stop signi reeommended for Waller St. By Mark Reesor Town operations committee is recommending posting a multi- way stop sign and stationig a crossing guard in the ares where a 9-year-old Whitby girl was kil- led last month. Martha Boale, a atudent at St. Mark the Evangeiat Catholic School, was struckr and killed by ~a pi:kun rckwhile crossing Drive on her way homo from school Nov. 16. Police say they've mot with the crown attorney and will announce today (Wednesday) whether they'll be charging the driver. Adolegation of area residents rqetdcommittee instaîl stop sige at tho intersection of Wal- ler Street and Fieldnest Gros- cent, Rolling Acres Drive and tho east side of Headlands Crescent and Rolling Acres and Daines Street or Wigeton Crescent. They also asked for other dovices to slow traffic in the area. Works staff advised committe. in a report that traffic flow at the intersections do.. net warrant the installation of stop signs and that installing them would bo gainst Town policy and guide- linos. "T'ho single most important factor te be considered is for the preservation of human iffe » Wal- 1er Street resident Ron lM4car- lane argued. 'The unfortunate fact is that there is no mothod of eliminating trafic accidents. We can only attempt te croate a condition in which thet're-lese likely te occur. We maintain that steop signs at the propoed sighta wil. assist in achieving that objective... "To aIlow ourselves te lose sight of this fact and place a higher priority on compliance with guidelines rather than on the safety of our children would be a gross and inexcusable dore- liction of our moral obligation and civic duty.» After the Nov. 16 accident, Waller Street resident Ken Kan-' hai told The Free Prose that he had previously complained to the Town and Durham Regional Police about speeding on the street, but that only the lice had responded and agrdthat speeding was a problem. East ward councillor Dennis Fox, who represents the ares. ay the accident has realIý shaken the neighbourhood anc that stop signa and a crossini guard would go a long Wa) towards making the area safer. Regional C ounicillor JOe Drumm expressed doubt that thE stop signa would do -any good, based on experience in otheî neighbourhoods, but voted tc sugPort them anyway. It'ls people in the noighbour' hood that cause the problem ... b) putting a sigo there, it may helj SM PAGE 20 "Mi RON FAWCE1T revives the Buck-N-Snort, a 1922 Model T Ford that has been a clown car since 1934, while wife Huguette takes the wheel during the Whitby Santa Claus parade on a rainy Saturday. Ron's father, Harold 'Scoop' Fawcett, began the clown car tradition. Photo by Jeremny Drssar, Whihby Fre Press Revised sign bylaw ready in February By Mike Kowalski A revieed version of Whitby's propoed temporary sign bylaw willbe unveiled early next year. Town council's planning and development committee was in- formed Monday that a public meeting will be held in February te receivo commenta about chanos to the orin proposal. AUthouh portale or mobile signe w21 still be prohibited wthin the downtewn areas of Whitby and. Brooklin, modifica- tionsh ave been made te the propoaed bylaw which came before council earlier thia year. Following a public meeting last June, couil had been pro- pared te adopt a bylaw recom- mended by planning departmnent staff and oemittee. But the bylaw was temporarily shelved after the municipality learned that measures contained in the bylaw could be in violation of Canada's Charter or Rights. Sign manufacturera had objec- ted te provisions which banried mobile signe and signe on utility p oles ITe bylaw was reviewed by staff and the Town's soliciter with respect te the Charter of Rights' argument and a recent Supreme Court decision which struck down the City of Peter- borough's sign bylaw. poe Esetily, the propoe bylaw - with aome exceptions -ýwould ban all portabe signa from public and private property auch as fIashing or trailer signa, mobile siga, A-framea or sand- wich boards, and banner signa. Anyone convicted of an offence under the bylaw would be subject te a fine of up te $5,000. Councillor Joe Drumm, who has long demanded that soe- thing be done about the number of temporary signs in Whitby, appeared to, be eoftening hie opposition to the signe on Mon- Daum told committee that sema store owners cdaim the signa are responsibl or U25 per cent" of their business. In light of current economic conditions, Drumm sug&ested that the business community be contacted for their thoughta on the issue. However, councillor Dennis Fox, another vocal foe of mobile signa, doubted that many mar- chans feel that way. "I think their business would increase 50 per cent if the1 get them (signa) off the street, ý said Fox. Whitby doee net currently have a separate bylaw governing temporary signe. A section of the Town's permanent aigu bylaw now addresses the eubject. Temporary aigns net eubject te the proposed bylaw include: * public information signa bearing ne commercial advertie- ieecin signa on private pro- perty that do not exceed 54 square foot; signa promoting the coin- SER PAGE 20 mmommum