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Page 6, Whitby Free Press, Wednesday, August 18. 1993 The only Newspaper owned and operated by Whitby residents for Whitby residents! MEMBER 0F: ONTARIO CANADIAN COMMUNITY COMMUNITY NEWSPAPER A NEWSPAPER " ASSOCIATION CASSOCIATION Ew; 1 m CANADIAN -UN CIRCULATIONS CNA DIVISION AUDIT BOARD 25,500 COPIES DELIVERED WEEKLY Published every Wednesday by 677209 Ontario Inc. Box 206, 131 Brock St. N., Whitby, Ontario L1N 5S1 Phone: 668-6111 Toronto Line: 427-1834 Fax: 668-0594 Doug Anderson - Publisher Maurice Pifher - Editor Alexandra Martin - Production Mahager Printed on n.wsprint with minimum 200/ recycled content using vegetable based inks. Q All written material, illustrations and advertising contained herein is protected by copyright. Any reproduction by any means for commercial purposes without the express permission of the newspaper s prohibited and is a violation ocanadian copyri tlaw. Reproduction for non-commercial distribution should bear a credit S ne to the iitby Free Press. Educati-on cornes first To the Editor: Re: 'Make crosswalks notice-1 able' (The Fan Press, Aug. 4). Near misses and an unfortunate fatality in Oshawa in recent months have, for many people, particularly parents of young children, raised questions about the safety of our pedestrian crosswalks. Many suggestions, as a result of this' concern, have been made: consider the use of haiftsignals or full signals; make the flashing lights red instead of amber; 9rhaps the flashing ights should beî arg er in diameter; perhaps they should kboffset f rom the signs so they wouîd bu more hiable to bu not ced. If you stand on Anderson Strèet at Bradley Drive in Whitby, for example, and look . at the pedestrian crosswalk, you must ask yourself the question, how can you not notice this particular piece of hardware? Staff at the regional and provincial levels share the concerns expressed by residents regarding driver judgment and unsafe- behaviour by pedestrians. The~underlying problem in the use of pedestrian crosswalks is twofold: the lack of respect or attention paid by the motorist to the crosswalk and the lack of respect or improper use of the crosswalk by the pedestrian. The only way that we can make these crosswalks safer in the future is to ensure that both motorist and pedestrian are properly educatd as to the us e and the right-of-way associated with the crosswaik. Thanks for help To the Editor: On June 1 when walking home, I had a terrible faIl on the sidewalk on Brock Street North in front of The Free Press. Two wonderful people, a man and his wife who were standing across the street, came over to help me, and offered to take me to the doctor or hospital. AIl I could think of was to get home. The gentleman drove me home, but I did end up in hospital. I am ever so grateful to those two kind and thoughtful people for their help. I do not know their names, but hopefully they will see this in your paper. E. Minnis Whitby This is somewhat similar to the problem that Metro Toronto had in years past with its snow-clearing equipment. Do you remember the ads that were run on television almost constantly during the winter months? The new snow plow had the super blue light and gadgets attached to it to make sure everyone noticed it. The campaign was undertaken by the city in an effort to educate motorists that passing a snow plow should be done with care and that snow plows had to move slowly in order to do the job for which they were designed. Why did Metro have to launch this campaign? The answer is simple. The number of accidents involving snow plows and vehicles was increasing at an aarming rate. Athough snow plows and crosswalks don't have much in common, the issue of education is the same. Trying to redesign the crosswalk at this point wili confuse motorists more than they are already. The unifofmity of the pedestrian crosswalk across the province has been designed specifically to balance the need for the infrequent pedestrian on a busy arterial road without putting in full traffic signais. The solution is to saturate the public with an education program designed so that motorists will respect the use of these crosswalks and look out for children who are using them. Perhaps if we can achieve this education then we won't have to design ultra-large lights or special buzzers or additionaî hardware to make the design even more noticeable than it should be now. It has been noted in previous letters to the editor that "half signais" are being tested by the province as a pilot project in Hamilton. These are currently not provided for in Ontario's Highway Traffic Act, and the operative word here is "test." Before introducing yet another new device to further confuse motorists and pedestrians, it is important to ensure a high rate of compliance. Durham Region staff have brought this matter to the province's attention on numerous occasions through appropriate agencies, and will continue to apply pressure to organize a province-wide education cam- paign. Tony Prevedel Director of transportation Works department Reglon of Durham What if? By Ann Douglas Shortly after moving into our rented townhouse in Whitby, my husband and I were sitting down to eat supper when we heard a knock on our door. When I answered the door, a young man working around the complex told me that my daughter had just hurt herself and was crying at the end of my driveway. I thanked him for his concern, then went to tend to the weeping child. The little girl looked about age 3 and she.had fallen off her tricycle. I looked for bleeding and checked her teeth, gave her a hug and asked her name. I knew immediately that she couldn't be my daughter; I only have sons. After some sobbing, the little girl told me her name and I offered to take her home. I took her hand, which she willingly and helplessly held on to, and I proceeded to take her home. She took me to about three different houses before I1realized that she had no idea which house was hers. Suddenly I saw the complex through her three-year- old eyes. Millions of identical houses, identical yards and identical fences. Nevertheless, I found the girl's mother. Not only did I get the distinct impression that the girl's.mother was annoyed at my intrusion, but she was not at all upset that her daughter was both hurt and lost. I told the woman that I left the tricycle on my driveway and offered to drop it by later. "M...,w she hollered into the house, "go get your sister's bike." Out came M... to retrieve the bike. He was age 4. A few days later, I filled up my sons' Mr. Turtle pool and went back inside to wait for my sons to wake up from their naps. I didn't leave t e living room so that I could keep my eye on the pool through the window. It took less than f ive minutes for the same two children to find that pool of water. They were just about to jump in when I caught them. I explained to them that they could come back when I was ready to stay in the backyard. I explained that they should not, under any circumstances, use a pool unattended. M... explained to me that he could not possibly drown in this pool because "it didn't even have any sand in it." Never again have 1 filied up Mr. Turtle until I arni ready to stay outside. My yard is not private property. Soon after, my husband and I took our two-year-old sons to the park in the townhouse complex. The children playing in the park stopped playing immediately. As our children timidly tried out the slide. my husband and i stood about feeling like intruders. Finally M..., who was playing in the park, asked in a snide voice, "What are you doing here?" Quite frankly, I did not know what to say. None of the other parents were there. Many parents in our complex allow their children to play alone in the park and to travel all over the complex on their bikes. Many of these children are under age 3; some of these children are only age 2; most children are under age 5. The ark is bordered by a parking lot and a roadway that circles the complex. Some parents watch from their windows, while others come out of their houses to check on or gather up their children. None of these parents seem to worry. What would happen if a child feil off the climbing apparatus, sustaining a head injury, or broke an arm? What if clothing caught somewhere and a child hung? What if a child wanders onto the road in front of a speeding car? What if a stranger offers to take a little girl's hand and promises to take her home in the wrong direction? What if? What if? Yesterday I had a call from an old friend. She has a son the same age as my boys. She wanted me to visit her, but I told her that I would need child car seats. "Why?" she asked, "P... never uses his." I was flabbergasted. My sons.do not get into a car without their carseats. Why take a chance? Then I read an article in The Free Press (Aug. 11) about a sitter she barely knew. Why take the risk. Why? Why? Imagine for a moment your child's toys untouched, his/her bed unused, a deadening quiet throughout your home that will never again spark life, and a huge vat carelessly emptied and filling with regret. You risk. everything when you risk your ¢hild's safety. Is it really worth it? Opinions expressed are those of the author. To the Editor: Re: Complaints about compost stench (The Free Press, Aug. 4/93). I am intrigued that Mr. Ambrose of Ontario Disposai plans to move the Whitby compost to Brock Township. He has overîooked a few realities. The Brock Land Stewards are opposed to the rezoning of our councillor's prime 300-acre farm for this mega compost facility. Mr. Ambrose appears to have overiooked the 2,600 names on our petition. Mr. Ambrose is naisignoring the fact that the Ministry of Transportation has turned down his highway access. The Lake Simcoe Region Conservation Authority has rejected his proposai until further studies can be done. The Ministry of Natural Resources rejection has also been ignored. The Ministry of the Environment has not approved the facility, nor has the Ministry of Food and Agriculture. Ignoring reality 1 am pleased to see Mr. Ambrose is looking into an indoor facility. However, such a facility is considered industry and, therefore, must be located on a smaller industrially-zoned property, ideally in the area the waste is created. Primarily Mr. Ambrose overlooked the fact that Brock Township does not have a compost problem. AIl our leaves will be composted on a local tree farm. Ail our yard wastes are currently being chipped and are available to local residents. Brock residents help by using home composters and mulching our grass clippings. Our residents are not interested in importing this problem from Whitby. Mr. Ambrose overlooks the fact that, according to the official plan, municipalities are being asked to take care of their own composting. The residents of Brock and the Brock Land Stewards insist that through good planning on the part of our council. this land shaîl remain as a farm. Heather Robertson Cannington The Whitby Free Press welcomes letters to the editor on any subject of conem to our readers. Letters should be brief and to the point - rarely more than 300 words. All letters must be accompanied by the name, address and telephone number of the writer. However, on request, your name may be withheld from publication if we agree there is a valid reason. The newspaper reserves the right toareject or edit ail letters. Send to: The Editor, Whit1y Free Press, Box 206. Whitby, Ont. UN 5Sl. or drop through Our mail siot at 131 Brock St. N. 77