Not trying to be officious here, but if your approx. 10 y.o. son is riding around Mueller on a "Wave" Skateboard (two wheels, flexes in the middle), please encourage him to be more mindful of cars.
Twice now--about a week apart--he has ridden directly into oncoming traffic (me) without looking. Once was at the Lake Park when he was with some friends (a couple of whom also rode directly into traffic) and the other was on McCloskey when he was by himself. He's not doing anything wrong, per se, but he is being pretty reckless about the presence of cars. Once I had to hit my brakes hard; the second time I just had to hit them lightly.
It would be very unfortunate for both this boy and whoever hit him if an accident were to happen. Please consider having a talk with him about the dangers of cars--especially at Mueller where a lot of non-residents regularly exceed the speed limit.
That would be our son. We have spoken to him about watching out for cars. Apparently that didn't do any good. Maybe grounding him from said wave skateboard and having him go through a skateboard/ bike safety training will. Thanks for posting!
Good time to remind everyone driving through the neighborhood to be alert for children, especially when driving past parked cars. Just because you don't see a child doesn't mean one is not there - the child you don't see is the one you can easily hurt. No matter how many times kids are told to stop, look both ways, etc., it's almost inevitable that they will forget to do so from time to time.
I passed two boys this afternoon on Berkman. Where no cars were parked, they were over in the parking area, but then they got into the traffic lane to go around parked cars. In and out several times. I slowed down and spoke with them through the window, pointing out that they'd be safer out of the street. One boy said they were in the bike lane but when I pointed out there is no marked bike lane, he said 'oh'. I told them that some cars go fast on Berkman and it's really not safe. They said "okay" and as I drove off, I heard one say "oh man....."
Also, AFD was out today testing fire hydrants. Joe was watching while they opened the one at the corner of Antone & Mendez. Two boys (not sure if they're the same ones I saw) were heading East on Antone and they were in the Westbound travel lane (i.e. against traffic). A car was behind them and a firefighter told the boys to get out of the road.
I don't know if either boy is Karie & Marcus' son, but I do hope the parents of these boys see this and have a talk with them.
My previous post didn't come out exactly as I wanted so I deleted it. What I was trying to say is that if we slow down in neighborhoods, the risk of hitting a child is greatly reduced.
Now I am removing my response to the removed response above. It, too, did not come across as I wanted it to.
What I meant was, I will share the road with people who are safe, but not with those that aren't. MEANING, if I am driving and see kids being unsafe, I won't just let it go and "share the road", kids will be kids. I will probably stop and tell them in order to avoid a later accident.
As a mother your thought process is terrifying to me. We can teach our kids to be smart, safe, thoughtful and rule followers all day long but just by the nature of being a kid, they're bound to make moronic choices and display a serious lack in judgment from time to time.
Before you know it your child too will be scooting around our neighborhood independently and god help that little soul if someone has the same mentality as you.
MissElaine, I assume you too are a mama, with the sweet picture of your bundle of joy, but I too am bit disturbed by the comment as I like to think we are all in this parenting thing together. I understand being frustrated about people not following the rules of the road, but I think your statement might have come off a little harsh.
I thought everyone handled themselves so diplomatically on this thread, Murmur gave a really nice warning, the parents responded appropriately and responsibly, Betsy speaking to some boys in a kind, adult fashion, Doug with the friendly reminder that we, as adults, have a responsibility to share the road and to keep in mind this neighborhood is chalk full of small and teenage kids (whose, uh frontal lobe isn't so well developed :)).
The other day, I was taking two of my four kids out of the car on Antone and my three year old, unbeknownest to me, opened the door street side and began to climb out-right when a car, most likely going to speed limit, but certainly pretty fast, went whizzing by- it scared the crap out of me. Does my three year old know the rule about how to get out of the car? Yes. Does she always follow it? Apparently not. No one did anything thing wrong really, but I thought, wow, I wish cars on Antone would slow down a bit more. I can personally count over 30 kids under 12 living on Antone alone. It seems to me, we all have a responsibility to do our best to keep each other's kids safe, because, well, after all, they are just kids.
Please know I only mean this as a friendly reminder as I trust we are all doing our best to be the best parents and neighbors we can.
I wanted to reply to my own message before this would happen, but I got side tracked. I realized that what I wrote sounded totally selfish and uncaring and that was NOT my intent! I absolutely think we should all be extra careful with children on the road at all times! I was responding more to the previous comment which I read as a kids will be kids, deal with it response. My main point was that children need to be educated and not use the road if they are not going to be safe. It is very hard to stop a car, even at 15 miles an hour. My Grandfather killed a little girl in a small village back in england. She ran out into the street and even though he was not speeding he could not stop. He never forgave himself even though the parents of the girl did as it was not his fault. Yes, I realize that children will make mistakes, however, I was addressing the issue of kids, that presumably are old enough to know better, riding unsafe devices in the middle of the road or against traffic. I apologize for how my post came across.
* I just saw that the post I was responding to was taken down. Probably because it was unclear and would lead people with my "mentality" to respond as I did.
