I saw the sign below while driving from Bloomington, IL to my home near Kansas City. It is at a rest stop on I-55 somewhere in southern Illinois. There are actually two of these in the exact same condition. Usually, there would be a phone or a panic button. I have seen them before in parking lots, and they strike me as a great idea--if there are operational.
In theory, if you had an emergency you could run up to this pole to call for help. That would signal the nearest law enforcement officer, as well as set off a flashing light that may scare off potentially threatening people.
I can just imagine someone being chased and running for this pole hoping to be saved by it. When they get there, they find out that they are out of hope.
It is 2007. We have the technology to implement this idea and fix it if it breaks. If Illinois can go to the expense of making a proper "Out Of Order" sign and mounting it securely on the pole, why can't they just fix it? Or, if there is another solution on the premises that I did not notice, why not remove this one? Another good idea gone bad.
1 comment:
probably a budget problem...
This brought to mind an unusual sight I saw on the west side of Longview Lake this week. There was a large bicycle painted white and above it, affixed to a pole, was a smaller child's bike also painted white. Initially, I wondered why the bikes were painted white...and then it dawned on me that the bicycles were a memorial. As I questioned staff at the college, it came to light that a grandfather, an experienced cyclist, had been giving his 13 year old grand-daughter a cycling lesson at dusk one evening when they were struck and killed!
The white bicycles had their desired effect--I slowed down and paid CLOSE attention, even though it was broad daylight.
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