By David F. Rooney
For months Ross Hurlburt has been complaining on Facebook about people speeding through the playground zone around Beruschi Park on Second Street East.
He’s felt ignored and powerless but now he’s taking matters into his own hands by posting his own signs cautioning drivers to slow down. And he’s taking down the licence plate numbers of vehicles he says are blowing past the children’s playground without slowing down.
“I’ll give these to the police and see what they do with them,” he said Tuesday morning.
A lot of the cars moving along Second Street East past the park slow down when they approach the park. It’s not particularly hard to miss. Besides the Playground Zone signs, police have erected a pylon in the middle of the street by the park. But a surprising number of vehicles — even official ones — did not appear to slow. In the months that he has been watching drivers ignore the playground zone Hurlburt says he as seen City trucks, police cars and commercial vehicles blow through the playground zone with out slowing down.
“From 11:30 am to 5:30 pm (I collected the plate numbers from) a total of 31 vehicles; all but one are BC plates; and four were company vehicles,” he said in an e-mail to The Current. “Also the police did a radar trap from 4 pm to 5:30-ish pm, and probably got another 20-30 vehicles at that time. I do have two ladies that drove through twice today, this morning and then later today, neither time slowing down. I will take the list to police tomorrow, see whats what.”
Most of these drivers probably were unaware of Hurlburt’s interest in their driving habits
and plate numbers. But he said one driver did stop when he flipped him the bird and threatened him. Nothing happened and the man drove off.
With school set to resume in a couple of weeks Staff Sgt. Jackie Olsen of the Revelstoke detachment said police will soon begin monitoring drivers in all school and associated playground zones. Travelling in either a school or playground zone at more than 30 kmph can cost you $196 if you’re exceeding the speed limit by less than 21 kmph or $253 if you’ve exceeded the speed limit by 21 to 40 kmph. Those are hefty tickets.
Please slow down — no one wants to see one of our children hurt or killed.
