Residents and pedestrians using the “residential” stretch of road from Colonial Garage to the Village Shopping Centre should be extremely careful when using the crosswalks or accessing the street from their driveways.
I’ve observed taxis, transport trucks, Metrobuses, motorcycles and regular vehicles treating this stretch of road as a highway with no regard for crosswalks or residents attempting to access the street from their driveways. I’ve observed people standing on the sidewalk near my home having to wait for several cars to pass before someone finally stopped to let them cross.
Just recently, a driver stopped to allow a teenager to cross the street when a vehicle coming from the other direction ignored the crosswalk and missed hitting the guy by mere inches.
I’ve observed on several occasions, when a driver stopped to allow a resident to leave their driveway, vehicles pulling out from behind, in a dangerous move, to continue on their way. Also recently, in front of my neighbour’s house, a motorcyclist ran into a car that stopped just ahead of the crosswalk. The cyclist rolled over the car from the trunk to the front.
Over the past several years, I’ve contacted the Royal Newfoundland Constabulary, St. John’s city council and the MHA to address this issue by installing slow-down signs along the route, installing speed bumps, flashing speed sign systems, etc. The only response was “We will look into it.”
This is a dangerous situation that is not getting any better. The authorities are not doing anything about this. I plan to contact residents in the area to organize a crosswalk slow-down campaign to force drivers to slow down, in an effort to hopefully get authorities to wake up and do something. Lives are at stake!
Harve Heath
St. John’s
