I too have become a victim of the city's latest campaign to rid the streets of signage that contradicts its bylaws. As a citizen and member of the community I am disappointed and frustrated that I am not allowed to create an awareness to drivers entering my residential area that there are children playing, in their yards and their driveways, with the potential of spilling into the streets. Drivers should be made aware of this and reduce their speed and drive with caution.
I have been told to contact the RCMP, or Community Policing programs such as Speed Watch to help deal with the issue of speeding drivers, but these are measures that merely capture a minimal segment of a much larger problem.
What is so wrong about creating an awareness to drivers entering a residential area that there are potential hazards that they might encounter and to reduce speed and drive defensively? I know the same problem exists in school and playground zones. Drivers continue to ignore the area limits, and once again the policing efforts only capture a minimal segment of an ongoing, hazardous-driving issue.
As drivers we are aware of how to conduct ourselves on the roadways in and out of our city, but there are times when we choose to disregard those rules or are distracted by our fast-paced, technology-driven lives. Our children are constantly made aware of the dangers of the roadways and how to conduct themselves when dealing with traffic and entering those areas. But again, distractions, or being in the moment lead our children to forget the repeated warnings of their parents. Unfortunately we are all human and we all, at times, are so focused we disregard the rest of the world around us. This is where the problem exists.
All I am trying to do is create an awareness and trying to avoid the combination of events of a careless driver and a forgetful child. I can not predict the actions of children when they are out playing in their neighborhood, but maybe a sign placed at the end of a driveway, might encourage drivers to rethink their driving habits on a residential street. Thus reducing the possibility of a catastrophic event.
I think the city needs to review this bylaw and allow its citizens and community members to play a more active role in creating safer communities.
Roy Hooker
Prince George
