FocusCanada Forums

Great letter. Maybe I'll drive down your street at 40km/h on my way to work today. I know it drives the idiots in Headon Forest crazy when I do it. I had a guy in a Mazda 5 honking and waving at me a couple of days ago, and he had a baby girl in the back.
Great letter and I hope at least one of the idiots reads it and listens.

Letter to Editor

very good indeed. i think i might borrow that letter and just change the street name :)

i know in York, you can report violetors to police, i bet you guys have the similar option as well. Just get the licence plate number and send an email to cops. they will send the violator a warning letter the first time. If it happens again they will get fined.

http://www.yorkregionsavealife.ca/Initia...dWatch.htm

York Region Road Watch Communities:
Aurora, East Gwillimbury, Georgina, King, Markham, Newmarket, Richmond Hill, Vaughan, and Whitchurch-Stouffville.
Report Process
-The first time a Citizen Report is received about a particular vehicle, a letter is sent to the registered owner of the vehicle describing the incident and location where the vehicle was observed operating in an aggressive or unsafe manner. The letter highlights the date the incident occurred and the reported violation. A request is made to the registered owner or any driver of the vehicle to voluntarily co-operate and drive in a responsible manner.
-The second time a Citizen Report is received about the same vehicle, a second letter is sent from the police to the registered owner of the vehicle. A police officer will contact the registered owner of the vehicle via the telephone and advise them of the complaint and potential consequences.
-The third time a Citizen Report is received about the same vehicle, a third letter is forwarded to the registered owner of the vehicle, and a police officer will visit the registered owner. Depending on the circumstances, charges will be considered and an officer may monitor the vehicle's actions to facilitate enforcement.

Its unfortunate that people see residential areas as short cuts to bypass main throughfares. And posted speed limits seem to be ignored. My daughter and I were almost run down by a surburban about a month ago while crossing the street in a posted 40kmh zone, he was going at least 30 over the limit. I reported the plate # to the Toronto Police but all they said they could do was sent out a report on their in car computer system to watch for the viechle in question. No letter, no visit to the residence of the owner, nothing. It is a shame to think people continue to drive like this after all the accidents and deaths in the news recently.

Now that's a well-written letter!

I've never understood the obsession of some folks with speeding through a residential area.

Nice letter and all, don't get me wrong, but truthfully?????

I have alot more important things to worry about then other people speeding down the street. I see it day in and day out and it has become second nature to most. Hell, I bet I have even done it, and I am by no means a speeder. Will it get anyone's attention and do any good? I doubt it. Will it make Anthony sleep better at nights knowing he tried, probably.

There are more important things in life.

meford4u,Jun 28 2007, 08:40 AM Wrote:Nice letter and all, don't get me wrong, but truthfully?????

I have alot more important things to worry about then other people speeding down the street.  I see it day in and day out and it has become second nature to most.  Hell, I bet I have even done it, and I am by no means a speeder.  Will it get anyone's attention and do any good?  I doubt it.  Will it make Anthony sleep better at nights knowing he tried, probably.

There are more important things in life.
[right][snapback]242576[/snapback][/right]

That is all well and good for you to think that way. But what about when your son has children playing in the front yard? I think you will start looking at this topic differently. My 5 year old daughter spends a lot of time playing in the front yard and sidewalk and I am getting sick and tired of people that think they own the road. I say that they should put traffic calming zones on every residential road in Toronto. That would slow the A$$holes down for sure.

Well written letter Anthony, but frankly the way people treat the roads today, I fear the only solution that has any hope of stopping stupidity like this (Yes, I'm saying exceeding the speed limit in a residential zone is stupid behaviour) is the installation of "traffic calming" measures, whether they be speed bumps, narrow lanes or whatever else is out there.

Otherwise, we can (and should) all report dangerous driving like this but I fear we'll only catch a small number of folks, not change their behaviour...

I'm in the same boat along my residential road (Webb Drive) with late night drag racers treating the area like a scene from the Fast and the Furious.... I report what I see, the dispatch takes the info, nothing changes -sigh-

NefCanuck

Spoken like a man with adult kids. Fawk that ... it only becomes second nature if the community lets it.

My kids are smart, but they're still 7 and 4 and can make mistakes in judgement like any child ... anyone caught speeding on my street will not only get reported, but they'll get an earful from me if it happens more than once and I don't mean rhetorically - I've done it a few times already.

One young "lady" (mouthy teenager) was prone to driving my street at almost twice the limit and then cruising straight through the stop sign at the end and straight into her driveway. I won't get into the details but she doesn't do it anymore and my neighbours applauded my initiative.

meford4u,Jun 28 2007, 09:40 AM Wrote:Nice letter and all, don't get me wrong, but truthfully?????

I have alot more important things to worry about then other people speeding down the street.  I see it day in and day out and it has become second nature to most.  Hell, I bet I have even done it, and I am by no means a speeder.  Will it get anyone's attention and do any good?  I doubt it.  Will it make Anthony sleep better at nights knowing he tried, probably.

There are more important things in life.
[right][snapback]242576[/snapback][/right]

You know this brought back a memory of me stoping to yell at someone yelling at me for assuming I was speeding thru their neighborhoods. in both cases this was in 2004, and was the first summer I had my yellow focus, and in both cases I had my windows down and was doing 35 in a 40.

I hate to be the one but in most cases people asume they are going fast then the limit when some case are actually under it.

Nice Letter Anthony hopefully it gets some attention around your area.

I had the same problem at my parents and I taped for a whole day people speeding and running the stop sign, a week later after I presented the tape to the police they step a trap on the street and caught over 200 people during that week.

Laterz :)

Meh.

Whatever, thanks for the support fellas.

Bryan....If you witnessed the s***e I see day in and day out on my street, you'd be a little hot too. Jennifer and I plan on having children on the near future, however, it wont be in this home.

Is life to short? sure, but at least I took the 15 min. to do something that matters to my communtiy. I'm sure my neighbours with children (most of them) will appreciate my efforts.

It annoys me that people who don't live on my street, drive like idiots on it to get to theirs.

Whatever, all I'm trying to do is draw a little attention to something that could possibly be fatal.

Drivers in Burlington are some of the most lacking I've ever seen. Stop signs? Completely optional in Burlington. Turn signals? Obviously there's a bulb shortage in the area. I swear, Burlington drivers must burn more fuel than any other GTA city because people drive matted all over the place. It's crazy some days.

Anyway, REMEMBER GUYS......PLEASE DRIVE RESPECTFULLY IN MY NEIGHBOURHOOD COME BBQ TIME.

-a.

I agree with your post an article too Anthony but honestly if you really think burlington is bad by all means come to Brampton it's much much wose, I think the only time people stop at 4 way stops is if another car is there, and Brampton has earned the title of Ontario's Most Agressive drivers a few times.

Well I took a little spin down Dryden past Pathfinder today on my way into work. Had a Honda minivan up my ass the whole way, and I thought he was going to kiss my ass when I came to a complete stop at all 4-ways. I turned down a side street and came back with the same results.
The Orchard is actually worse than the Forest. I may write comment supporting your letter to see what our paid security (police) are going to do about it.

It's not whatever Anthony. My point and case is what is your letter going to change?

The neighbours who applaud your efforts are already the one's who are driving the speed limit and are no threat to anyone. They are not your target audience.

The kids and adults who speed are not going to stop speeding on your street because they may have read an article. If you want a beTter solution?

If this is so important to you, and by sending a letter to that rag of a newspaper, I assume it is very important to you, then try and get a hold of the local MADD and they often have a "Your Speed" sign with a digital readout. You can typically borrow the sign in your neighbourhood for 3 days.

Contact the police for extra enforcement in the area.

My point, and it seems that it was missed, is don't spend your time doing things that really accomplish very little in the end of your goal. You want to slow people down? Writing a letter to the editor isn't going to make anyone think twice about speeding. What exactly did you want that letter to accomplish?

And yes, I have an adult kid. So what? I keep his speeding under control and have removed his driving privledges to hammer home the point. So I have done my bit in reducing speeding without writing a letter to the editor.

And in the end, the real issue is you live on a very busy street. My suggestion? Move. If your thinking of having kids, move. The speeding problem will always be an issue. It won't fix the problem but it will fix the problem for you. aND THAT IS WHAT MY POINT IS ALL ABOUT. FIX AND CONCENTRATE ON WHAT AILS YOU.

Dood.

I never meant for my post to stir the pot. All I was trying to say that it was time someone wrote something to make people aware of it.

If it makes ONE person think twice before speeding down my street, then I've done my job.

And for what it's worth, Jen and I were actually out on the school lawn last weekend with 3 of my fellow neighbours with the speed sign rented from the police. I've been to (I can't remember how many) town council meetings regarding this problem and actuallly scraped up enough petitions to get a "hrizontal deflectinon" installed along Dryden between the 2 schools. So as far as me only whining to a rag that acomplishes nothing? You're wrong. Thanks for playing :rolleyes:

So as far as I'm concerned, I've done more than my part ot change the situation.

(I should have indicated in this my previous post, I probably would have avoided your ignorant yet typical remark :rolleyes: )

They are to start the construction of the horizonal deflection this fall. I just hope it narrows the street enough to slow people down. Brent Jefferies (Our infrastructure rep) and Goldring (Our MP) have both sat in my living room with my neighbours and discussed the issue with Dryden.

The city has acknowleged our concerns and have been gracious enough to do something about it. The trouble is, the public who lives in my area is unaware of it. I thought a letter would further our concerns for my street.

Let's hope it makes at least a few residents think twice.

---------------------------------------------------------



CANADASVT:

Thanks for coming down the street, glad someone else experienced what makes me so angry.

Try coming to complete stop to turn into my driveway when the person roaring up your bumper thinks your signal is on to turn at the stopsign. :blink: I don't know how many times I've had people come screething to halt NEXT TO ME!!!! And look at me like I have the problem! "Sorry for wanting to get into my driveway!"

K_OS,Jun 28 2007, 11:32 AM Wrote:Nice Letter Anthony hopefully it gets some attention around your area.

I had the same problem at my parents and I taped for a whole day people speeding and running the stop sign, a week later after I presented the tape to the police they step a trap on the street and caught over 200 people during that week.

Laterz :)
[right][snapback]242590[/snapback][/right]

That is a good idea!!! I dont like to get other people in trouble but I hate it when people speed in residential areas. People always seem to be in a rush for work or checking there blue berry and s***.Since I had my son I guess my outlook has changed a lot.

Anyways thats a good idea

ANTHONYD,Jun 28 2007, 07:39 PM Wrote:And for what it's worth, Jen and I were actually out on the school lawn last weekend with 3 of my fellow neighbours with the speed sign rented from the police. I've been to (I can't remember how many) town council meetings regarding this problem and actuallly scraped up enough petitions to get a "vertical deflectinon" installed along Dryden between the 2 schools. So as far as me only whining to a rag that acomplishes nothing? You're wrong. Thanks for playing :P

"Vertical Deflection"? :huh: What is that supposed to look like? That's a new traffic calmer on me and I've seen some pretty screwy ones. There's a section of a road in Pickering that gets shrunk from two lanes to one at intervals, with each direction getting the right of way on an alternating basis to force traffic to slow down. It does the job lemme tell you, if you do anything over 30km/h you'll be slamming on the brakes hard when it isn't your turn and someone is coming from the other direction :ph34r:

NefCanuck

Canadian ST,Jun 28 2007, 07:58 PM Wrote:That is a good idea!!! I dont like to get other people in trouble but I hate it when people speed in residential areas.  People always seem to be in a rush for work or checking there blue berry and s***.Since I had my son I guess my outlook has changed a lot.

Anyways thats a good idea
[right][snapback]242645[/snapback][/right]

thanx, at the time I couldn't believe how many times I saw my litle sister or one of the neighbourhood kids almost get hit by a car, I moved out of my parents 4 years ago but from what they tell me is that the police every 3 months or so still put up a speed trap/stop sign trap at that intersection and still catch allot of people and I don't feel sorry for any of them if I helped save one kids life I'm happy.

Laterz :)

A vertical deflection is essentially a centre median that will be either grassed or gardened.
It can also be built a chicane.


What it does is narrow the actual driving serface to where it makes people slow down.
It's a small change....but a change nonetheless.


A chicane on Dryden is an unlikely solution because it's a direct access route for emergency access vehicles etc... so it's not possible to do anything that can slow those guys down.

What we have unfortunately is a poorly designed neighbourhood by Matamy homes :S.

ANTHONYD,Jun 28 2007, 09:37 PM Wrote:A vertical deflection is essentially a centre median that will be either grassed or gardened.
It can also be built a chicane.


What it does is narrow the actual driving serface to where it makes people slow down.
It's a small change....but a change nonetheless.


A chicane on Dryden is an unlikely solution because it's a direct access route for emergency access vehicles etc... so it's not possible to do anything that can slow those guys down.

What we have unfortunately is a poorly designed neighbourhood by Matamy homes :S.
[right][snapback]242658[/snapback][/right]

Ah, I see... very interesting direction to take. As to a poorly designed neighbourhood by the builder, surprised you should not be at builders doing stupid things. Hell, we just found out here at the condo that the original builder screwed up the parapit on the roof after a chunk of it FELL OFF! (Thank god it didn't hit anyone)

And we as the board had to basically approve a blank cheque to fix it :ph34r:

NefCanuck