September 25, 2002
Kumar Neppalli, E.I.T
Traffic Engineer
Town of Chapel Hill
306 N. Columbia Street
Chapel Hill, NC 27514-2124
Dear Mr. Neppalli:
I am writing to request that the Town of Chapel Hill install, if only on a temporary basis, a mobile traffic speed reader/display unit. You are welcome to place it in my yard (adjacent to the speed limit sign) for the duration of its tenure. I have written a Town official previously about the pace of traffic on Sedgefield Drive (see enclosed letter) with no apparent response. I hope you will take action in this regard.
In my letter to Captain Oakley, I cited my childrens’ need for extreme caution upon exiting our driveway. My daughter, now sixteen, is driving and is quite alert to the peril of speeding cars, trucks, and school buses (yes, school buses) that zoom by our home every day. Several new families with smaller children have moved into the neighborhood since my earlier correspondence. I am compelled to write because I saw a sport utility vehicle pass a car in front of my home recently, narrowly missing two kids on bicycles and a couple of joggers. The speed limit in front of my home is twenty miles and hour. I estimate the SUV was achieving 250% of that limit. Obviously, it is a no passing zone. I have seen cars and trucks zoom by former Mayor Rosemary Waldorf as she walks her black Labrador retriever on Sedgefield Drive. Many others that run, walk or bike on Sedgefield Drive can verify my assertion.
I have concluded that there is no other option, but to be persistent in having some form of speed control added to the driving experience on Sedgefield Drive. It is not lost on me that Weaver Dairy Road has become a heated focal point about traffic patterns and use in our community. I think a civilized exchange of ideas is healthy. However, my observation is that many drivers using my street seem intent on reducing their lap times before turning onto Weaver Dairy Road. The racing analogy is intentional. I attended a professional racing school at Virginia International Raceway earlier this year. I came to learn that the combination of elevation changes with a lateral arc in the road is a “blind sweeper” in racing vernacular. A blind sweeper is a place where extra caution is advised, even for racers. You are welcome to come see one in front of my house.
Absent some form of speed control on Sedgefield Drive, I have no doubt that harm will come to the local residents young and old, their visitors or those just passing through at some point in time. This street is an accident waiting to happen. Will you help remedy this situation?
I appreciate the opportunity to alert you to this traffic and public safety hazard.
Sincerely,
Richard LaScala
2432 Sedgefield Drive
Chapel Hill, NC 27514-6813
919.942.9286