Recently I was going down Pt. Lakeview Road in the Clear Lake Riviera when I saw a young deer struggling to get herself off the road and onto the side grass where she looked at me with very sad eyes.
She had been hit by a car that didn”t stop, and had a broken hip and leg.
Another car had also stopped and the woman driver called the sheriff”s department for assistance.
Pt. Lakeview is a main artery through a residential area. This is a road that is highly traveled but also has a lot of local people walking dogs, jogging, kids on bicycles and skateboarding, etc. And, it is a main crossing for many, many deer. They come up from the marina and cross Hawaina between Wheeler and Fairway and go over to the golf course and back. Any driver should know, if you see one deer you need to slow down or stop, because there are always several in a group crossing.
Several months ago I contacted County Public Works and requested deer crossing signs be placed in this area. That hasn”t happened. This is dangerous and very sad for the animals and dangerous to motorists who don”t know about the deer. The speed limit should also be lower in this particular stretch. It”s residential: kids, dogs, people, deer and a golf cart crossing.
And last: What do we do when we see an injured deer? Who do we call? Couldn”t we have a call number on the deer crossing sign? And what about the despicable person who hits the animals and then leaves it struggling in the middle of the road trying to drag itself to safety? Can they be cited for hit-and-run?
Public Works, please get those signs out there.
Anita McKee
Kelseyville
