Staff Writer

After a long evaluation period, city engineers and traffic safety experts have decided more needs to be done on Central Park Boulevard between 29th St. and Mountview. There are several streets on that stretch crossing Central Park Blvd. which have stop signs, but no stop lights. To make matters more challenging for drivers trying to cross over on these streets, there are several rock structures and trees making it very difficult to see oncoming traffic. Drivers are often saying a quick prayer before jetting out in to traffic hoping they “guessed right” on when they saw the last car coming. “Any time I cross 28th if it’s even close to rush hour, I’m scared shitless,” said Stapleton driver Cassidy Addison. “Especially when I have my kids in the car. I can’t believe nothing has been done.” Steve Mason has had similar experiences. “Not only can you hardly see what is coming, people are flying down that stretch,” said Mason. “It can be pretty scary. Then, you get the stress of people waiting behind you. You don’t want to let the group down by not keeping moving, but man, I gotta know there aren’t any cars screaming towards me.” City engineer Nick Carman has been studying the traffic patterns and visibility issues for the last seven months. “There are definitely some things that make that particular area challenging,” said Carman. “Speed of drivers, rocks blocking visibility, and so forth. But, I still don’t think it’s quite enough.” Carman says the city plans to build some more impediments for drivers to see over, by, or through. “We really would have thought there would have been more accidents,” said Carman. “We got to thinking, ‘maybe the challenges of moving through these streets safely is exactly the reason people are so safe.’” Carman contends that it is possible people are driving more cautiously because of the unnecessary risks drivers are having to take in those crossings. “There are some things we can do in regards to planting more bushes or adding some small monuments which can make things even harder to navigate,” said Carman. “With those added difficulties, people will attempt to be safer, we assume, and we will have even less traffic incidences.” Residents are not on board with the new idea. “When I heard the city was going to do something about these crossings, I was thrilled,” said resident Terry Wilson. “But, I hear they are adding crap? That’s insane. People are really going to get hurt.” Kristy Anderson agrees. “I think I am just going to make sure I get to one of the stoplight intersections from now on,” said Anderson. “Inevitably, there are going to be some bad crashes there. What is the city thinking?” Carman says designs are currently under way for each of the crossings. “We will evaluate what structures and designs will make for the worst visibility, and then appropriate those as we see fit.” Safe driving, Stapletonians.

Landon Heinz is a fifth grader at Westerly Creek Elementary. Like most 5th grade boys, Landon dresses the exact same way as every other male student in his grade. Long sports shorts, long socks, sports shirt, etc. The girls in his grade are more apt to wear cute outfits, do their hair, and even dress appropriately as it pertains to the weather. Not the boys, however. They are wearing shorts. Every day. All the time. It doesn’t matter if it’s 80 degrees or 20 below with wind chill. They are wearing shorts. And, unbelievably, it appears they actually are completely unaffected by the cold. You never see these fifth grade boys shivering in a corner. They’ll be walking home in freezing temperatures, and be talking and laughing as if it is 75 and sunny. Nonetheless, parents still try to get these boys to dress appropriately. “I lay out clothes or tell him it’s going to be cold so wear pants or jeans all the time,” said Meg Clinton, mother of a fifth grade boy. “But, he ignores me and puts those damn shorts on.” Another local mom has even been called to the office because she “allowed” her son to wear shorts. “I literally got some sort of warning,” said Kyle Fisher. “As if I am some neglectful child abuser. I told them I try to get him to dress right.”

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Stapleton dad Kevin Becker enjoys spending time with his kids. He takes them to parks and pools, takes them hiking, goes to baseball games, and all sorts of other outdoor activities. “It’s just so much more fun to be out of the house,” says Becker. “Being inside causes more messes, stress, and just doesn’t feel as productive. So, the longer I can have the kids outside, the better.” Unfortunately for Becker, temperatures are starting to get colder and days are getting shorter. “It’s really hard right now. They get out of school, and even if it is not too cold, it is dark in about an hour. Not a lot you can do out in the dark, so we have to go inside after just a little while.” And that is where Becker gets stuck.

[Read more…] about Stapleton Dad “Probably Worst” Indoor Parent

A few weeks ago, around 2:45 in the morning, five gun shots rang out on the 2800 block of Havana. More than likely, there was no intent on hitting anything, just some kids popping off some shots on their way home. Unfortunately, one slug actually did pierce the loft of someone’s home on the block. Luckily, no one was hurt. The police came out and recovered the casings and have begun an investigation. In an effort to assure the community that safety is of the utmost concern, city officials immediately took action. “After an event like this, we knew we would have to do something to help residents feel safe,” said district police officer Bobby Shannon. “We can’t have a situation where fear is running the neighborhood. In situations like these, you can’t delay. You need to act.” The city acted fast, and put up a speed sign which alerts drivers as to their current speed reminding them to slow down.

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As Stapleton continues to grow north of the highway, many activities have remained on the south side. Numerous north-siders are former south siders and they are beginning to become disgruntled with having to drive between seven and ten minutes to get to the other side of the hood. “It’s really frustrating,” said resident Mike Colburn. “I mean, I thought once I moved over here the community would make sure I would not be inconvenienced. Why didn’t the things on the south side just follow me over here to make sure my life continued to be as easy as possible?” Kelly Fitzpatrick agrees. “We did all these things on the south side before we moved north,” explains Kelly. “But now, we don’t want to have to drive all that way to those things. Something needs to be done. Maybe another train?” For many north siders, it has caused them to stop doing those things altogether. “I used to go to my workout place over there, and I have stopped doing that,” said Wicker Park resident Michelle Elmore. “We have even stopped doing some of the activities our kids had been doing. That’s just way too far to drive. I mean, with traffic, it can be up to 12 minutes.”

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Sara Halsor has her Christmas cards all ready to send. They include a quick generic “Happy Holidays” note as well as a “sorry this is so late note.” If she wanted to get them out before Christmas, she easily could. She has simply chosen to wait until after Christmas. “What always happens is, we send cards out, and then we get a card from someone we didn’t send a card to,” said Halsor. “Of course, you feel like a dick, and have to scramble to find an extra one somewhere to send them. But, you know they know you’re just reciprocating the card they sent you. That Holiday card tension seems to last longer than the season.” So, this year, the Halsors are just waiting until after the Holidays to send out their cards.

[Read more…] about Stapleton Family Patiently Waiting to Receive All Christmas Cards Before Sending Theirs Out