed to all our neighbors demanding from our elected officials and the Department of Transportation that action be taken to insure that traffic is calmed on Underhill Avenue, particularly near our school and playground. Either by use of traffic humps, 4-way stop signs, re-timing of lights, increased signage or other methods that the DOT has and uses in its inventory, we must get this dangerous condition under control.
We should not wait to take action until after one of our children or neighbors is maimed or killed. The time for action is now!
- Matt
Click Here to see all of these crash photos.
