The early morning drive down West Outer is beautiful. On my way to work each day, I enjoy the beautiful flowers, the rising sun shining through the trees, the quiet that only morning can bring, and the wildlife - squirrels running across the road, birds flying from tree to tree, an occasional deer waiting to cross the road, and the many people out for their morning walk. Yes, I lumped the walkers in with the wildlife because many of them are just as careless as the flattened squirrels that I see along the way.
When I first moved to the west end of Oak Ridge, I was impressed with the large number of residents that walk, jog, or just go for a stroll with their families; however, lately, I'm a little guarded with my enthusiasm because of my concern for their safety.
Daily, I see people walking the wrong direction in the eastbound and westbound lanes of West Outer Drive - not on the side of the road, but in the center of the road, or in the center of one of the lanes. When a car approaches, many don't move to the side of the road. Instead, they expect the car to go around them. I have often had to go around walkers on a curve, which is obviously very dangerous to the walkers, an on-coming car, and me. Some of the walkers are pushing baby strollers, walking their dogs, or have several of their friends with them. One group that I'm very concerned about is a group of four older men who walk together each day. When I pass them, they are generally walking up a hill on a curve. If someone was coming west around the curve at that time, they could possibly hit and kill, or badly injure, all four of these men. If the on-coming car swerved into my lane to avoid hitting the men, then it would probably hit me head-on - an accident waiting to happen.
The amount of traffic on West Outer has increased since the construction on Oak Ridge Turnpike began. As a resident, I'm aware of my neighbors' walking habits so I usually driver slower than the 25 mph allowed and I watch for people walking in the middle of the road; however, many of the people who come down West Outer to avoid the construction area probably aren't familiar with their walking habits and could very easily come around a curve and hit and kill one of these middle-of-the road walkers. When school is in session the problem is even worse. Many parents and high school students are exceeding the 25 mph speed limit to get to school on time, and it's very unlikely that they could stop in time to avoid hitting one of these pedestrians.
If you know someone who walks on West Outer Drive in Oak Ridge - or anywhere else on streets in Anderson County, please remind them to walk so that they can see on-coming traffic, and to move to the side of the road when they see or hear an approaching car. If you're in a car, watch out for walkers. If you're a walker, watch for on-coming traffic and act responsibly. It doesn't matter who has the right-of-way - safety is everyone's responsibility.
