To the Editor and drivers everywhere:
I am fortunate I have and do work I love. I was born in 1939. I started driving in 1956. It was different then and I suggest better.
“What?,” you think, “I can get from here to there way faster than she could so what isn’t better than that?” My reasoning is that we drove slowly enough that we could wave to and recognize the neighbor up the street. We appreciated that the neighbor in the next block’s daffodils were blooming and you saw him and waved in thanks for a bit of beauty. You noticed the kids clumped up waiting for the bus and oh, yes, noted you should take a different route than the one by the school. You saw the folks in the house three blocks away are getting ready to plant those box gardens and thought, “that’s cool.”
Neighborhood and business district driving, as well as City Center driving speeds are 15-20 mph. It is the safe, community-oriented lower speed limit that our community members, our school children and our statistics, need. Highways (I-5, 205, 26 etc.) are where it is legal to drive at higher speeds (unfortunately, it seems generally at whatever speed you can get away with). This is not neighborhood driving.
Slow down, appreciate your neighbors and your small business owners and, of course, if you can, walk, bike or bus. It is a wonderful opportunity to be even more knowledgeable about your surroundings and your community as you are getting to where you’re going. Yes, I recognize that some sites, set-ups and people are very difficult to look at; however, I have to also look at the bright side – and it is there!
Pop-ups, food carts and indoor service and products everywhere. Smiling people, servers, helpers, walkers and drivers who are driving consciously and are also looking out for others.
Happy travels, Nancy Chapin
Editor’s note: Letters to the Editor should be less than 300 words and The SE Examiner reserves the right to edit them for length or content.