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Canton Residents Want Sreet Blocked


ST. LOUIS POST DISPATCH

THURSDAY, MAY 18, 1995

UNIVERSITY CITY

Canton Residents Want Street Blocked
By Tanya Parker, Post-Dispatch Special Correspondent

Twelve years ago a child riding a bike in the 7400 block of Canton Avenue in University City was killed by a speeding car. Today residents on the same block are asking if it will take a similar tragedy before the Traffic Commission will recommend closing their street to through traffic.

The Traffic Commission said the residents would need to seek a consensus with residents living on streets adjacent to Canton. Those would include Harrison, Lamb, Wayne and Lynne streets.
Carrie Costantin, Traffic Commission chairwoman, added that if a street was closed it would create excessive traffic on the other streets. Also, she said, the fire and police departments strongly oppose the request to block the street because it would hamper their accessibility to
the street.

The residents countered that police and fire officials could break through a chain in 30 seconds with pliers. They said drivers use Canton because it conveniently connects Page Avenue and Olive Boulevard. But closing Canton at Lamb would eliminate the shortcut and make the
cut-through inconvenient.


The residents say cars speed down Canton to avoid traffic lights in the area. Canton runs parallel to Olive Boulevard; the 7400 block is between Hanley and North and South roads.
Residents of the block told the Traffic Commission they have to avoid their front yards because traffic noise and pollution are unpleasant. At night, loud car stereos vibrate their windows, and they sometimes hear gunfire.

They also complained about a Bi-State bus that travels their street. They alleged that the bus had contributed to several cave-ins on their 80-year-old street. James McKelphin and other residents said their house foundations were cracking because of the vibrations. Few of the residents use the bus, but they have to listen to the noise, they said.


Darlene Humphrey at 7341 Canton has three little boys who are very active. She is fearful that they will run into the street. Mary Carey of the Traffic Commission spent 20 minutes on Canton recently. She expressed her concerns at the heavy, speeding traffic. From 4 to 8 p.m., a traffic study counted 126 cars an hour on the residential street. In any given day, an average of 1,698 cars travel the street. Many children cross the street to and from Nathaniel Hawthorne School and Millar Park, which also are on Canton.

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