CLEVELAND, Tenn. – The traffic death of a family pet last weekend has a Bow Street woman asking the city: What if that happened to a neighborhood child?
Chasing a ball, the dog bounded onto Bow Street in northeast Cleveland and was hit by a speeding vehicle. Three more fast-moving cars prevented people from getting to the dying animal to help.
The posted speed limit is 30 mph, but “we call it Bow Highway,” resident Kim Pesterfield said at the Cleveland City Council meeting this week. “We have clocked cars going 70 miles per hour-plus.”
Council members wanted to know why the city doesn’t post more speed zone or “children playing” signs. But city staff members said complicated federal regulations come into it and disobeying them could affect highway funds.
Mayor Tom Rowland suggested banks and or other businesses could sponsor signs.
Council members asked for a report on options for their when they meet on March 11.
Police Chief Wes Snyder said at the council meeting that the neighborhood can expect more patrols and officers cracking down on speeding.
Shane Castelow, who was walking his own dog along Bow Street on Wednesday, said he “hadn’t noticed the traffic until we got our dog.”
“It’s just amazing,” he said. “It’s like people don’t even see you. I don’t know how the neighbors feel, but there is a problem.”