Letter: My Saturday walk and the loud boom!

Dear Editor,

Last Saturday afternoon, I walked south from Main Street onto Paige Street – suddenly, there was a big “BOOM.” I turned to see vehicle parts strewn over the street. A car turning left from Paige to Main was hit on the rear side by a motorcycle. The cyclist was on the ground with a skinned knee and possibly other injuries. There was another woman there who may have been a passenger, who did not appear injured. The woman driver was in dismay, saying, “I didn’t see him.”  

The scene made me recall my incident at the same intersection two years ago when I came within a quarter second of my death when I attempted to cross Main from Paige – I suddenly became aware of a car on my left coming hard. I escaped by hitting the gas. I know the car was coming hard by the Doppler effect his horn made as he sped by.

I went to the Village Police Station and reported the incident, expressing my concern about that intersection and that the Village should take some action regarding it. The reply was, “We’ll bring it up” – “yea.”

If one goes to Paige Street and to that intersection, they will find the view to the west down Main Street to be obscured by a signpost, a hedge, a telephone pole, a medium-sized tree trunk, and, at many times, two or three cars parked on the south side of Main right up to the corner.

For the woman driver in Saturday’s case, she had little chance of seeing the low silhouette of the motorcycle – who may have been coming a bit fast. I’m assuming she was found to be at fault in the police report.

The Village has spent a lot of time (and money) debating the installation of an all-way stop at the intersection of Main and Church, which may prevent some minor fender benders, but because of the low speeds involved, there is little danger to life and limb – not the case at Main and Paige.

The only real solution I see for Main and Paige is to make that southern portion of Paige one-way going south.

Sincerely,

Jim Ross

Owego, N.Y.