Letters and comments for May 20, 2011

Honor barricades

To the Editor:

As a resident of La Grande who lives in the shadow of the Second Street hill, I want to express my deep appreciation to the city of La Grande, its Public Works employees, emergency workers and police officers for their diligence in keeping track of the slippage on the hill.

This street, between Spring and Penn, has been closed for safety reasons due to slippage of the hill and the vulnerability of an old water pipe that is under the concrete that supplies water to the houses on the street. City employees have contacted the residents, getting emergency information (i.e. how many people in the houses, their ages, etc.) and providing an emergency evacuation plan in the event the hill collapses.

Unfortunately, there are those drivers who feel they are entitled to ignore the barricades and drive up and down the hill despite the obvious safety reasons for it being closed.

I would ask those drivers who are inconvenienced by this closure to honor the barricades and go around the block so there will be minimal pressure placed on the hill and the water pipe underneath. I also want to thank those many drivers who do take the time to find another route around the hill.

Your consideration is appreciated. Hopefully a solution will be in place soon and traffic can resume its normal flow on Second Street.

Susan Mercer

La Grande

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