Kris Musser wrote >Last summer I think it was, along 50th street (east of Xerxes) their was an >effort by residents to raise awareness of the speeding cars along 50th >street. It seems like for many weeks as I drove by I saw lawn signs, >people out with their children and neighbors holding signs, many police >cars pulling over speeders, bumper stickers on cars, etc. I think the >slogan on the signs was something like "Slow Down! We live here!". I am >not sure about the details, but it did raise my awareness!!! I wonder if >anyone on this list was involved in that effort and can let us know the >details?
(PL) The effort Kris referring to is the Neighbors for Safe Driving Campaign that was sponsored by the Lynnhurst and Fulton neighborhoods. It was a joint project funded through NRP. The genesis of the campaign was that while doing increased policing it was found that the majority of the people speeding along 50th street were residents of the neighborhood. The campaign involved getting people to "take a pledge" with regard to their driving habits. The first windows stickers actually said, "I took the pledge" (in addition to Please Slow Down, We Live Here). Both neighborhood organizations felt that this was a very successful effort. Radar tests on 50th street showed that speeds and/or the number of those exceeding the speed limit decreased - at least for awhile. (!?!) Partly this is about education and letting people know that these things really do matter and that people are paying attention. As Tracy Nordstrom pointed out, there are some drivers who are simply not of fit mind to be driving or they are totally ignorant of the fact that pedestrians do in fact have the right-of-way. All of this goes back to many conversations on this list about making the city more pedestrian friendly. The trend for many years has been to find more and more ways to accommodate cars. My real hope is that this is changing. If anyone wants more information about the campaign they can write to me off-list. Paul Lohman Lynnhurst Board member who took the pledge Paul Lohman [EMAIL PROTECTED] _______________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A Civil City Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Unsubscribe, Digest option, and more: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
