On Sept. 27, residents, politicians and officials from the Delaware Department of Transportation held a meeting on Rose Hill Drive, the main road through the Rose Hill Community in Bear, as part of DelDOT’s anti-speeding campaign.
“The neighborhood has been very concerned about the speeding for years,” said Ron Julien, president of the Rose Hill maintenance corporation.
The Rose Hill community is located off Del. 896. Children in the community attend Olive B. Loss Elementary School. A big problem area for speeding in the community has been Rose Hill Drive, which is the thruway for the community and connects to Del. 896 from Lexington and Denny roads.
“This road has been a longtime problem,” said Rep. Richard Cathcart (R–9th district).
Rep. Bethany Hall-Long (D–8th district) said she has also found Rose Hill Drive to be dangerous when she campaigned in the area.
“I think I almost got struck myself a couple of times,” she said.
To help stave off the speeding, DelDOT brought its Neighborhood Safety Campaign to ensure residents drive at 25 mph in residential areas to Rose Hill. The campaign features pictures of children running, biking and chasing a ball into the streets with the caption, “At 25 she/he’s hurt. At 35 she/he’s dead.”
DelDOT stated in a release “a pedestrian hit at 20 mph has a 5 percent chance of dying, a pedestrian hit at 30 mph has a 45 percent chance of dying, and at 40 mph the chances of death are 85 percent.”
Rose Hill resident Kevin Eichinger, deputy fire chief for the Aetna Hose, Hook & Ladder Company in Newark, said it was great to see the campaign in the community.
“It puts a personal spin on driving safety,” Eichinger said.
He said as a deputy fire chief and an emergency medical services worker he’s seen the degree of injuries pedestrians sustain from collisions. They can hinge upon the speed of the driver, but also the age of the pedestrian.
Eichinger said children are more likely to sustain head and torso injuries from a motor vehicle collision, whereas adults sustain lower body and leg injuries.
“Adults usually get up and walk away,” he said. “Kids don’t.”
He said even cars driving at very low speeds can cause damage to children, such as an instance he responded to where a child was hit at 5 mph.
“The collision still broke the kid’s leg,” Eichinger said.
Two 8-year-olds who live in the community, Sara Smiley and Shane Higgins, read speeches against speeding at the event.
“Last year, I almost got hit by a speeding car at my bus stop,” Smiley said. “That was very scary. During the day, kids can’t even play on the sidewalks because the cars go by so fast.”
Higgins said he couldn’t ride his bike near Rose Hill Drive because of the speeders.
“The island is dong nothing, people just run over it,” he said.
Cathcart called upon DelDOT to put more traffic calming devices in areas of high speed, and said in the past, some traffic calming devices, like the stoplight near Cedar Lane Elementary and a guardrail off the exit from the William V. Roth Jr. Bridge on Del. 1, were initially rejected because they did not meet DelDOT standards.
“Let’s just take another look at these standards and see if it makes common sense,” Cathcart said.
New Castle County Councilmember Bill Powers (D–6th district) said the New Castle County Police Department is responsible for monitoring problems in subdivisions. However, the police can’t enforce without the help of signs. Thus, the branches of government must be willing to cooperate with each other.
“It all ties together,” he said.
Delaware Secretary of Transportation Carolann Wicks said DelDOT is up for the challenge of working to prevent speeding, but motorists need to do their part.
“We cannot put up enough stop signs to make the world a safe place,” Wicks said.
Julien said he hopes to see more police coverage in the area, but said residents and motorists will need to make the choice not to speed.
“It comes down to the individual choice to slow down,” he said.
Cathcart requests those who have concerns about speeding contact him at (302) 577-8723. Powers said to report speeding in subdivisions, call the New Castle County Police’s non-emergency line at (302) 573-2800.
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On Sept. 27, residents, politicians and officials from the Delaware Department of Transportation held a meeting on Rose Hill Drive, the main road through the Rose Hill Community in Bear, as part of DelDOT’s anti-speeding campaign.
“The neighborhood has been very concerned about the speeding for years,” said Ron Julien, president of the Rose Hill maintenance corporation.
The Rose Hill community is located off Del. 896. Children in the community attend Olive B. Loss Elementary School. A big problem area for speeding in the community has been Rose Hill Drive, which is the thruway for the community and connects to Del. 896 from Lexington and Denny roads.
“This road has been a longtime problem,” said Rep. Richard Cathcart (R–9th district).
Rep. Bethany Hall-Long (D–8th district) said she has also found Rose Hill Drive to be dangerous when she campaigned in the area.
“I think I almost got struck myself a couple of times,” she said.
To help stave off the speeding, DelDOT brought its Neighborhood Safety Campaign to ensure residents drive at 25 mph in residential areas to Rose Hill. The campaign features pictures of children running, biking and chasing a ball into the streets with the caption, “At 25 she/he’s hurt. At 35 she/he’s dead.”
DelDOT stated in a release “a pedestrian hit at 20 mph has a 5 percent chance of dying, a pedestrian hit at 30 mph has a 45 percent chance of dying, and at 40 mph the chances of death are 85 percent.”
Rose Hill resident Kevin Eichinger, deputy fire chief for the Aetna Hose, Hook & Ladder Company in Newark, said it was great to see the campaign in the community.
“It puts a personal spin on driving safety,” Eichinger said.
He said as a deputy fire chief and an emergency medical services worker he’s seen the degree of injuries pedestrians sustain from collisions. They can hinge upon the speed of the driver, but also the age of the pedestrian.
Eichinger said children are more likely to sustain head and torso injuries from a motor vehicle collision, whereas adults sustain lower body and leg injuries.
“Adults usually get up and walk away,” he said. “Kids don’t.”
He said even cars driving at very low speeds can cause damage to children, such as an instance he responded to where a child was hit at 5 mph.
“The collision still broke the kid’s leg,” Eichinger said.
Two 8-year-olds who live in the community, Sara Smiley and Shane Higgins, read speeches against speeding at the event.
“Last year, I almost got hit by a speeding car at my bus stop,” Smiley said. “That was very scary. During the day, kids can’t even play on the sidewalks because the cars go by so fast.”
Higgins said he couldn’t ride his bike near Rose Hill Drive because of the speeders.
“The island is dong nothing, people just run over it,” he said.
Cathcart called upon DelDOT to put more traffic calming devices in areas of high speed, and said in the past, some traffic calming devices, like the stoplight near Cedar Lane Elementary and a guardrail off the exit from the William V. Roth Jr. Bridge on Del. 1, were initially rejected because they did not meet DelDOT standards.
“Let’s just take another look at these standards and see if it makes common sense,” Cathcart said.
New Castle County Councilmember Bill Powers (D–6th district) said the New Castle County Police Department is responsible for monitoring problems in subdivisions. However, the police can’t enforce without the help of signs. Thus, the branches of government must be willing to cooperate with each other.
“It all ties together,” he said.
Delaware Secretary of Transportation Carolann Wicks said DelDOT is up for the challenge of working to prevent speeding, but motorists need to do their part.
“We cannot put up enough stop signs to make the world a safe place,” Wicks said.
Julien said he hopes to see more police coverage in the area, but said residents and motorists will need to make the choice not to speed.
“It comes down to the individual choice to slow down,” he said.
Cathcart requests those who have concerns about speeding contact him at (302) 577-8723. Powers said to report speeding in subdivisions, call the New Castle County Police’s non-emergency line at (302) 573-2800.
