Tim Landis
The State Journal-Register
Impatient, distracted, inconsiderate drivers are seldom the focus of economic development-business association agendas. But they got an earful — figuratively speaking — at the October meeting of the MacArthur Boulevard Association.
“They’re blowing stop signs and stoplights, and speeding where there are children,” Ward 7 Ald. Joe McMenamin told the association monthly meeting on Thursday. It’s not just MacArthur Boulevard, of course, though the busiest section between South Grand and Wabash avenues is in McMenamin’s ward.
A representative from Harvard Park Elementary School described “a very dangerous situation” of drivers speeding on stretches of street that have no stops signs or stoplights for blocks. Merchants, too, have expressed concern about speeding vehicles.
Jerome Village President Mike Lopez cited similar issues in his village, especially as commercial development fills in along Wabash Avenue. Impatient drivers in search of shortcuts have spilled into residential neighborhoods, said Lopez, including popular school routes. “We have a lot of children in those areas,” said Lopez.
McMenamin floated the idea of parking surplus city patrol cars in problem areas, as is done in other communities, including Leland Grove, as a way to discourage speeding and red-light running. Speeding and distracted driving, said McMenamin, dominated a Ward 7 strategy meeting last month attended by approximately 150 people.
“It’s speeding, it’s people on their cell phones,” said McMenamin. “It’s just a lack of respect.”
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Joe McMenamin for Ward 7 