Dear Editor:
Our entire neighbourhood is so thrilled with the upgrade to our street, 74th Avenue, in Osoyoos.
We now have sidewalks, curbs, gutters, new trees, wheelchair accessibility, reduction of flooding down the hill and many more amenities to list.
It is absolutely beautiful.
Unfortunately, one negative side effect of this enhancement are the many drivers who now believe this small patch of new ashphalt to be like the Area 27 racetrack in nature as they floor their pedals up the hill at unbelievable speeds. In our neighbourhood, while zoned commercial, we still have many homes that are filled with children, cats, dogs and quail.
Just last week, I was walking across 74th Avenue, between 85th and 87th Avenue, when a man in a big white truck, who was gunning it up the street, struck one of the many quail who were crossing the roadway.
Maybe he was watching out for me as I was only four feet from his truck when he hit one of the quail.
Very sadly, the female quail died instantly.
The man looked at me. Maybe he didn’t see her, but the impact he caused resulted in her small body being crushed and one of her kidneys, maybe her spleen, or heart exploded out of her body. I picked up the dead animal, moved her to my garden to rest in peace and went back to retrieve her kidney, spleen or heart.
You may think that quail are fast, but they aren’t as fast as your big white truck. Please slow down for the sake of all of our animals and children here in our little town.
Martha Collins
Osoyoos, B.C.
