The streets were slippery and the temperature low as I slowly made myself along Wildcat Boulevard the other day. I looked carefully before taking each step, as I did not want to fall and become a statistic. Eking my way along, I was thinking about an article I had recently read about the community in Minnesota where I had started teaching many years ago.
The citizens and businesses of the area were concerned about a dangerous intersection of a county road and state highway near their community. Because they were concerned, they raised the money and paid the state to erect a red flashing light at the intersection for safety sake. The flashing sign was of the latest design and solar powered.
The community people interviewed for the newspaper article told how they had seen close calls and near accidents too often at the junction, and they were determined to make it a safer place.
People also were a bit jumpy about dangerous intersections because a local school bus had been broadsided a couple years ago, killing several children and injuring many others. At the junction of the bus accident, a flashing sign had been erected, quite similar to the new one. The citizens thought they needed to correct yet another dangerous place, so they raised the money to do it.
One of the citizens who helped raise money had lost a daughter in the school bus accident. Perhaps, that fact led him on this crusade, so someone else would not suffer a loss like he had.
I was proud of these citizens. They proved that people can and will do things for the good of others and the community when needed.
To accomplish this deed, the Minnesota Department of Transportation(MnDOT) had to cooperate. First, MnDOT took a survey to determine if what the citizens thought was a dangerous intersection could be proved statistically. When they determined the citizens were correct, they were open to erect a sign for which the citizens paid.
When the money collected was counted, it was discovered there was extra cash on hand. That money was used to buy safety equipment for the local fire fighters and ambulance crews.
Thinking about how the wishes of that community were heard and acted upon, I felt badly about my own city. Many here don’t feel they are being heard and problems they see aren’t addressed. Instead, picky little codes and requirements are forced upon them while bigger things are neglected.
Take a walk, look around, use those signal lights, become an involved person when you need be, and see what you notice while passing along Wildcat Boulevard.
Russell Hively writes a weekly column for the Daily News.
