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East Mission Road resident takes measures to protect property

Rick Monroe

Special to the Village News

When the county told Glenn Berman that they would try to authorize funds in next year's budget for a guardrail in front of his home on East Mission Road, the long-time resident took matters into his own hands instead of waiting. He extended the existing guard rail on the north side of the busy street by 38 feet.

It wasn't far enough. A recent crash into his fence was the fifth accident along the curvy stretch of the busy road in the 2500 block of East Mission. The car crashed through the fence midway between his driveway and the new guard rail.

The guardrail duplicates the county's design. The posts are six feet long, three feet into the ground with cement. It cost a couple thousand dollars, he said, for the guardrail.

Berman said he contacted the county – again – and they responded by lowering the speed limit from 45 mph to 25 mph.

"No one slows to 25," he said. "People are just in too much of a hurry."

The county also put in a series of yellow signs with arrows indicating a curve.

"That fatal accident a couple weeks ago wasn't that far from here, just a little west, and it wasn't that long ago that someone knocked down a telephone pole just east of here," he said.

Berman's 9-acre property is enclosed with a five-foot tall vinyl fence that he said is more expensive to replace than the guard rail. The vinyl also has a chain link fence behind it, which stretches when a vehicle plows into it.

"We did it to protect our property – we have grandkids and animals – but it's also a safety net for stray vehicles," he added.

For drivers on East Mission Road he has one request: "Slow down!"

 

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