The Willow Glen Resident

Letters

Minnesota Avenue has its share of traffic problems

Traffic on east-west streets through Willow Glen has been a serious problem for residents for many years. Longtime residents can attest to numerous serious (and some not-so-serious) accidents. Between Hicks and Meridian avenues on Minnesota Avenue, five houses have been hit by cars. One house had a bedroom hit by a truck, causing considerable damage and just missing a sleeping resident by inches. In each case, front lawns, gardens and curbs were damaged or destroyed.

When some residents say "not in my backyard" and suggest routing trucks to other residential streets, such as Minnesota, that simply moves the problem; it does not alleviate it.

On Minnesota, we too have large 18-wheelers rumbling down the street--usually at more than the posted speed limit--causing homes and nerves to rattle. Twice a day a huge Lucky's truck drives by our homes. In addition, fire trucks from Station No. 6 are an everyday occurrence (out of necessity, of course).

Some huge trucks turning left onto Minnesota from Meridian can barely make the tight turn, particularly dangerous because a child-care center is located there. The difficult left turn onto Lincoln from Minnesota, which must be negotiated without an arrow, has resulted in accidents as well as frequent backups of cars in line to turn. In addition, like those of our neighbors on Willow, most of our driveways require that we back into the street to leave our homes, which is quite challenging.

We suggest that trucks be required to use San Carlos or Parkmoor in order to get to Lincoln, thereby passing light industry and retail areas rather than homes. They could also use Curtner Avenue, which is four lanes wide from Meridian to Lincoln.

We hope the concern of residents living on other east-west streets in Willow Glen--not just those on Willow--will be taken into consideration and that there will be adequate public notice of any meetings in which this matter impacting so many residents is discussed.

Louise Bonanno and Judy Benoit
Minnesota Avenue

Labels, not liberals, create divisions

It saddens my heart to hear people refer to our president as "evil." I heard a lady the other day say that President Clinton is no better than a child molester. When I hear such venomous hatred toward the president, it makes my skin chill.

Where is this hate coming from? I believe it's originating with the labels being placed on all Americans. The labels I'm referring to our "conservative" or "liberal." Our own Speaker of the House, Newt Gingrich, has stated that America's moral decline is a result of the liberal Democrats.

Appearing on a talk show, Jerry Falwell said he felt in his heart that President Clinton wouldn't finish out his second term. He also labels liberals as the enemy.

With such contempt coming from such prominent men, it's no wonder that some people feel justified in ridding our society of the "evil liberals." We've seen anti-abortion extremists kill others with bombs and bullets because they believe the end justifies the means.

Will President Clinton end up not finishing his second term, even if it means history repeating itself (remember JFK)? What if the downfall of America comes from putting labels on people as we did in our not-so-distant past (remember "whites/colored")?

Thomas Sutton
Westgate Avenue

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