Redwood Heights Neighborhood News

by Denise Davila

CORE I Training RHNA and Redwood Heights School will cohost a CORE I training class on Thursday, February 9, from 7 to 9 p.m., in the RHS auditorium, 4401 39th Ave. Learn how to reduce hazards in your home, create an evacuation plan, prepare emergency kits, and respond to earthquakes, fires, toxic accidents, and severe weather. Please contact us by February 6 to reserve your space. E-mail Redwood_Heights\@yahoo.com, or phone Mary at 482-6428. Too Many Car Crashes As you probably know, a crash killed a 70-year-old woman entering Redwood Rd. from the Lincoln Square parking lot. A few years before, a young father was killed on Redwood Rd. near the Hwy 13 entrance. You may recall the wreaths that were hung on the overpass in his memory. With unabated development uphill, more vehicles are using Redwood Rd./35th Ave. than ever before. With more vehicles, our roadway has seen more frequent and serious car crashes than ever before. In 2005 there were at least six ugly collisions on the roadway, which were underscored by the installment of the third Redwood Heights sign to replace those that had been plowed down. Among the collisions, one destroyed the front of the home at the corner of 35th and Wisconsin Street. Another damaged the stone "Avenue Terrace" landmark-obelisk. Yet another took out the entire lamppost in the center divide strip at Victor Ave. As of this writing, the lamppost has yet to be replaced. Each of the three other collisions smashed cars, injured drivers, and snarled traffic. Aside from the collisions, daily commute hours are equally unsafe for residents trying to traverse Redwood/35th Monday through Friday. Lines of cars form on streets like Wisconsin as drivers attempt to enter the rapid flow of traffic. Like drivers, pedestrians, too, take their lives into their hands just to cross the roadway. It's a gamble to predict how fast a car will come up or down the hill. In fairness, the city has responded over the years. Police officers with radar guns come out to cite speeders with tickets by day, and the mini-island and flashing lights near Jordan Road were installed some time ago to deter drivers from crashing into homes on 35th at Victor. Frankly, however, Redwood/35th needs additional traffic modifications to accommodate the housing development boom of the last 20 years. The good news is that this is an election year and a fine time to ask city officials for action in installing new traffic devices to protect public safety in our community.