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Highland Road speeders alarm mother of four |
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Written by Publisher
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Thursday, 03 December 2009 |
Photo by Ted Lutz
Residents near the intersection of Highland Road and Spring Street in Wetmore Township claim vehicles frequently travel on Highland Road at high rates of speed. Holly Yasurek, who resides on Narrow Lane (on the left just past the intersection), claims there are numerous speeders just after the dismissal of classes at Kane Area High School.
A stay-at-home mother of four is alarmed about speeding motorists on Highland Road near Spring Street in Wetmore Township.
“I am asking for you to please try and find ways to control the speed of traffic on Highland Road and Spring Street,” Holly Yasurek said in an emotional appeal Tuesday to the Wetmore Township Board of Supervisors. “In town (Kane), the children playing are protected by street lights, sidewalks and police officers. My children have none of this protection.”
Yasurek said her family’s dog was killed last week when it was struck by a truck traveling at more than 50 miles per hour (mph) in their residential neighborhood where there is a 35-mph speed limit.
She said the dog weighed “three times more than my girls and died almost instantly.” She speculated that her children would face a similar fate if they “chased a ball” in the road.
“Let’s not think about it,” she told the supervisors. “Let’s fix the problem. I ask you to please help to protect my family. Please try to find ways to control the speed of traffic on Highland Road and Spring Street.” She said motorists shouldn’t be traveling at “60 miles an hour when my kids are outside playing.”
Yasurek said the speeding problem was exasperated when the township earlier this year removed the Highland Road crossing for the defunct Knox and Kane Railroad. The crossing was removed just prior to a road-paving project.
She said the removal of the railroad crossing was “the worst thing that could have happened” because it served as a “sort of speed bump” on Highland Road.
Yasurek resides at 11 Narrow Lane, which connects with Highland Road near Spring Street. Her neighbor, Anne Jerman of 7099 Highland Road, joined her at the supervisors’ meeting.
Jerman also spoke at the meeting. She told the supervisors that the speeding on Highland Road is “totally out of control.” She said many refer to the road “a race track.”
“Many, many animals have been killed by those speeders,” Jerman said. “Something has to be done before it happens to a child.”
Yasurek said the “watch children” traffic sign in her front yard does little to slow down motorists on Highland Road. She claims the speeding heightens at the end of the school day at Kane Area High School when vehicles leave the rear entrance of the school parking lot and travel on Highland Road.
“The kids are just flying down the road,” Yasurek said. “People just don’t care.”
Jerman said she and her neighbors have called the State Police to ask for assistance in curbing the speeding problem on Highland Road. She claims the police “just won’t come.”
The supervisors advised Jerman to ask for the trooper’s name the next time she calls for State Police assistance.
“At least your call will be on file,” Supervisor Ron Conklin said.
A suggestion was made to create a four-way stop at the Highland Road intersection with Spring Street. But Conklin said the township first would need to pay for a costly engineering study.
Another suggestion was made to install speed bumps on Highland Road to slow traffic. Conklin said he doesn’t believe the township would be authorized to install them.
“If someone wrecks, we’d be liable,” he said.
The supervisors plan to send a letter to the State Police to complain about speeders on Highland Road as well as on Route 321 between Spring Street and the Elk County line north of Wilcox.
The supervisors are hoping the State Police will increase patrols on these roads to nab speeders and slow traffic.
In other business at the 74-minute meeting, the supervisors:
*Agreed to either purchase a new time clock for the township public works building or repair the existing one.
*Agreed to seek bids to sell a surplus snowplow.
*Found no objection to the proposed subdivision of property owned by Randall and Sherry Durante on Highland Road.
According to the McKean County Planning Commission, one lot with 25.60 acres and an existing house with sewage will be conveyed to Sherry Durante. A second lot with 25.60 acres will be conveyed to Randall Durante.
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Last Updated ( Thursday, 10 December 2009 )
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