Letters to the Editors

Parkway drivers are dangerous; traffic light needed

Re: Causeway collision was not accident, letter, March 21.

Letter writer David J. Giese suggests that "there is nothing accidental about deliberately pulling into traffic" in Laura Lamby's tragic death March 17 on the Courtney Campbell Parkway. At face value, his comment is correct; but I would like to suggest a different set of circumstances that led to this accident.

Although I respect Mr. Giese's views and I know he meant no disrespect to Laura personally, our daughter was Laura's friend and classmate at Palm Harbor University High School during the past four years; therefore, we feel we are in a better position to talk about her and to suggest the following.

I often drive the causeway to Tampa and must pass through the Bayshore Boulevard traffic light. More often than not, impatient or reckless drivers will take advantage of an open right-hand lane near the sewer plant to pass the cars at the light at high rates of speed in order to pull ahead of the other cars before the right lane merges. Then they travel at high speeds across the parkway.

What I am suggesting is that Laura, who we know personally as a safe and cautious driver, checked the cars at the Bayshore traffic light before moving onto the roadway. To counter Mr. Giese's suggestion that Laura pulled out in front of the F-250 in order to force the driver to yield, I suggest that she never saw his truck approaching.

Seeing the traffic to the west either just beginning to move off the light or still at a red light, she then turned her attention to the westbound traffic and any people attempting to pull onto the beach from the opposite direction. Drivers moving east at extremely high speed through this traffic light and performing the maneuver outlined would not be seen by Laura or any other driver attempting to cautiously move onto the road. They would close the distance from the Bayshore traffic light to the beach entrance in mere seconds, not enough time for a driver to respond if she were distracted by the other traffic.

What must be remedied so my daughter's friend did not die in vain is threefold. One, the police must do more to cite reckless driving on the parkway and especially on this stretch of Gulf-to-Bay Boulevard.

Second, the court systems must take a firm stand on road rage and reckless or careless drivers. This class of driving needs to carry much more severe penalties, including jail time and forfeiture of vehicles in the extreme, if it is to be curbed.

Last, a traffic light is needed to protect the beachgoers. Although there are many who favor abolishing the beach entirely, I suggest that is not an acceptable alternative in a free society. I would suggest that a traffic light be installed at the intersection east of the present beach entrance to serve both Clearwater Christian College and the new beach entrance. The students leaving the college are in danger from fast-moving westbound traffic as well, so such a solution serves both needs.

This young lady was a gift to the world, holding a lot of promise for the future. The world has lost perhaps the next great healer, researcher, teacher, leader or humanitarian. I know our family has lost a good friend. She will be missed.
-- John M. Hamilton and family, Clearwater

Road does not need a fifth traffic signal

All right, already! Drop the pretenses! Yes, it is sad that another life has been lost on area roads and even more so that it was such a young person. The fatal crash March 17 involving the 19-year-old Palm Harbor girl at the entrance to the Courtney Campbell causeway beach should not have happened, but quit trying to move your agenda on her memory.

One group says, "Just close the beach down; it causes environmental damage." Yet others say, "See, see there, it proves we need a traffic light to make everybody slow down and be safe." In fact, they just want to further slow the traffic on that section of Gulf-to-Bay Boulevard.

A fifth traffic signal in the 3-mile stretch is just not needed. Thinking practically, a simple barrier to prevent turns across opposing traffic will do just fine. There is a turnaround with a signal 1.6 miles east of the beach entrance.
-- Dennis G. Roper, Clearwater

Communities have right to bar billboards

Re: Federal billboard lawsuit looms over city, story, April 1.

There is a difference between freedom of speech and the promotion of one's business interests. A city or community has the legal right to determine its own standards for what it considers offensive or not aesthetic, visually or verbally.

Granite State Outdoor Advertising Inc.'s practice of filing federal lawsuits for permits to put up billboards can be likened to the actions of a greedy bully. The courts should wise up and view these power-play tactics as frivolous and infringing upon the rights of citizens of a community to determine their own community standards.
-- Elizabeth and John France, Clearwater

Opening hotel to public just another ploy

So Scientology is opening up Clearwater's Fort Harrison Hotel to the public so we can eat their food and look at the Hubbard exhibit. Who cares about looking at a bunch of pictures of Loony Ronny, the mediocre science fiction writer who thought up the cult so he could get rich? It worked!

Don't you think it is sacrilegious that they start the open house on Easter Sunday? The cult never misses an opportunity to try to convince the public that they, too, are a church. Hopefully, the public is intelligent enough to see that this is just another ploy by the cult to gain legitimacy that they don't deserve.
-- David Rodman, Dunedin

Largo would save by joining with sheriff

Re: Chief: Police need computers, story, March 26.

I could not help but notice that all of the city commissioners in the story left out a solution to the problem of computers in police cars. This solution would put computers on the streets of Largo and not require raising taxes. In fact, they could probably lower them.

Consolidate law enforcement by contracting with the Pinellas County sheriff. The sheriff has computers in deputies' cars and offers many other benefits for the citizens and the officers who would become deputy sheriffs.

The lack of flexibility shown by local leaders who insist on having their own private "army" is short-sighted and insulting to those of us who stay within our budgets at home and expect the same of our government.
-- Benjamin West, Largo

Thank you, Belleair Bluffs voters

I would like to take this opportunity to thank the residents of Belleair Bluffs for coming out in record numbers during this past commission election, when 33.57 percent of registered voters made it to the polls. That was the second highest turnout in Pinellas County, and the largest for a commission election in Belleair Bluffs in recent history.

When I decided to run for office, it was because I wanted to make our city a better place to live and get the citizens more involved in the community. The first step in that process was the voter turnout, and I hope you will continue to stay involved by attending our monthly commission meetings. The second Monday of every month there is a workshop meeting at City Hall at 6 p.m., and the third Monday is when the formal commission meeting is held at 7 p.m. If you have any concerns, there is a specific time during each meeting when you can stand up and be heard.

It is not the leaders of our city or even our country that make us great, it is the citizens themselves that make us what we are. Again, I would like to thank everybody that helped me during this election by putting one of my campaign signs in their yard, donating to my campaign fund, giving me encouragement and getting to the polls and voting. Not only am I one of your new commissioners, I was honored to be selected vice mayor by the commission after being sworn into office.

I am really looking forward to the next two years of working with Mayor Arbutine, my fellow commissioners and you the citizens to make our city the best it can be.
-- David M. Shimkus, Belleair Bluffs

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