Model airplane benefit Fun Fly day takes off; speeding drivers persist

Tallahassee’s model airplane flying experience, Seminole Remote Control Club, is again conducting the Children’s Miracle Network Benefit Fun-Fly on Oct. 15.

Bring the family out to the Apalachee Regional Park, 7550 Apalachee Parkway, and see the brand new Seminole RC Airport and meet the great people who put together this Fun Fly day for our most deserving children.

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You are invited to enjoy a fun day. Tickets for the picnic are $10 for adults and $5 for children. There will be a picnic of hamburgers, hotdogs & soft drinks from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. and of course the flying. There will be professional flight instructors present to introduce anyone who would like to experience the wonderment of controlling a remote control aircraft.

Flight instructor controls are tied-in with the student pilot control box so as the student pilot becomes proficient the instructor can switch full control to himself or herself if it becomes necessary to return the airplane to straight and level flight.

Please join me and a host of extremely talented flyers and their families for a terrific autumn day outdoors to support our children in need.

For more information, go to modelaircraft.org.

A Lucy Street rebuttal over curbs

Last time in Street Scene we were honored to have young student driver Elaine bring everyone’s attention to a problem on Lucy Street.

Apparently raised curbs or “traffic calming” areas placed in the original lanes of traffic are being struck by vehicles, ostensibly during darkness, because where there was once sufficient post delineation there is now little to none. Elaine asked Street Scene to help, which we did by letting our traffic safety professionals at city hall read Elaine’s letter in the newspaper.

Our rebuttal comes from Edwin. Edwin is very familiar with Lucy Street and is also appreciative of the traffic calming technique in place. He says my response indicates unfamiliarity with Lucy Street and was, shall we say, a bit one-sided.

Edwin wants us all to understand speeding drivers prior to the traffic calming endangered residents, Cobb Middle School students, and parents dropping off and collecting their children on this short, once quiet neighborhood street. Edwin reminds us the speed limit on Lucy Street is 25 mph, with 15 mph posted at the traffic calming locations.

Edwin goes a step further stating the obvious with excessive speed on Tallahassee streets going unchecked due to law enforcement busy with a crime element taking away resources that have in the past been available to bring traffic safety to our neighborhoods.

Edwin, Elaine has not said she can’t see the “cement curves” or that she is speeding or that she hit one; only that she, as others, can see the tire marks and undercarriage damage-marks where the traffic calming exists. It is noteworthy that residents on Hillcrest Street rejected similar in-the-traffic-lane traffic calming opting instead for speed humps. The saw cuts in the pavement on Hillcrest Street are visible to this day.

Edwin does say he personally does much prefer speed “humps” for traffic calming since we have no traffic law enforcement.

Slow down in school zone

Q. Ira asks for help getting police patrol on Lake Bradford Road in the marked School Zone for Pineview Elementary School. Speeding drivers headed to the airport are putting children at risk. The single overburdened crossing guard also needs help. Any assistance Street Scene can give will be appreciated.

A. Dear Ira, as you read what is happening on Lucy Street you will understand Tallahassee police are overwhelmed with felony crimes and appear not to have the patrols needed to enforce traffic laws.

Not long ago I addressed a Street Scene column to my good friend and lifetime dedicated law enforcement officer now Director of the Florida Highway Patrol, Col. Gene Spaulding asking Col. Spaulding to, as much as possible, allow his State Troopers to drive into Tallahassee to help with the serious speeding problems we have here.

Issuing $200 speeding tickets (add $50 in school zones) is the only solution to bring dangerous drivers to their senses. Sometimes just the mere sight of a Florida State Trooper will jar the scofflaws into reality. But a ticket surely does and will bring dangerous drivers before the court.

Let's once again ask Col. Spaulding to send his State Troopers through our city to help with a growing menace that will surely result in more fatalities if we, as our young teenage driver Elaine cautioned, ignore obvious dangers to the motoring public, pedestrians in crosswalks and children in school zones.

Philip Stuart is a retired Florida State Trooper, Traffic Operations Projects Engineer and Forensics Expert Witness. Write to crashsites@embarqmail.com.

Update: The story reflects that the event date has been changed to Oct. 15 instead of Oct. 1, due to projected path of Hurricane Ian.

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This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Model airplane fun day takes off; speeders endanger neighborhoods