Drivers must slow down in Beacon's Memorial Park

Road passes heavily-used play area

By Maeleeke J. Lavan
Poughkeepsie Journal

BEACON -- In effort to control speeders and to protect children, the Beacon City Council has lowered the speed limit on a Memorial Park road.

The speed at which cars travel down Robert Cahill Drive -- a small, narrow road that runs through the park -- has become a concern for recreation officials and some residents who frequent the park.

''It's been noted by some league people and parents that cars are going too fast,'' Mayor Clara Lou Gould said.

The city's traffic safety committee recommended to the city council that the speed limit be lowered in order to better ensure safety of people in the park.

Vote unanimous

The city council voted unanimously at Monday's meeting to lower the speed limit on Cahill Drive from 15 mph to 10 mph.

A variety of activities go on at the park all year round, and with the road adjacent to the pavilion and a play area, lowering the speed limit made sense.

''There's a lot of kid traffic,'' Gould said. ''It's a narrow road, the kids use it, and we felt it wasn't safe.''

Winters are filled with children sledding and spring and summer bring summer camps and other events to the area where dozens of children play on a daily basis.

Resident Laryssa Verde, who has two children, supported the move to slow traffic.

''I think lowering the speed limit anywhere were there are kids is good,'' she said.

The city has also discussed putting in temporary speed bumps that can be removed during the winter when snowplows come through to slow traffic even more.