Friday, February 12, 2010

Morriss Road Danger

As Scott mentioned in the previous post, the Super Bowl evening incident struck very close to home. Sunday evening as the game was winding down, my wife Holly too our dog Pepper out for a quick walk around the neighborhood. Her last leg of the walk was up Morriss from the cul de sac to around the corner to our house, one house from Morriss. After she rounded the corner and was walking up our drive way she heard the crash. A mere minute earlier and she could have been involved in a horrific tragedy.

Even though the town has spent the money for the planning, its not over by a long shot. We are a few months away from an election that will change the face of our town. Saner minds that are eager to listen to reality will be running our town. There are alternatives that have not been explored and will be. Keep the faith and we will defeat this horrible plan before any family has to endure a catasrophic tragedy.

Wednesday, February 10, 2010

Good Fences Make Good Neighbors; Broken Fences Make..

I don't know if anyone is really following this site much anymore since the Morriss expansion project has been in the design phase. So if you are still a follower, feel free to reply and let us know you are alive!

It happened again last Sunday; right after the Super Bowl. Another vehicle ran off Morriss Rd. This seems to happen about once every quarter or few months. (If anyone has the time to look up the police records, it would be interesting to see an actual tally.) This time the vehicle struck close to me; about a block north of Forestwood Middle School. It got my neighbor's fence and only slightly damaged one corner of my fence about 10ft from my kids' swing set and sandbox (just next to that dividing fence in the photo below). We are waiting on the police report.

My 7-year old was fascinated by the damage. In true 7-year old fancy, she imagined herself on her swing and watching a spectacular collision and catastrophe. I tried to explain to her the concept of low-risk probabilities and that her swingset is perfectly safe. But her eyes glassed over and her interests diverted to other subjects, thankfully!

I know this sort of thing can and does happen on roads all over town. However, it would be foolish to think that an expanded Morriss Rd with higher vehicle counts and higher speeds won't see an increase in this risk. It is just another reason why we [Morriss Rd residents] should have been involved before the Town submitted for funding this project. This section of Morriss Rd has no business being a 6 lane artery. But entering the debate after funding was approved proved to be too late to affect significant change.