Why wait for an accident to warn drivers?

For two winters, I have been trying to convince the town of Naperville to put up a deer crossing sign on Olesen Drive between Hobson and Gartner. Each winter deer, and I have seen up to seven at any one time, wander around the homes in that area looking for food sources such as fruit trees, plants and bird feeders.

The deer are often crossing Olesen at early morning or at dusk - in other words, when it is dark outside. But the Naperville transportation team continues to deny my request giving reasons such as "warning signage was not warranted due to an absence of collisions due to deer."

In other words, until there is an accident, they will not put up signs. I find this ludicrous.

An adult deer can weigh 125 to over 200 pounds. Anyone who has driven in areas populated by deer knows that they jump in front of your car with absolutely no warning. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, over 10,000 accidents are caused by deer across the U.S. each year.

Naperville claims they do not want to put up unnecessary signage. But to those of us who live in this area and see the deer throughout the winter, we know Naperville is taking a potentially dangerous risk with this policy.

Sherri Russell

Naperville