It is out of pure frustration that I write this and it is my hope that a message is sent to all of those out there who find it necessary to speed through neighbourhood streets.
Speed kills.
Pilot Street for its entirety has a 30 km/h speed limit. For the middle third of Pilot, the limit is 30 km/h as it is a school zone while the rest of Pilot is clearly marked as a children at play zone, denoted by numerous signs depicting a figure chasing a ball.
Despite the entire street being clearly marked, Pilot resembles a racetrack with people continually speeding, sometimes approaching speeds near 80 km/h.
Over the last 2 1/2 years since moving into my old neighbourhood, I have had numerous confrontations with people after simply asking them to slow down.
Sometimes it is the fella in the pick-up truck heading to or from work and sometimes it is the mom in the SUV, driving her safe children to Foothills school while putting everyone else's child in jeopardy.
Often, the excuses, if there are any, consist of the same tired rhetoric: it is the weekend or it's summer or it's after school and the limit's are no longer in effect.
This litany of crap simply shows that most drivers today cannot tell the difference between a school zone sign and playground zone sign and are not aware that Monday through Sunday, dawn to dusk, the playground limit, is in effect.
While the RCMP are doing their best, they just do not have the manpower. ICBC's road safety department completely ignored my complaints as did School District 57 and city hall, though Mayor Hall did take the time to call and help.
It is frustrating and scary when you have kids of your own and after speaking to a very angry daycare operator on Limestone Crescent, I knew that it wasn't just me angry at the whole issue.
When some of the city bus drivers speed on our street, it becomes very evident that nobody really cares.
I hope we never see a dead child on our quiet street because some fool had to drive at 70 km/h. We'll all be upset and ask why it happened and I will say that I tried for almost three years to have those with the power do something... and they didn't.
People, please slow down.
Mike Maslen
Prince George
