Chief urges drivers to be cautious

A potentially tragic situation prompted Ely’s police chief to reiterate a call for safety this week.

In the wake of a July incident in which a child was hit by a vehicle in a downtown intersection, police chief Chad Houde issued a reminder for all motorists to slow down and be aware of pedestrians.

“Luckily the child is going to be fine,” Houde said during a report at Tuesday’s city council session. “But you need to slow down and be aware of people in crosswalks.”

Houde said he has become increasingly aware of situations where motorists are ignoring traffic regulations.

“I see it too often, usually when I am off duty where people are passing on the right (when somebody is slowing down to make a turn), crossing that solid white line,” said Houde. “That’s a no-no.”

Houde added “especially when you don’t know what in front of you at an intersection. The child that was hit was hit in a marked crosswalk. All the individual was trying to do was beat the person in front of him trying to make a right hand turn. So slow down.”

This marked the second time in a month that Houde briefed council members about traffic issues downtown.

W hile traffic jams are generally nonexistent in Ely, except for the conclusion of the July 4 fireworks, Sheridan Street traffic ramps up considerably during the summer.

A sign of the increase is the difficulty motorists have, at some points during the day, of turning left on to Sheridan Street from one of the avenues.

Ely city officials have also sounded the alarm over state transportation department proposals to perhaps eliminate the traffic light at the corner of Third Avenue East and Sheridan Street.

In two other police-related issues, Houde noted that Public Safety Night will take place on Wednesday, Sept. 25, from 3 to 6 p.m.

That’s the evening that police and fire vehicles along with area ambulances are parked outside and open for children to look at and sit inside.

Council members also gave authorization this week to create a police sergeant position on the police force and advertise internally for hire.