Slow down in hospital zone

Published Sept. 17, 2019

To the Editor,

At some time around 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 10, a driver on Gelert Road, (County Road 1), struck a deer and left the scene. That poor animal landed, alive, on my driveway, with a broken back. It was still light outside.
A knock on my front door, by an observant passing motorist, alerted me to the tragedy unfolding in front of my garage. I wouldn’t wish that scene . . . the doe flailing from side to side, an anguished look in her eyes, trying to right herself on her two front legs, or the events of the ensuing hour, on anyone. The phone calls, the officer who attended to end the animal’s suffering, the people who assisted to wrap the body and take it away, the shock and sorrow I continue to feel over this senseless loss of life. What happened to the driver and the vehicle?

Despite ongoing attempts to alert and remind motorists of the rules: deer signs, speed limits, pixel boards monitoring speeds at the top of the hill, just past the hospital, drivers continue to aggressively and dangerously speed – driving both to and out of town – every day, in every kind of weather. This is a hospital zone, a school zone, a residential zone, a popular and well-travelled cycling route, a shared space with creatures, in what was once just forest. It is not a speedway.
Please, for the sake and safety of all, slow down. The victim could have been you and your car, your child, your friend, your partner, your parent, on any street in Haliburton.

Cheryl Cohoon
Haliburton