We bought our house in Tenney-Lapham last spring and moved here during the summer. We are overwhelmed with how wonderful, kind, and accessible the neighbors and the community are to newcomers. However, for the past 20 years we lived in Chicago and Milwaukee respectively- need I write more? By living in Tenney-Lapham, for the first time since childhood we know almost ALL of our neighbors and for that we are extremely thankful. Tenney-Lapham is committed to community. So after a year of "getting to know the neighborhood" (and Madison in general), it is time to get involved locally.

As the TTC (a role I assumed and co-chair with my wife), there are three issues I have addressed with neighbors: the high volume of speeders on Sherman Ave and East Johnson Street among other streets; the upcoming re-construction of East Washington Avenue and what that means to businesses and neighbors; and the efforts to continue to make our streets safer for children, bicyclists, and pedestrians as they travel to and from their jobs, the parks, the schools, and the shops. I'd welcome talking with you on any of the above-mentioned three topics or any other topics as they relate to traffic in our neighborhood. And frankly, as a newcomer to Madison, I'd welcome talking to you about anything.

Speeders on Sherman Avenue are more apparent to me because we live on Sherman Avenue. I have witnessed drivers, 24-7, rounding the curve at Few Street as if they are on the Autobahn. It�s quite a sight, seeing cars rounding that curve and moving completely into the other lane. As my 4-year son would say when he sees something extraordinary, "How do they do that?" But the curved corner will be even more extraordinary when a crash happens. The other day I was driving 25 mph north on Sherman Avenue past the beach area when a Volvo, driven by a man advanced in years, zoomed by to pass me and turned into Maple Bluff. Because this is a neighborhood paper, I will temper what I said to him when we met in Maple Bluff where I followed him to his house. "Please drive 25 mph in our neighborhood," I said, sort of.

We must report those who speed in our neighborhoods. Sure, because it is the law, but more importantly because children can forget about the dangers of running throughout a neighborhood and dart onto the street by mistake. Do we want to wait until a mistake happens before we enforce "No jive, it's 25"?

When you see someone speeding, call the police hot line at 266-4624 - the police are complaint driven. The hotline is not a complete answer to speeders, but voice your concerns. Leave a detailed message describing the make of the car, the time of the infraction, the license plate if you can get it, and additional information that might provide a good lead as to the offender. You should leave your name and number as well. When I am outside near my house, I usually have a pencil and pad nearby so when a driver speeds past me, I can write down the time of day, the make of car, the gender of the driver and so forth. Knowledge is power. I wait until the evening before I call the hotline because the recorded greeting is long. Your whole day can be taken up listening to the recorded message itself. This is why it is important to record the time of day that you witnessed the alleged speeder.

Also, if you are interested, residents can borrow the city's speed-o-meter. Set it on top of your parked car (vs. while you are driving) on the street in front of your house and watch the reaction from drivers as they approach the sign that displays their speed. It is amazing to see what happens when drivers notice THEY ARE BEING WATCHED. All the drivers I observed slowed down, and many of them were very kind and expressed their support to slow down traffic. Some even gave me the peace sign. A couple of drivers, however, only partially supported the traffic watch by giving me half of the peace sign, which I took as a positive sign- they almost showed two fingers worth of support.

To use the meter, please call the police department .and arrange a time to borrow it. You really only need to do it for a few hours. Call on a couple of neighbors to help. I recently did this with neighbors up the street and we shared coffee, had some interesting conversations on art, and actually set a time to do this again. As long as you stay near the meter to avoid any mishaps, you can probably do some outside work on your house. If you do borrow the meter, I think you will gain some important knowledge about the effects of "being visible" in the community and how we can make our neighborhoods safer. After all, we are simply trying to keep our neighborhood a safe place to live. As for the upcoming reconstruction of East Washington and the impending traffic problems, I will report in the next issue what I learn in a meeting that was held in December. Finally, as the quote reads, "We have not inherited this land from our ancestors, but are leaving it for our children."

There are a lot of families with children living in the neighborhood. As I walk my son to school, it has been an honor to meet/greet other neighbors on their way to work and parents as they are leading their children to school. It is a reminder of the splendor and beauty of a neighborhood like Tenney-Lapham and the people on whom this community depends. Let's move into the year 2000 with a greater sense of community and join forces in reminding those who live, visit, and drive in our neighborhood that the Tenney-Lapham neighborhood is a community we want to keep safe. Remember: "No jive, it's 25".

Mark J. Fraire


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