No Pass – not over, nor under.
I agree with the first part of Joe Sawchuck’s recent letter, deriding the idea of an overpass at the new Duncan high school. It is a completely ridiculous idea.
Not only would it cost a fortune, cause further increases to taxes, and grind the already busy Highway 1 traffic to a halt for months while being built, but it would never be used by those it was intended for.
It is a 250 meter, casual 3-minute walk on level ground from the high school to the lights at Beverly St. To make the overpass accessible to all users, the ramp would be need to be a minimum of 150 meters. Do you really think someone who is too lazy to walk an easy 250 meters on level ground is going to put in the effort to walk uphill for over 150 meters, then have to walk uphill, again, for another 150 meters when they return?
The lazy people this overpass would be intended for would not use it, and would continue to jaywalk, directly under the overpass, to get to where they’re going.
The overpass would be a fun ride for skateboarders or cyclists, possibly causing some injuries to themselves, or other pedestrians, as they ride down the ramp.
An underpass, as Joe suggested, is an even worse idea. The underpass would instantly become a makeshift homeless shelter. It’s only common sense that a homeless person would seek refuge from the hot sun in the summer and the cold rain and snow the rest of the year in an underpass. Along with this would, unfortunately, be used needles and other drug paraphernalia, scattered throughout the underpass.
The underpass would not be used by the high school students.
The only solution that would work to prevent jaywalkers would be an eight-foot chain-link fence running along the highway from Beverly Street, curving up University Way to the roundabout. There would have to be no access, by foot or vehicle, to the high school, until the roundabout, to force a long walk around the fence for anyone wanting to go south and jaywalk from University Way across the highway.
A sidewalk or paved walking path could be built on the inside of the fence from the high school to Beverly Street. This would make the Beverly Street crossing the easiest, safest, quickest, and cheapest route – and most importantly, it would actually be used.
David Reid
Duncan
