getting gunned down versus getting run down

well... this is DC and DC stands for DODGE CITY

the chances of getting gunned down are there
but
the chances of me getting run down are greater

I am active with the city on trying to get things slowed down on my street
very active....
this Friday there will be a "walk through" with all sorts of people from different agencies to discuss the problem with traffic in this area
although I will not be in town to attend...
all involved know my perspective
I do not feel I need to be there for them to see that there is a problem

my frustration is the fear that me, someone in my family, or someone on my block is going to get run down
cars not only run the red light, speed, but they also refuse to yeild to pedestrian traffic

my aggravation was ampified this morning

of course crossing the street both ways was not safe
well, safe after I yeilded to the red light runners and moved briskly out of the way of speeders
I grew up in the age of the coin operated video game, FROGGER is part of my vocabulary
once into the woods there was new trash
a shattered boom box
dam kids
then when on my twenty minute loop there was all sorts of destruction to various erosion barriers that I had created
logs over the trails that slow the flow of water and catch the fertile soil
creating steps
terracing the land
and keeping greater erosion from occuring
the destruction seemed senseless
it was unexplanable to me
so...
my blood was not to a boiling level
but... after allowing the four cars that ran the red just moments after it turned red
I crossed
the fifth car.... well... their light had been red for some time
and their speed was excessive
for me to have to rush out of their way
well... they got the bird that was intended not just for them
but for all the cars that fail to stop at the light and slow for pedestrians

in the end
common sense and common courtesy are what I am really shooting for
but
since these people refuse to show such behaviors
the law needs to be stressed

I say remove the opportunity for the behavior
make it so they can not speed

speed bumps are an option
but the retracting spikes that give four flats to the speeding red light runner is still more attractive to me

thanks for reading
and
thanks for helping me evolve