Letters: Safe crossing desperately needed at Highway 18 in Hartley

To the editor:

This letter is to catch the ears of the Hartley City Council members and those citizens of Hartley who have requested from the Hartley Rec Trail Committee a safe crossing across Highway 18.

Our committee has until June 30, 2024 to finish work on a crossing across Highway 18 or we will lose the $20,000 grant that we were awarded by the Rural Community Revitalization Program. Our committee has worked tirelessly to get a crossing approved by both the city council and either the H-M-S School Board or local land owners, to benefit the children and citizens of Hartley who need to walk across Highway 18 for access to essential services.

For various reasons, the H-M-S School Board denied us easement to put a crossing at our desired location by the elementary school, and for reasons of not wanting to upset a few land owners, the city council is dragging its feet on approving a crossing between the city baseball fields and Dollar General. If the council continues to delay, the citizens will lose $20,000 dollars that would go towards the rapid flashing lights at the crossing, as well as waste another $8,000 that our committee has had to spend thus far on engineering fees needed for the two proposed crossings.

In light of recent near accidents involving H-M-S student pedestrians, and a recent article in the Northwest Iowa Review citing the rise is pedestrian deaths by vehicles in Iowa, we know there is a need for safe ways for pedestrians to cross Highway 18. The question is, does the Hartley council care more about the safety of its citizens, or care more about maintaining the status quo by not using its right of easement to put in sidewalks for safe highway crossings? If you believe the city needs to be held accountable for the safety of its citizens, please attend the next city council meeting on Nov. 13 at 5:30 p.m., and make your voice heard. Also, be sure to vote for new city council members who will ensure our city is safe and accessible to pedestrians. Thank you.

Justin McCarty,

Rec Trail Committee Member,

Hartley