RESIDENTS ASK CITY FOR STOP SIGN NEAR SCHOOL

When neighbors on Themis Street, near Franklin Elementary School, hear tires screech they congregate on the sidewalk and talk about the traffic troubles in the block of Themis between Keller and Louisiana streets.

A few weeks ago, Janet Criddle decided it was time to stop talking and do something about it.

Since then, Criddle and her neighbors have collected 115 signatures from residents of the neighborhoods around the school calling for four-way stops at the intersections of Themis and Keller and at Themis and Louisiana.

Neighbors hope to present the petitions and their request to the Cape Girardeau City Council next month.

In the meantime, Criddle has been in touch with Cape Girardeau city officials lobbying for the stop signs.

Sgt. John R. Davis with the Cape Girardeau Police Department said, "We are doing research on it. We're looking at it from our aspect as far as accidents. The city engineer is looking at it from a traffic engineering aspect."

The police and engineers will tally traffic on the street, monitor motorist's speed and evaluate traffic flow in the area.

Since 1991, 16 accidents have been reported in the block from Louisiana and Keller. That total includes accidents in the intersections.

"That is not a high number of accidents," Davis said, "especially since there is a lot of traffic there."

But Barbara Bender said the accident reports don't count near misses. "Almost everyone in this neighborhood has had some sort of near miss," she said, including her own daughter.

The speed limit is 20 miles per hour from 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. on school days and 30 miles per hour at other times.

But Bender thinks few people obey those speed limits.

"We've got people racing up and down these streets. It's a real problem," Bender said.

"No one seems to remember this is a school zone. I wish I could stand out here with a radar gun," Bender said.

Traffic on Themis must stop at West End Boulevard and again at Sunset and then at Caruthers streets. But traffic may travel through the intersections nearest the elementary school without stopping.

In the mornings and afternoons, safety patrol guards help youngsters cross the street. Traffic is congested at those times with parents and school buses delivering or picking up students.

But Criddle said the Franklin schoolyard serves as a neighborhood park for families and children after school hours.

Soccer games are held on the playing field. Adults walk and jog the field's track. Children play on playground equipment.

"People are here all the time," Criddle said. "We just want everyone to be safe. This is the only solution we've come up with. If someone else has a better idea, I'm all for it."