When George Gage was struck and killed on Bayshore on Thursday Jan 9th, it was tragic, but not surprising considering the road’s history. For as long as I can remember, I’ve heard “oh, we have to go this way, there’s an accident on Bayshore,”while driving in the car. Every accident and death on Bayshore is heartbreaking, but it’s become a norm. With that being said, why is it that whenever one of these accidents happen, the main solution is just lowering the speed limit?

It’s important to do something when a tragedy like this happens, but a band-aid solution isn’t the way. The driver responsible for last week’s accident was speeding, but he was also intoxicated. A speed limit wouldn’t have stopped him. Lowering the speed limit eases nerves, but it doesn’t absolve the threat of getting hit. People are always going to be speeding and driving unsafely. No sign or law is going to erase that.

These car accidents and fatalities are the result of reckless drivers and a speed limit change will not stop reckless driving. Whether the speed limit 35 or 25 mph, they were breaking the law before and reducing that number will not stop reckless drivers from continuing to break the law.

I don’t know what an alternative solution is, lowering the speed limit isn’t it. But finding a solution is not a black-white issue. When I was looking at a photo gallery from the crash on the news, I saw a sign that said “Bayshore is a park, not a highway” with a link (https://www.takebackbayshore.com). I went on their site and read about what they were trying to get passed (rules that restricted the traffic on Bayshore and made it a safer park area and a potential redesign to make it safer) and while I didn’t have a strong opinion on it, it proved that there are other ways to deal with safety on Bayshore.

I can’t stress how necessary it is to make Bayshore safer. It’s sad to have to drive by and see another section of caution tape and flowers. While there is no perfect solution to make Bayshore a place free from reckless driving, we should continue to discuss changes to make it better. Something needs to be done, but lowering the speed limit is not the way to go.