Roadside Family Wants County To Put Brake On Errant Cars

Not surprisingly, Kelly Walker is upset that cars have regularly been crashing into her front yard for the past four years.

Her house, in the 5400 block of East Bigelow Gulch Road, is inside an elbow turn on the road, which is popular with commuters.

The speed limit on the corner is 40 miles per hour. When cars speed, they often swerve into her driveway or run over her flower bed.

When they go really fast, they skid right into her front yard.

Walker has tried a series of measures to protect her and her four children.

First, she called the county public works office to request that the speed limit on Bigelow Gulch be lowered from 45 mph to 35 or that a “Children at Play” sign be posted.

After the first round of calls and first half-dozen accidents, her husband Dave parked the family’s old white Chevy pickup truck nearest to the road - to act as a punching bag to save their Volvo.

Since then, the pickup has been hit “so many times,” Kelly Walker said. She called the county again.

Finally, Dave Walker constructed a fence with posts thicker than railroad ties. He also built a bridge across a stream on their property to give the four Walker children a better view of the traffic on mornings when they had to cross the road to catch a school bus.

And Kelly Walker called the county.

The bridge was hit this month, knocking down some of the thick hedge that acts as a sound barrier between the Walkers’ home and the roadway.

She says someone once a week takes the corner too sharply and swerves into her yard. Once a month, police and a tow truck are called.

After four years, Walker is tired of worrying.

“It could cut 10 years off my life,” she said.

Bob Brueggeman, a traffic engineer in the county public works office, said the problems with the curve are known. The county recently received a grant from the state Department of Transportation to study remedies for high-traffic headaches like Bigelow Gulch Road.

Brueggeman said a timeline has yet to be set and possible changes are still proposals. Brueggeman wouldn’t speculate on the changes.

In the meantime, Walker says the constant sound of squealing brakes is hard; “every time it makes my heart hurt.”

What makes it worse is her kids, ages 1, 2, 9 and 12. Walker says she has to constantly watch them, bans them from bike rides and always walks them across the street.

She and her husband have considered moving but can’t afford it.

Walker said she would like the speed limit lowered but would be satisfied with a sign warning motorists of her kids or with a crosswalk and a yellow blinking light.

Brueggeman said reduced-speed signs and warnings of the corner are appropriate measures. A “Kids at Play” sign would not be appropriate because “there’s no way we would tell kids to play on that arterial.”

Walker says the problem might be a simple matter of information.

“Maybe if somebody would somehow educate these people. … They wouldn’t want me driving 65 past their house,” Walker said.

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