Letters to the Editors

Causeway collision was not accident

Re: Driver killed in wreck on parkway, story, March 18.

Tragically, a young woman lost her life in a traffic collision on the Courtney Campbell Parkway this past weekend. Not an accident, a collision. There is nothing accidental about deliberately pulling into traffic.

Now some people are talking about the need for a traffic light in that area. What about the need for people to yield to oncoming traffic?

If you are making a left turn, you need to make sure you will be out of the way of oncoming traffic before it reaches you or there will be a collision. You also need to make sure that you will be up to speed in the lane you are merging into before traffic in that lane reaches you or there will be a collision. Not an accident, a collision.

If you take a right turn in front of someone, you need to make sure you can be up to speed before they reach you or there will be a collision. Not an accident, a collision.

If you are of the mindset that the other vehicle will slow down to accommodate you, I have one question for you. Did this young woman think the driver of the F-250 truck would slow down to accommodate her?
-- David J. Giese, St. Petersburg

No solution for traffic, so please close beach

Re: Driver killed in wreck on parkway, story, March 18.

Please close the beach on the Clearwater side of the Courtney Campbell Parkway. The traffic pattern cannot be remedied. There is no lifeguard or bathrooms on site. Motor vehicles are polluting the beach and Tampa Bay with motor oils, battery fluids and all other motor vehicle residues.
-- Lisa A. Lanza, Clearwater

How many must die before light installed?

Re: Driver killed in wreck on parkway, story, March 18.

It is horrible that the state does not feel the intersection meets the requirements for a light. I live off Tampa Road in Oldsmar. We have the same situation at the intersection of Shady Oaks and Tampa Road. We cannot get out of the subdivision. To make a left turn, you cross six lanes of traffic going at a minimum of 50 mph.

The village of Oldsmar was told that three people need to die before it meets the state requirements.
-- Sharon Sadorf, Oldsmar

Crosswalk needed at busy intersection

Pinellas County and Largo officials, plus their great staffs, working together as a team have done a great job trying to improve the safety on Eighth Avenue SW in Largo. It would now be nice if the Pinellas County School Board members and their staffs plus the Florida Department of Transportation would join the team and take a look at adding a crosswalk on the south side of Seminole Boulevard at Eighth Avenue SW to make that section of Eighth Avenue a safer area for kids and adults.
-- Gary Collins, Largo

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