09/08/1958 Meeting - Laserfiche WebLink

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295 ~ e ~ ~_ __ ~.~ _____ ____ ~___ __ ___~____~__ __~ ___ ___~ ~___~__ _____,_. __ ____ ~____ ---.--0 ~8/~~~ u__~u-- -- - r ~ - - ~. ... ...... ... . .- .. I ( ONE EVEN I NO DUR i NO THE MDNTH OF AUGUST, AN EVEN I NO . WHEN THERE WERE MANV V 10LA- J l',.i TioNS, I AGAIN CALLE.D'THE PO~IC.E-DEPARTM~,NT TQ REQU~,ST THAT A PATROL CAR BE SENT :. I OUT. ON THIS OCCASION,I TALKED WIT~-O~E~Q~THE POLI~EMEN. H~ SAI~ THAT OF THE I I! FOUR PAT~OL CARS AVAILABLE FO,R'THIS SORT ~OF WORK, Tt:t,REE WERE INVOLVED IN OTHER ~ ~, j INVESTIGATION$, AND ,THAT A PATROL CAR WOULD BE SENT OUT AS SOON AS ONE COULD BE il. P FREE6: TALKI~G .FURTHER WITH THIS OFFICER, I LEARNED HOW LITTLE, REALLY, THE , !!.I POLICE DEPARTMENT CAN 00 TO CORRECT, THE CONDITI~N .THAT EXISTS IN THIS AREA. I ~.I ! KNOW HOW FEW MEN ARE ASSIGNED TO TRAffiC PROBLEMS, AND I KNOW WHAT AN IMMENSE ~ 11 AREA THEY HAVE TO COVER. I 'ASKED THE-OF'FICER 'IF IT WOULD HELP THE POLICE DE- :1 i! PARTMENT I F WE WOULD 'TAKE LICENSE NUMBERS or v I OLAT~.RS' CARS AND TURN THEM OVER :11 I: TO THE POLICE DEPARTMENT. HE SAID THAT IT WOULD BE OF NO AVAIL TO 00 SUCH A : ~ THING, FOR THEY COULD TAKE NO ACTION. ALL iN ALL~I GOT THE IMPRESSION THAT ~ I: NOT MUCH COULD BE DONE to APP,REHEND THE V!OLA,TORS. CONSEQUENTLY I EXPRESSED II ~ THE OPINION THAT PERHAPS WE SHOULD TAKETHIN~S INTO OUR OWN HANDS - THAT, PER- ~ f! HAPS, THROWING f"IVE POUND ROCKS TH,ROUGH THE-WINDSHIELDS OF THE SPEEDING CARS II 11 MIGHT BRING THE PROBLEM SUFFICIENTLY TO THE ATTENTION ,OF THE CITY COUNCIL THAT 11 e I: SOME ACTION MIGHT,RESULT.' THE OtFICER S~ID THAT OFFICIALLY HE COULDN'T ADVISE f! I; SUCH DRAST I C ACT ION, BUT PERSONALLy" HE ,THOUGHT IT MIGHT BE A GOOD IDEA. ~ KNOW- ri , ING THAT I HAD CALLED MANY TIMES TO ~EPoRT TRAFFIC VIDLATIONS .TO THE POLICE ~ ,i DEPARTMENT, I TOLD TH I 5 OFF I CER THAT PERHAPS BY NOW I WAS BECOM I NG KNOWN TO THE '.~'I I . Ii DEPARTMENT AS THE BIGGEST CRANK IN EUGENE. VERY QU1CKLY HE 'SET ME AT EASE ON n ii TH I S PO I NT BY I NFORM I NG ME THAT THE POll CE DEPARTMENT WAS AWARE OF THE HIGH I N- iI' , ~ I! ~ CIDENCE .OF VIOLATIONS IN THE ARE~, AND THAT THEY WERE VERY CONCERNED ABOUT THE ~ I I.".' MATTER. HE WENT SO FAR AS TO STATE' THAT THE POL.I CE DEPARTMENT CONS I DERED TH I S :l 1 AREA AS ONE OF THE WORST FOR V I OLA T IONS I N THE C I TV . II /; LAST EVENING, SEPTEMBER 6, 'AT ABOUT:'7: 15 PM, THE SPEEDING AND RECKLESS DRIVING !I I' STARTED AGAIN. fEELING IT USELESS TO CAL~ THE POLICE DEPARTMENT, I WENT OUT ;1 ~ INTO THE STREET IN FRONT OF MY HOME AND STOOD iHERE OBSERVING +HE TRAFFIC. ~ i WHEN CARS WOULD GO BY AT PART I CULARL '1'- HIGH RATES OF' SPEED, I WOULD SHOUT AT THE \1 I DRIVERS TOSDOW DOWN. AFTER ABOUT AN HOUR, ONE OF MY NEIGHBORS JOJNED ME AND ~ I., RELATED THE FOLLOWING INCIDENT. HE TOLD ME THAT ON SUNDAY, ABOUT A WEEK AGO, I:'j' i~ HE AND HIS NEIGHBOR, A MAN WHO I WOULD JUDGE TO BE IN HIS 70'S, WERE WALKING ,.. Ii ON WEST 29TH AVENUE HEADED FOR THE STORE AT 29TH AVENUE AND WI LLAMETTE STREET.' il 1: BECAUSE THERE WAS NO SIDEWALK WHERE THEY WERE, IT WAS NECESSARY FOR THEM TO :! ~ WALK IN THE STREET. As THEY WERE WALKING, A HOT-ROO C~R WITH ABOUT 6 TEEN-AGE. ~ 1;....:.. PASSENGER. S I N:i1 T CAME SPEED I NG DOWN THE STREET, AND, AS MY NE I GHBOR' RELATES IT, iI' ~ CAME VERY NEAR STRIKING HIM. HE YELLED AT THE DRIVER OF THE CAR TO" BE CAREFUL~ f I.i THEREUp6N, HE REPORTS, THE CAR WENT DOWN THt STREET ABOUT A BLOCK, TURNED AROUND, [I ~ AND RETURNED TO WHERE THE MEN WERE. THEREUPON THE OCCUPANTS OF THE CAR ASKED ! ~ MY NEIGHBOR AND HIS COMPANION IF THEY, WERE LOOKING FOR A FIGHT. MY NEIGHBOR ~. ~ SAID THAT HE FEARED FOR HIS OWN SAFETY AND FOR THE SAFETY OF HIS ELDERLY COM- [I ~ PAN 10N- AT THE HANDS OF THESE BOYS. G ,.: :I Ii STILL. LATER THIS SAME EVENJNG, SEPTEM~ER 6, I FLAGGED DOWN THREE CARS .WHICH I!,II j WERE, IN MY ESTIMATION SPEEDING. I ASKED THE DRIVERS IN-EACH CASE IF THEY 1 :I KNEW WHAT THE SPEED LIMIT WAS 'iN A RESIDENtiAL DISTRICT, WHETHER OR NOT THEY I I I; CONS I .DERED THE AREA THROUGH WH I CH. THEY WERE OR I V I NG TO BE A RES I DENT! AL 0 I S- 1.1' I: TR I CT, AND WHAT RATE OF SPEED THEY WERE TRAVEL.! NG WHEN I FLAGGED THEM DOWN. ,: I: THE f"IRST, A YOUNG BOY, PERHAPS 14 YEARS OF .AGE, SAID HE KNEW IT WAS A RESI- Iii i: DENTIAL AREA, THOUGHT THAT THE SPEED LIMIT WAS 25i':ltILES PER' HOUR, KNEW HE I.l! ~ WAS TRAVELING 35 MILES PER HOUR. HE COULD THINK OF NO REASON WHY HE SHOULD ~ Ii BE GOING FASTER THAN THE SPEED LIMIT. HE THANKED ME fOR STOPPING HIM, AND !, I. ' :...:. SAID THAT HE WOULD DRIVE MORE CAREFULLY IN THE FUTURE. 'WHETHER OR NOT' HE WAS ill I! SINCERE I HAVE NO WAY OF KNOWING. THE SECOND CAR WA-S AN OLD' MODEL CAR WITH t e ii' TWO YOUNG BOYS I NIT. THEY SA 10 THA'T THE Y KNEW THEY WERE OR I V I NG THROUGH A :! I, RESIDENTIAL AREA AND SAID THAT THEY THOUGHT THE, SPEED LIMIT IN A RESIDENTIAL :1 , I. I!I AREA WAS 30 MILES PER HOUR. THEY HAD NO IDEA HOW FAST THEY WERE GOING, BUT ~I P SAID THEY WERE IN A HURRY TO CATCH UP WITH SOME FRIENDS AHEAD OF THEM IN ~ Ii ANOTHER CAR. THE TH I RD CAR WAS OR I VEN BY A MAN, PROBABL'Y I NHH IS 30' S. HE ;.! It; SA I 0 THAT HE THOUGHT' THE SPEED L1,M IT, I N A RES I DENT I AL AREA WAS '25 MILES PER rl i HOUR AND RECOGN I ZED THE AREA THRQUGH WH I CH HE WAS OR I V I NG AS A RES I DEN T I AL ;,1 I! AREA. HE SAID THAT HE. WAS DRIVING AT 25 MILES 'PER HOUR; I TOLD HrM THAT I' Ii! i ESTIMATED HIS SPEED AT NEARER 40 MILES PER HOUR. HE QUESTIONED MY JUDGMENT, ~ I: WHICH CERTAINLY HE H~D A RIGHT TO 00, BUT THERE WAS NO QUESTION IN MY MIND. :1: t NOR IN THE MIND OF ANOTHER NEIGHBOR WHO HAD COME OUT TO TALK WITH ME, THAT' ~ l' HE WAS GO I NG MUCH FASTER THAN 25 MILES PER HOUR. '..1 1" I Ii TONlliGHT, SEPTEM,BER 7, AT ABOUT 7:15 PM,. THE SPEEDI~G AND THE SQUIRRELING BE- !i I! GAN AGAIN IN EARNEST. THINKING I WOUL~ MAKE ONE -LAST ~FFORT TO ENLIST THE ~ ,i FAC I LIT I ES OF THE POL I CE DEPARTMENT, I CALLED THE POL I CE DEPARTMENT AND RE-' If I II QUESTED THAT A PATROL CAR BE SENT OUT. IN FIVE OR TEN MINUTES A POL I CE CAR ~! ~ ARRIVED. To THIS OFFI~ER, rE~PRESSED VERY CLEARlY THAT NOT ON~Y MYSELf, BUT J ~ OTHER PEOPLE IN THENEIGHBO~HOOD WERE ~GETTING OUT OF PATIENCE WITH THE TRAFFIC ~ 11.., VIOLATIONS. IN THE COURSE OF OUR CONVERSATION, I ASKED THIS OFFrCER WHY WE !I , DID NOT SEE THE RADAR UNIT ON WEST 29TH AVENUE MORE FREQUENTLY; HERE A : II CURIOUS AND~ REVEALING, THING OCCURRED. THE OFFICER SPOKE TO ME, SAYING THAT \ ~ WHAT HE WAS ABOUT TO SAY 'SHOULD GQ NO FURTHER, :(AND HE-RE I AM SORRY THAT I ; ] CANNOT RESPECT TH~ CONFIDENCE ~HltH HE REQUESTED FOR HIS~EMARKS) BUT THAT ! ; l\' e I - ii I': i\ ;, ~I\ ~ ~