To the editor:

This letter is addressed to people living on the east side of our community who find it convenient to speed down Birch Street, possibly trying to get to a class on campus or the reverse – trying to get to a job after class, or driving while on their cell phones, texting, etc.

My husband and I have witnessed four (near fatal) accidents that have occurred between Minnesota Street and Hill Street, on Birch. That is on one block!

Our neighborhood is a normal, residential area with many pedestrians out for walks, children crossing the street (there is a bus stop on the corner of Birch and Minnesota for schoolchildren), people on their daily exercise run, and in general, not a race track! It seems that excessive speed has become the norm and we are tired of it!

No one wants “speed bumps,” we are not allowed a stop sign at the end of our block because it “would hamper the flow of traffic.” What must we do? Stand by and wait until there is a fatality before corrective action is taken?

Do we need Public Safety patrols more often? How do we emphasize to speeders in our area that they need to slow down? At this rate, it is just a matter of time before we’ll see a tragedy.

Judy M. Hennen

Birch Street resident

Marshall