Letter to the Editor

Semis still rolling on Berry Street upsets Greencastle reader

Friday, September 10, 2010

To the Editor:

Having lived on the west end of Berry Street, I know there are still semis well over the posted weight limit signs of 4 tons rolling from east to west, west to east on Berry Street.

Several years ago I came home to find my phone was line had snapped and recoiled into a tree in the front yard. Too high a rig had cut across Berry, caught the line and snapped it loose.

Also, a lot of metal scrapers cut down the street to weigh at the grain business and go to off load.

The population of preschool- and school aged children has increased west to east on this street. I've had neighbors tell me of children who were almost hit by speeding vehicles and trucks while they were riding bicycles or playing.

Those over 4-ton rigs are not helping the integrity of the below ground infrastructure, e.g. water, gas, sewage and whatever else is there.

Once upon a time there was no Veterans Memorial Highway, nice firm road IN 240. It's been there and the scrapers and the truckers ignore it.

Old habits are hard to break, as the saying goes.

The simple solution: No trucks on Berry Street except for the residents who drive a pickup truck, and of course, someone who is having a household delivery, and all other trucks that use South Jackson Street must use IN 240 for west to east travel and east to west, too. That would leave a shortcut off of IN 240 at Cemetery Road for the scrapers.

Even better would be having to make a turn at the intersection of U.S. 231 off of IN 240.

It's only common sense to protect the children on this street. The business at the east end of Berry Street and the local college campus have plenty of access streets for truck delivery off of U.S. 231.

It's only a matter of time before a child is injured and the residential street will need extensive, costly repairs.

Thomas Evans

Greencastle